Book Reviews+Storytelling
Featured
-
Copyright Ashley T. Evans, 2023
Coming Down the Mountain
Sitting in the Innovation Brewing outpost taproom at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, writer David Joy takes a sip of his craft ale and pauses for a moment, slowly scanning the mountains cradling the school. Read more
-
The Intimate Process of Harvesting Medicinals
The whine of a lawnmower and the repetitive groan of a tinny engine struggling against thick grass finds my ear. It is always a lawnmower, or a weed eater, or a leaf blower, interrupting my attempt at solitude and on a Sunday no less. Read more
-
“We Will Always Love You”
On May 12, 2023, I trekked to Pigeon Forge from my home in Asheville with my two adult children for the opening day of Big Bear Mountain, the newest roller coaster. I’ve been taking them to Dollywood since they were small tots. Read more
-
An Embodied, Complex, Powerful Story
Those We Thought We Knew is the haunting, pitch perfect title of the latest novel by Western North Carolina’s own David Joy, who, at the ripe old age of 39 has already written more acclaimed novels than you can shake a stick at. Read more
-
David Cohen illustration
His Dr. Grabow
It was my job to clean my father’s tobacco pipe—his Dr. Grabow Royal Duke. This straight-stemmed model had a rich briar bowl and, I thought, looked regal. Read more
David Cohen illustration
His Dr. Grabow
It was my job to clean my father’s tobacco pipe—his Dr. Grabow Royal Duke. This straight-stemmed model had a rich briar bowl and, I thought, looked regal. Read more
Oct 1, 2023
Ralph Mayer, Saluda, North Carolina
Photo Essay, October 2023
Our readers share their fall photos. Read more
Oct 1, 2023
Courtesy of the Asheville Pack Memorial Library
Beacon Blankets
For four generations, Beacon Manufacturing Company in Swannanoa, North Carolina, created some of the most appealing blankets, crib blankets, hospital bedding and adult robes available in the United States. Read more
Feb 1, 2022
David Cohen illustration
A Good Pair of Shoes
In the 1960s, on Sunday mornings, I polished my father’s dress shoes. Rubbing the paste on with a rag, brushing then buffing them with a soft cloth, I made the leather shine like glass. Read more
Jul 30, 2023
On Losing A Tree
As Mother Nature and Alberta waged their seasonal war, the force of their dispute exceeded 60 miles per hour. The hemlock, which had survived decades of their drama, couldn’t take it another day and so she released the hold she had on this earth. Read more
Jul 1, 2023
Photo Essay, August 2023
Our readers share their images of summertime adventures Read more
Jul 30, 2023
Courtesy of the National Park Service Collections Preservation Center
A Conversation With the Smokies’ Recordkeeper
Mike Aday has been the librarian-archivist for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since 2013, when he left his post at Yosemite National Park to travel east and manage the Smokies’ impressive archival collection. Read more
May 29, 2023
Holly Kays photo
The Founding of Fluffy Butt Hut
My big chicken-keeping adventure started out as a throwaway conversation over beer. Between rounds at trivia night, a friend was talking about how she and her husband had accidentally hatched out too many chicks for their backyard flock that spring. Read more
May 29, 2023
