2008 – Issue 1 (January)
Review: A Hard Journey: The Life of Don West
James J. Lorence, A Hard Journey: The Life of Don West (University of Illinois Press) Review by Kirk R. MacGregor appvoices.org/books In this comprehensive and insightful biography of radical Appalachian poet, preacher, and social activist Don West (1906-92), James J. Lorence, professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin, Marathon County, carefully traces the…
Read MoreWhen the Buffalo Roamed
A curious characteristic of Appalachian geography is the number of features- creeks, knobs, hollows, etc. – with “buffalo” in their name. This beast from the western plains seems as out-of-place in the forests of Appalachia as a saguaro cactus on the Blue Ridge. In colonial times though, buffalo were found throughout much of eastern North…
Read MoreReview: Strange as This Weather Has Been
/images/AppalachianVoice/Jan_2008/strange_circle.gif Strange as This Weather Has Been by Ann Pancake Shoemaker and Hoard Some novels are so good you can’t put them down, but Ann Pancake’s book is not one of those. Strange as This Weather Has Been is the better sort of book, the kind you have to put aside every few pages just…
Read MoreSaving Place: Art in Nature
Theresa L. Burriss is an assistant professor at Radford University. She is currently working on a book entitled Women of Change, Women of Courage: Appalachian Activists, to be published by the University of Tennessee Press. Natural beauty abounds in Appalachia, and it inspires artists and scientists equally. In a discussion at Radford University entitled “Saving…
Read MoreHiking in the Highlands: The Virginia Creeper Trail
You can hike it. You can bike it. You can take it by horseback or on cross-country skis. Zipping across most of eastern Washington County, the Virginia Creeper Trail is a multi-use recreational trail linking downtown Abingdon to the North Carolina border near Grayson County’s Whitetop community. The 34-mile-long trail is the former site of…
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