No Lonesome Road

by West, Don; Biggers, Jeff; Brosi, George

• ISBN13: 9780252028878
• ISBN10: 0252028872
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

This is the first book to celebrate the life and writing of one of the most charismatic Southern leaders of the middle twentieth century, Don West (1906-1992). West was a poet, a pioneer advocate for civil rights, a preacher, a historian, a labor organizer, a folk-music revivalist, an essayist, and an organic farmer. He is perhaps best known as an educator, primarily as cofounder of the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee and founder of the Appalachian South Folklife Center in West Virginia. In his old age, West served as an elder statesman for his causes.No Lonesome Roadallows Don West to speak for himself. It provides the most comprehensive collection of his poetry ever published, spanning five decades of his literary career. It also includes the first comprehensive and annotated collection of West's nonfiction essays, articles, letters, speeches, and stories, covering his role at the forefront of Southern and Appalachian history, and as a pioneer researcher and writer on the South's little-known legacy of radical activism. Drawing from both primary and secondary sources, including previously unknown documents, correspondence, interviews, FBI files, and newspaper clippings, the introduction by Jeff Biggers stands as the most thorough, insightful biographical sketch of Don West yet published in any form.The afterword by George Brosi is a stirring personal tribute to the contributions of West and also serves as a thoughtful reflection on the interactions between the radicals of the 1930s and the 1960s.The best possible introduction to his extraordinary life and work, this annotated selection of Don West's writings will be inspirational reading for anyone interested in Southern history, poetry, religion, or activism.

Author Biography

Jeff Biggers is a writer based in Illinois and Italy George Brosi is a bookseller, authority on writings about Appalachia, and the editor of Appalachian Heritage. He teaches at Eastern Kentucky University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Selected prose
Clods of Southern Earth: Introduction (1946)	p. 3
The First Jew I Ever Met and the Devil's Den (1985)	p. 9
Hard Times Cotton Mill Girls (1979)	p. 14
Harry Harrison Kroll: An Essay (1986)	p. 18
Knott County, Kentucky: A Study (1932)	p. 22
Sweatshops in the Schools (1933)	p. 29
Georgia Wanted Me Dead or Alive (1934)	p. 30
Let Freedom Ring (1936)	p. 34
Thoughts of a Kentucky Miner (1936)	p. 36
Tobe-Boy (1940)	p. 38
Dreams (1944)	p. 42
Georgia Crisis (1947)	p. 44
Speaking of the Poet (1951)	p. 50
West Answers VFW's Letter (1955)	p. 51
We Southerners Have a Rendezvous with Destiny (1956)	p. 55
The Death of Old Major (1966)	p. 61
Jesus, the Quiet Revolutionary (1967)	p. 63
Romantic Appalachia; or, Poverty Pays If You Ain't Poor (1969)	p. 66
People's Cultural Heritage in Appalachia (1971)	p. 72
Robert Tharin: Biography of a Mountain Abolitionist (ca. 1970)	p. 79
In a Land of Plenty: No Copyright (1982-85)	p. 95
Selected poems
From Crab-Grass (1931)
Dedication	p. 99
Crab-Grass	p. 99
Bill Dalton's Wife	p. 100
Ole Kim Mulkey	p. 101
When I Am Old	p. 101
Denmark	p. 102
Mountain Reverie	p. 102
Mountaineer's Desire	p. 103
To--	p. 104
Prayer	p. 105
In Potters Field	p. 105
From Deep, Deep Down in Living (n.d.)
Deep, Deep Down in Living	p. 107
Mountain Widow	p. 107
Mountain Boy	p. 108
Harlan Portraits	p. 109
Brown Brother	p. 111
Epitaphs	p. 111
From Between the Plow Handles (1932)
A'Callin' Home th' Hogs	p. 112
Dark Winds	p. 113
Scratching in Memory	p. 114
I've Seen God	p. 115
Highlander Youth	p. 115
Between the Plow Handles	p. 116
From Toil and Hunger (1940)
Funeral Notes	p. 118
Anger	p. 119
What Shall a Poet Sing	p. 120
Symbols	p. 120
Visit	p. 121
Toil and Hunger	p. 121
Southern Nights	p. 122
Dark Night	p. 123
Hungry Old River	p. 124
Song of the Saw	p. 125
Stillborn	p. 127
Seeker	p. 128
They Take Their Stand	p. 129
Clodhopper	p. 130
Night on a Mill Hill	p. 131
Homecoming	p. 132
My South	p. 133
Georgia Mother	p. 135
From Clods of Southern Earth (1946)
Look Here, America	p. 137
Miner's Widow	p. 138
Should I Have Said	p. 139
And I Have Loved	p. 141
Harlan Coal Digger, 1934	p. 142
These I Remember	p. 143
Voice of the Cracker	p. 144
No Lonesome Road	p. 145
From The Road Is Rocky (1951)
There's Anger in the Land	p. 147
Sad, Sad America	p. 148
Question Mark	p. 149
Oh, Pity Those	p. 150
Advice to Would-Be Poets	p. 151
Where Tears of Sorrow	p. 151
Four Gifts for Man	p. 152
The Dangerous Ones	p. 153
These Things	p. 155
Remember Me	p. 155
These Songs of Mine	p. 155
From O Mountaineers! (1974)
Obituary for Despair	p. 157
The Kennedy Baby	p. 158
Automated Miner	p. 158
Confession	p. 159
Stereotypes	p. 160
The Blessed	p. 161
For These Sad Ashes	p. 161
If I Could Make You	p. 168
Hospital Waiting: May 8, 1963	p. 169
Old Homeplace	p. 173
There'll Be a Tomorrow	p. 174
Mountain Heritage	p. 176
Appalachian Blues	p. 176
From In a Land of Plenty (1982-1985)
When I Read the Report	p. 180
Girl of Matoaka	p. 182
Poor Little Rich Kids	p. 183
Funeral Notes 2	p. 184
Lolita Lebrun	p. 185
Visit to Lolita Lebrun's Home	p. 186
Great Day A-Coming	p. 186
They Who Exploit	p. 187
All of Them	p. 188
My Poem	p. 189
Something of America	p. 190
Afterword	p. 195
Notes to the Prose and Poems	p. 205
A Don West Bibliography	p. 217
Index	p. 219
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.