Mar 17
By Jeremy Dae Paden
Rebecca Gayle Howell’s first full-length book, Render: An Apocalypse, which won the Cleveland State University Poetry Center Prize for 2012 is beautiful. Read more
The HillVille unabashedly loves stories, community building and especially innovative ways to use stories to build community. So when we saw Hollow, an interactive documentary about McDowell County, W.Va., on Kickstarter, we were intrigued. We caught up with project founder and ex-App Elaine McMillion earlier this week to get the scoop.
By Beth Newberry
Tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 14, is “I Love Mountains Day,” at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., a community organizing event and lobbying day sponsored by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC). KFTC is a statewide citizens’ group working for social change on a grassroots level. Read more
By Beth Newberry
The beauty and strength of kudzu was not lost on me when I first moved to Harlan Co., Ky. as a child. At the bottom of the mountain where we lived was a no-name convenience store. From its parking lot, I could toss my head back and see the skyscraper-high trees covered with long braids of Kudzu. Read more
This is the first installment of our “Back Home Proud” series, a re-occurring feature in which Apps and Ex-Apps tell us, in their own words, what their Appalachian identity means to them. In keeping with our “Rural Retreat” issue, we hear from John Haywood, a painter and musician, who moved from Eastern Kentucky to Louisville and back again. He now operates his own tattoo parlor on Main Street in Whitesburg, Ky.
By Cyerra Crumrine
Five breweries. One cidery. And many scenic views. That’s the idea behind the Brew Ridge Trail, the most intoxicating tourism trail in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Read more
For five months, at the request of and via the introduction of Frank X Walker, editor of PLUCK! The Journal of Affrilachian Arts and Culture, four writers shared stories of food, land, home, race, sexuality and writing. In doing so, they illuminated the experience of being Latino in the United States and in Appalachia specifically. Read more
by Beth Newberry
On Thursday night, Dec. 29, hundreds of people—city and country folk—crowded the lobby of the Brown Theatre in downtown Louisville, Ky. waiting for the doors of the theatre to open to grab the best of the general admission seats for the sold out show featuring rock ‘n’ roll powerhouse Yim Yames (a.k.a. Jim James) of My Morning Jacket, solo artists Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, percussionist Dan Dorff, banjo player Joan Shelley and writers Silas House and Jason Howard. Read more
By Jason Howard
This is the third installment of our tribute to the life and work of community activist and outspoken mountain mama, Judy Bonds, who passed away a year ago this week. Here, friend and brother in the fight to end the Mountaintop Removal form of strip mining, Jason Howard, shares his memories and his thoughts on Judy’s legacy.
by Beth Newberry and Niki King
Winter’s here, yins. And in case you were trying to ignore the chilly weather, the gray skies or the tail-end of college football season— a sure sign winter has come to stay—the year-end holidays are your final warning. Winter’s the best time to settle in and snuggle up with a good book. We’ve curated a list of regional-themed Christmas books and top picks of Appalachian literature and community development from 2011 to keep you engaged and entertained until the first bulbs start to bloom. Read more
The HillVille 