Book Reviews & Storytelling

‘We’re All Ghosts’

Gravestones have lured visitors for centuries, beckoning them through stone passes or iron fences. Whether it’s a longing to connect with the past or a desire to explore one’s own mortality, people are fascinated with eternal resting places. Read more

Dry Those Eyes

Until my wife, Mary Pat, and I bought our first house, which included a dishwasher, our greatest ‘home appliance moment’ had been the purchase of a low-budget washer/dryer set. Read more

The Shiny Penny

I almost always slowed as I crossed the footbridge, because there was almost always something interesting for a boy to see in the clear, running waters of North Indian Creek. Read more

Sweet Soul Of The Smokies

There has never been a sizeable African-American population in the Smokies, and anecdotal evidence suggests that it may actually have decreased in the last half century. Certainly that’s the case in Swain County, North Carolina. Read more

‘Daydreams’ Become Classic Stories for Young Adults

Author Megan Shepherd has created worlds filled with fantastical and otherworldly characters by seeking inspiration from horror tales of an earlier age. Read more

Photo Essay, August 2019

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Blount County Patriarch

Life in the Great Smokies in the 19th century and during the pre-Park days of the 20th century might justifiably be described as arduous, hardscrabble, marginal, or demanding. Read more

Dr. Enuf Turns Seventy

In 1950, Mrs. Dan Smith of Elizabethton, Tennessee, started taking injections for a stomach ailment. But her discomfort continued into the summer of 1951. She decided to buy a carton of Dr. Enuf, a drink that had been introduced to East Tennessee. Read more

In Appalachia It’s the Women Who Brought Social Justice

Magic and A Sense of Wonder

When the Old Order Was Collapsing, and Chaos Raised a Temporary Throne

The Greatest of Their Gifts

Okay, I’m Hooked: A Review of Graham Hoppe’s Gone Dollywood

A Good Story Full of Treasures