An interview with Museum of Appalachia founder John Rice Irwin
When he died in January 2022, historian John Rice Irwin was described as the “guardian of Appalachia’s past.” In a 2008 interview, he talked with poet Jesse Graves about his family and his life’s work.
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Neema Avashia explores community and identity in the South and beyond
In Another Appalachia, Neema Avashia explores what it is like to grow up both gay and the daughter of immigrants, making sense of life as both insider and outsider.
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Book Excerpt: Either Way, You’re Done
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: Stephanie McCarley Dugger’s first full-length poetry collection, Either Way, You’re Done, was published by Sundress Publications in 2017.
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Ginseng Diggers traces the history of Appalachia’s root and herb trade
In the 19th century, large numbers of Appalachians supported themselves by harvesting herbs, roots, and other botanicals that grew wild in the mountain woodlands. These “sang diggers,” as they were colloquially known, and the story of their importance in the medicinal botanical trade are the focus of Luke Manget’s Ginseng Diggers.
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There is no better gift than a story
I used to think about the longevity of gifts. What could be given that would be cherished for more than a handful of days or a couple of weeks? Finally, after I had a few years of teaching behind me, I figured it out: stories. Stories do not fade.
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Tom Perrotta delivers up-to-the-minute satire in Tracy Flick Can’t Win
The ambitious heroine of Election returns in Tom Perrotta’s latest novel, Tracy Flick Can’t Win. Perrotta will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 16.
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