the old men in this part of the world used to pass on tradition in rocking chairs father and son, mother and daughter believing they were immovable come hell or high water. but now there’s fire on the mountain and dirt on the grave the creeks a’risin and perhaps whatContinue Reading
The following excerpt was taken from Edward Francisco‘s introduction, “Appalachia Recognized,” in The South in Perspective: An Anthology of Southern Literature (2001 Prentice Hall p.1058-59) This anthology is the only Southern literary compilation to feature Appalachian literature as its own category. Works from writers within the region are acknowledged andContinue Reading
The ornaments on my Christmas tree tell the story of my life. Fisherman for Mamaw hangs at the top, she’s gone now, but that man smiles like she did when she saw me opening my gifts. Red hope, an ornament for losing her and remembering her a year later whenContinue Reading
I went to my mother’s grave last night, which was fitting, seeing as it was Mother’s Day, but that’s not why I went. I went because she was to be dug up in the morning. All of the graves at the Waldrop Memorial Cemetery, the ones not claimed and reburiedContinue Reading