Backcountry : Contemporary Writing in West Virginia

by McKinney, Irene

• ISBN13: 9780937058725
• ISBN10: 0937058726
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: West Virginia Univ Pr

Summary

This collection of contemporary short stories, essays, and poems addresses the powerful effect the Mountain State has had on its native sons and daughters. With contributions by such noted West Virginia writers as Jayne Anne Phillips, Maggie Anderson, Mary Lee Settle, Davis Grubb, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Louise McNeill, Richard Currey, and Irene McKinney (West Virginia's Poet Laureate, who also edited this anthology), the selections in Backcountry paint a picture of the Mountain State that is at once haunting, hilarious, and magical.

Author Biography

This anthology of contemporary fiction and poetry from West Virginia writers titled Backcountry: Contemporary Writing in West Virginia is edited by our state’s poet laureate, Irene McKinney. It features a wealth of fiction and poetry by some of the best writers in West Virginia over the last half century. More of West Virginia’s writers will be featured in future collections of contemporary writing published by the WVU Press. The authors included in Backcountry are Maggie Anderson, Tom Andrews, Pinckney Benedict, Richard Currey, Mark DeFoe, Victor Depta, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Denise Giardina, Davis Grubb, Lisa Koger, Lee Maynard, Llewellyn McKernan, John McKernan, Irene McKinney, Louis McNeill, Ann Pancake, Breece D’J Pancake, Jayne Anne Phillips, Timothy Russell, Mary Lee Settle, A. E. Stringer, and Meredith Sue Willis.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	x
Introduction	1	(12)
Maggie Anderson
Marginal	13	(1)
Independence Day, Terra Alta, West Virginia 1935	14	(1)
Among Elms and Maples, Morgantown, West Virginia, August 1935	15	(1)
Mining Camp Residents, West Virginia, July, 1935	16	(1)
Spitting in the Leaves	17	(1)
Long Story	18	(3)
Ontological	21	(1)
Mary Lee Settle
From Addie: A Memior	22	(14)
Mark DeFoe
Late Winter Snow: South of Morgantown, WV	36	(1)
Leaving the Hills	37	(2)
Driving the Gauley River, Listening to the Radio	39	(1)
The Former Miner Returns from His First Day as a Service Worker	40	(1)
Air	41	(1)
Pinckney Benedict
The Sutton Pie Safe	42	(8)
Odom	50	(15)
Tom Andrews
Hymning the Kanawha	65	(8)
Evening Song	73	(1)
Lisa Koger
Extended Learning	74	(19)
Louise McNeill
Memoria	93	(1)
The Roads	94	(1)
Granny Saunders	95	(1)
The Long Traveller	96	(2)
The Road	98	(1)
The River	99	(1)
Meredith Sue Willis
Family Knots	100	(7)
Timothy Russell
In Dubio	107	(1)
In Aegri Somnia	108	(1)
In Consideratione Praemissorum	109	(1)
In Actu	110	(2)
Lee Maynard
From Crum	112	(17)
Llewellyn McKernan
Aunt Anna	129	(2)
The Peaceful Kingdom	131	(2)
The Only Old Timer in the Neighborhood	133	(3)
In Spring	136	(1)
Denise Giardina
Rondal Lloyd	137	(15)
Davis Grubb
The Burlap Bag	152	(10)
A.E. Stringer
Ruins in Reverse	162	(1)
Listen	163	(1)
My Friend Told Me	164	(1)
Richard Currey
The Wars of Heaven	165	(8)
John McKernan
On the Edge of Highway 10 North	173	(3)
Breece D'j Pancake
Trilobites	176	(12)
Fox Hunters	188	(16)
Victor Depta
The Mad Whore of Peachtree	204	(2)
It Didn't Come from Hallmark	206	(1)
When Your Ego Bloats	207	(1)
Charlene's Ex	208	(1)
Ann Pancake
Jolo	209	(15)
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Sin Boldly	224	(8)
Irene McKinney
Twilight in West Virginia: Six O'Clock Mine Report	232	(2)
Deep Mining	234	(2)
Visiting my Gravesite: Talbott Churchyard, West Virginia	236	(1)
Fodder	237	(1)
For Women Who Have Been Patient All Their Lives	238	(2)
Viridian Days	240	(2)
Jayne Anne Phillips
Cheers	242	(1)
Bess	243	(16)
Louise McNeill
A Patch of Earth	259	(3)
Night At The Commodore	262	(5)
About the Contributors	267