Spoon Theory
Morgan DePue on how good memories, childhood trauma, and chronic pain can all rest in the hollow of that wooden spoon you hold in your hand.
Stories
No Tears for Granny Vance
The last time she saw her Granny alive, she was only six and looking through a hospital window. But it wasn’t the last time she saw her. Not at all.
By Chrissie Anderson Peters /
All of These People Are Cousins
Almost a decade ago, Betsy Haywood began searching for the roots of her Raleigh family. She discovered her tribe was far broader than she ever expected.
By Joshua Steadman /
Fight From Away
Appalachians leave home for many reasons. But no matter where they go, mountain folks defend their people and culture.
By Neema Avashia /
Skin Don’t Lie
This week, we study what it means to be exactly who you are, hiding nothing.
By Chuck Reece /
Bare Bones
A Georgia professor of ecology offers a classic look at autumn—in the woods and in ourselves.
By Gary Grossman /
Blue Country Mystic
How Hiss Golden Messenger’s M.C. Taylor moved to North Carolina from California and found his voice in the South.
By Jay Moye /
Real Love
A Kentucky poet sings solidarity to the landscape, language, and love that claim her.
By Eleni Karelis /
Southern by Choice or Birth
A story about one who wasn’t born Southern but got here as quick as he could, plus two more from folks whose roots are deep in Appalachian soil.
By Chuck Reece /
A Whole-Town Family Reunion
In the mountain town of Blairsville, Georgia, an annual Sorghum Festival has celebrated Appalachian culture for over 50 years. And it kicks off again this weekend.
By Mikala Jones-Wall /
A Scrape of Fingernails
An excerpt from “The Caretaker,” the latest—and possibly final—novel from a titan of Appalachian literature, North Carolina’s Ron Rash
By Ron Rash /
Cornbread Is Personal
If you want to know me and my people, let me put a crusty wedge in your bowl.
By Justin Cox /
Where We Go From Here
Looking back through decades of struggle, uncertainty, and hope