The Read on WNC

The newest release from Star Route Books, Four Brothers in Gray, is now available! The book tells the story of Confederate soldiers Andy, Harrison, Calvin and Alfred Proffit. Star Route Books reprinted the book with permission from Wilkes Community College…See More

1 hour ago

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Rob Neufeld posted discussions

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10 hours ago

Malaprop's Bookstore Cafe posted events

POLITICS OF FOOD BOOKCLUB
July 29, 2013 from 7pm to 9pm
ALL ROMANCE ALL THE TIME BOOKCLUB
July 16, 2013 from 7pm to 9pm
Malaprop's Graphic Novel Bookclub: Comix Club
July 16, 2013 from 7pm to 9pm

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16 hours ago

Rob Neufeld posted a discussion

Barefoot in the Snow by Julia Nunnally Duncan

Marion poet cradles the individuals in her lifeby Rob NeufeldReview of: Barefoot in the Snow by Julia Nunnally Duncan (World Audience trade paper, Apr. 2013, 67 pages) “The Loving Child” might be an alternate title for Julia Nunnally Duncan’s new book of poems, “Barefoot in the Snow.” Her title poem…See More

Monday

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Landon Godfrey posted an event

Vandercooked Poetry Nights at Asheville BookWorks at Asheville BookWorks

June 1, 2013 from 7pm to 8:30pm

Asheville BookWorks Inaugurates Broadside & Reading Series: Vandercooked Poetry Nights Asheville BookWorks, a community resource for print and book arts, introduces Vandercooked Poetry Nights, a reading series that offers the public the opportunity to print letterpress broadsides at the series events. The first Vandercooked Poetry Night is Saturday, June 1, 2013. Printing begins at 7:00 p.m. The reading begins at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Asheville BookWorks will…See More

Monday

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Celia Miles posted a blog post

Celia Miles' new novel, sequel to Sarranda, is available in paper and Kindle

http://www.celiamiles.comSarranda's Heart: A Love Story of Place is now available in regional independent bookstores and on Kindle, soon on Amazon.See More

Saturday

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Rob Neufeld posted discussions

Saturday

Sue Diehl posted an event

Montreat College Friends of the Library--Tommy Hays, speaker at Montreat College Gaither Fellowship Hall

June 15, 2013 from 12pm to 2:30pm

June 15, 2013 Annual luncheon of the Montreat College Friends of the Library. Tommy Hays will be speaking about his novel The Pleasure Was Mine and previewing his upcoming What I Came to Tell You. Lunch at 12:00 noon in Gaither Fellowship Hall. $15.00 for lunch and speaker. Speaker only at 1:00 pm in adjacent Gaither Chapel $10.00. Annual dues: $15.00Reservations: 828-669-8012 Ext. 3502 or 3504See More

May 17

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All Blog Posts Tagged 'appalachia' (84)

Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma & The Firefly Dance

Thank you for a wonderful morning on the writer panel at the Delta Kappa Gamma Society chapter, a wonderful society of women educators!

A…

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Added by Kathryn Magendie on September 10, 2011 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Ola Belle Reed

I discovered the music of Ola Belle Reed about 6 months ago. How I missed her all my life-I'll never know. One afternoon when I picked the girls up…

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Added by Tipper on August 16, 2011 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Undone In Sorrow

Over yonder in the graveyard Where the wild wild flowers grow Oh there laid my own true lover He's gone from me forever…

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Added by Tipper on August 16, 2011 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Appalachian Writers

I first met Charles Fletcher over a year ago-I can't remember how we met for sure if it was through the Blind Pig or maybe through The Read on WNC. But it didn't take us long to figure out we had much in common. We both shared a great love for Western NC and East TN-the mountains-the culture-the traditions-and most of all the people. As often happens when you make new friends-we…

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Added by Tipper on December 5, 2010 at 10:10am — No Comments

Appalachian Writers

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon the writing of Vicki Lane-I think it was when someone told me about her blog. I soon realized she lived in the mountains of NC just like I did-even better she lived in the county my Papaw was from-Madison-and near the little town of Marshall that Pap was named after. As I poked around her site-it became evident that she and I had much in…

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Added by Tipper on October 1, 2010 at 6:00pm — 2 Comments

Appalachian Writers

(Photo by Valorie Luhr)

It's been three years since I first met Glenda Beall. We submitted one of Chitter's poems to a Poetry Contest for children-Chitter didn't win a prize-but through the contest we won a…

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Added by Tipper on April 13, 2010 at 7:30am — No Comments

Garden Folklore From Appalachia

A recent comment left on the Blind Pig & the Acorn by B. Ruth got me to thinking about all the old folklore I've heard about the garden and about the outdoors in general.

Never plant vegetables that sound alike together. Think potato and tomato. (Pap told me that one)
Never say thank you if someone shares their flowers or plant cuttings with you-if you do the…

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Added by Tipper on March 17, 2010 at 10:30am — No Comments

Appalachian Vocabulary Test 16

Time for this month's Appalachian Vocabulary Test. Take it and see how you do:

Hippens
Hunker
Hisn
Hear tell
Hesh up

Hippens-diapers. "When you bring little Suzy over day after tomorrow, don't forget her…

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Added by Tipper on February 23, 2010 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Appalachian Writers

I'd like to introduce you to Peggy Poe Stern-have you ever heard of her? I've only known her a few months-I believe she may be one of the best kept secrets of Western NC.

I stumbled onto Peggy's website one day-and once I realized she was an Appalachian Writer I began to click around-all of my clicking landed me on an excerpt from one of her books. I could not stop… Continue

Added by Tipper on January 30, 2010 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Hog Killing In Appalachia

All one has to do is to take a walk through the local grocery store's meat department to see the variety it holds. Back in the day-before meat was so readily available-pork was the staple meat for most mountain families.

In the very early days-before the chestnut blight-most folks in Appalachia let their hogs free range and forage for their own food. After the blight, and as the land became more populated-folks kept their hogs closer to… Continue

Added by Tipper on January 23, 2010 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Happy New Year from the Blind Pig & The Acorn

As I look back over 2009 I'm happy with the progress made over on the Blind Pig & The Acorn site-mostly I'm thankful I have great readers who have made 2009 a banner year for the Blind Pig.

Each post I write in an effort to promote, preserve, and celebrate Appalachian culture and heritage is made better by the comments folks leave. Maybe they don't realize it-but each one is part…

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Added by Tipper on January 2, 2010 at 11:30am — No Comments

Appalachian Writers

A few months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite writers, Marshall McClung. Marshall's writing style and choice of subject matter reminds me of John Parris, who was well known for his Roaming the Mountains newspaper column in the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Marshall McClung is a… Continue

Added by Tipper on December 31, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

I Wonder As I Wander: Murphy, NC 1933

Murphy 1930s Courtesy of Cherokee Co. Historical Museum

Last Christmas Pap loaned me a book someone had bought him, Stories Behind the Best Loved Songs of Christmas. He knew I'd find the history of the songs interesting and I did-but I was surprised to learn, one Christmas song originated right here in my back yard.…

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Added by Tipper on December 17, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Gritted Bread

After Pap showed me how to parch corn-he told me about gritted bread. Pap recalls 2 types of bread being called gritted bread. The first was made by using fresh corn that had been allowed to dry slightly overnight or a little longer. A grater-usually homemade-was used to remove the corn from the cob. After mixing sodie (baking soda),… Continue

Added by Tipper on December 3, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Appalachian Vocabulary Test 13

Time for this month's Vocabulary Test:

1.Gall

2.Gander

3.Give out

4.Give in

5.Go devil

1.Gall-nerve. "The gall of her to talk about me after I bent over backwards to help her!"

2.Gander-look, stare. "Take a gander at that set of woods and see if you don't think it'd be a good place to hunt."

3.Give out-tired. "After a long day at work I'm usually give out."

4.Give in-to announce or submit.… Continue

Added by Tipper on November 18, 2009 at 1:12pm — No Comments

Appalachian Vocabulary Test 13

Added by Tipper on November 18, 2009 at 1:12pm — No Comments

Gathering Corn

When Pap was a boy, corn was the most important crop folks grew-I guess it still is for many farmers. Corn not only helped people survive through the winter-it was also necessary to ensure the farm animals survived the winter months too.

Here in the Southern Highlands of Appalachia, it was typical for folks to leave their corn in the field until it had been frosted on a few times and was completely dried out before the process of… Continue

Added by Tipper on November 18, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

What To Do For A Toothache

Ever have a toothache? In my opinion, a toothache is one of the most aggravating and painful problems to have. Lucky for folks today relief is usually just a phone call away.

Back in the day-things were a little different. Dentists weren't plentiful, it was hard to get into town to see one, and even if you could-you might not have the money needed to pay the bill. As with most ailments-there are tons of old medicinal remedies for… Continue

Added by Tipper on October 13, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Katy Did Folklore

As summer gives way to fall-one of the things I will miss-is the nightly song of Katydids around my house. Earlier this summer while attending a contra dance, I stepped outside to try to escape the heat. A gentleman remarked to me that nights in this part of the US were really loud. Took me a minute to figure out-he was talking about the Katydids.

Each spring I anxiously await the katydid chorus-thinking this will be the year that… Continue

Added by Tipper on October 13, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Bleaching Apples The Old Time Way

I've written about drying apples before-but have always been interested in learning more about the way folks in Appalachia bleached apples by using a sulfur smoking method. Recently I read a wonderful clear account of the tradition from John Parris's These Storied Mountains. The ladies he interviewed lived in the Bethel area of… Continue

Added by Tipper on September 28, 2009 at 11:30am — No Comments