Dec 22
The HillVille has been live for ten days and we’ve already heard from many citizens of the HillVille out there in highrises in near-Appalchian cities and from far western outposts and from—bless-your-heart—very flat places. We’ve shared a few of the comments and e-mails we’ve received so far. Read more
By Tonia Moxley
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Surely two 40-plus women enjoying a glass of red wine and some Trader Joe’s cocoa truffles late on a Saturday should not giggle so loudly. But the tinkling sound of two dozen canning jars full of hot, honey-yellow lard sealing themselves sent us into paroxysms.
“Oh, there went another one. And another one! He He!”
By Niki King
If you’re headed home for the holidays, consider brushing up your axel and lutz. Several Appalachian and near-Appalachian cities have recently opened outdoor ice-skating rinks in their central downtown areas, channeling the urban spirit of New York’s Rockefeller Center.
by Beth Newberry
Crystal Good’s poetry readings aren’t for a lazy listener. They are a patchwork of history lessons, current-events coverage and literary word play all sewn-up with an electric and provocative performance. If you’re asleep, she’ll wake you up. If you’re sitting down, she’ll get you on your feet. If you are already standing, she’ll get your hand in the air while you’re yelling, “Amen.”
ex-App: An ex-Appalachian (in abbreviated form, ex-App) is a person temporarily or permanently residing outside of Appalachia, the region of their upbringing, heritage or heart. Example: Bob’s an ex-App, he lives here in Seattle now, but hails from Southwest Virginia and is totally back home proud.
Urban Appalachian: An Appalachian living in one of the region’s cities or a city on the region’s fringes.
Urba-lachia: What happens when you say urban Appalachia real fast.
By Niki King
Say the word “Appalachian” and many images come to mind. A city skyline may not be among them. And maybe that’s our own fault. Our cities haven’t been a hot topic in the Appalachian Studies community and there are few representations of our regional urbanity in art, media and literature.
Read more
by Niki King
Look up “urban Appalachian” and you’re sure to find the Urban Appalachian Council, which has worked since 1974 to “promote a decent quality of life for Appalachian people of Greater Cincinnati” through direct services and advocacy. They’ve also created an astounding body of research, that taken together, traces the experience of Appalachians in Cincinnati and other Mid-western cities over the last 40 years. This fall, The HillVille caught up with Phil Obermiller, a longstanding member of the Council’s Research Committee who has written extensively on the subject, to find out what’s new. Read more
By L.S. McKee
On many levels, Kingsport, Tennessee is home. I grew up here, my parents were born down the road in Bristol, and generations before lived in the hills of Southwest Virginia. On other levels—the willful, self-inscribed ones—it isn’t. I’ve always bragged on its beauty, its music, its people, and in the same breath swore it was a place where I would never live again. What it could give, I assumed, had already been given. Read more
Niki King and Beth Newberry are excited to soon launch The HillVille, a weekly online magazine for urban Appalachians.
And just who are urban Appalachians, anyway? Good question. We’re a diverse bunch. We are exapps, folks who grew up in the region, but moved away for school, work or whatever. Some of us are second- or third-generation exapps, born to Appalachians, but raised in cities outside the region. Others live in one of the many cities and towns actually in the mountains, like Knoxville, Tenn., and Charleston, W.Va. or cities on the edges—to the north (holla Pittsburgh), to the South (bring it Birmingham) and the mid-west (isn’t that right, Cincinnati?). Read more
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