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Let’s get this straight immediately: If you want to make friends with the good people of the mountains, you’d better pronounce the name of their home the way they do. When you say Appalachia, make it sound like ‘throw an apple atcha.’
This fabled region of the US includes parts of 12 states and the entirety of West Virginia. It encompasses forested peaks and deep hollers (the local name for valleys) along the Appalachian Mountains that stretch from Canada to Alabama.
Although the population is predominantly of white Scots-Irish or German descent, about 10% of the population is African-American. But circa the 1700s, it was a melting pot that blended white, Black, and Native Americans. That means there’s damn good food, foot-stomping music, and a lively storytelling tradition, along with long-held wisdom about the importance of kin, living in harmony with nature, and being self-reliant.
In this episode, we discuss Appalachian folklore, celebrate the magic of Dolly Parton, listen to eerie country ballads, and daydream about banana pudding. Then we recommend five immersive books that took us to Appalachia on the page, including a gripping short story collection, an irresistible travelogue cookbook, and three novels that present wildly different versions of life in the mountains.
Read the full transcript of Appalachia: Buttermilk Biscuits, Bluegrass, and a Big Blue Moon.
From Paste: 10 Great Appalachian Albums.
Tales of Southern Haints answers the question, What is a haint? And here’s a rundown of the Southern traditions meant to repel haints and spirits.
USA Today weighs in on 10 great places to explore in Appalachia, from a NASA museum in Alabama to rafting in West Virginia.
Here are 21 awesome reasons to hike the Appalachian Trail and 8 reasons not to do it, plus 5 myths about hiking the iconic trail.
Grew up dirt poor, one of 12 children. Went on to write ‘Jolene,’ ‘I Will Always Love You,’ and ‘9 to 5.’ She has sold 100 million records. Starred in 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias. She has an amusement park in Tennessee called Dollywood. She is worth an estimated half a billion dollars. And she has been honored in at least 14 Halls of Fame, including the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and, soon, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Statement 2: An airplane was once forced to make an emergency landing because a woman would not stop singing ‘I Will Always Love You’ in midair. CNN covers the story with the appropriate level of gravitas. You 100% want to see the video in that story.
Cleanse that terrible sound from your mind with Dolly and Kenny singing ‘Islands in the Stream.’
Statement 3: Dolly Parton is directly responsible for a global increase in literacy. Here’s the official website for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
You can never have too much Dolly Parton in your life. So here’s Dolly Parton’s America, a 9-part podcast from NPR.
The novel The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson tells the fictional version of the true stories of the blue people of Kentucky and the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project.
Smithsonian Magazine did a great piece on the Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians.
Leah Hampton is the author of F*ckface. This is her website, and here’s an excellent audio interview in which she talks about Appalachia and why her stories had to be set there.
Ronni Lundy is the author of Victuals and the founder of the Southern Foodways Alliance. Here’s an interview with the author at Epicurious.
The recipe for Sweet and Savory Banana Pudding! Originally served at The Shack in Staunton, Virginia.
Kayla Rae Whitaker is the author of The Animators. She talked to The Guardian and the Writer’s Center about her debut novel.
Sharyn McCrumb is the author of She Walks These Hills and a dozen other Ballad Novels. Here’s her website and an interview with The Appalachian Voice.
In this video, she talks about the geological and cultural connections between Appalachia and Great Britain.
It would hardly be a trip to Appalachia without some great music. Here are a few starting places for you:
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Strong Sense of Place is a website and podcast dedicated to literary travel and books we love. Reading good books increases empathy. Empathy is good for all of us and the amazing world we inhabit.
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