Protection Bricking the house against the happy jaws of wolves, my father and his tawny hired man, backs drawn deep in conspiracy, slapped mortar onto trowels, eyes migrating to as distance beyond clouds. Heat swam around them, requiring the huge delusion of some believable project to produce it. Neither spokeContinue Reading

I know Daddy knows what he’s doing. Even when he’s quiet he’s thinking. The old man with tobacco sitting in his jaw like a tumor is our enemy. He would keep us from buying the truck we need that slopes on the weedy ridge of this junkyard. Because I amContinue Reading

Inside and outside Appalachian homes, you might find any number of up-cycled, homemade gadgets pieced together in ways that Dr. Frankenstein would envy. You might notice saw-marked furniture restored as closely as possible to original designs. Folk art, tasteful or not, could be a painted sign, string art, or evenContinue Reading