Charly Jupiter Hamilton speaks for himself in a three-part farewell to the beloved West Virginia artist that involves hippos and painted coffins. Plus, Michael and Carrie Nobel Kline on the tricky art of listening. And two famous character studies, imprisoned separately by booze and prison bars.
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THE/ARTS: Charly Jupiter Hamilton, in his own words
Charly Jupiter Hamilton reviews himself: "A lot of my feelings about my art — it's Catholic. You know? It has sin. Redemption. It has lust. It has love. It has hell. It has heaven in it. And I think that appeals to people ..."
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THE/ARTS: A public art boss on Charly Jupiter Hamilton’s bravura mural, an ArtBus & his artful coffin
The wonder of the 'Wonder Mural' in Charleston WV, the art and significance of public art according to West Virginia's capital city Public Arts director, and sending an artist off in artistic style.
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THE/ARTS: When Charly Jupiter Hamilton channeled hippo hearts & Shakespeare
A heap of hippopotamus hearts and famous American journalist's appreciation are two ways to recall the legacy of Charly Jupiter Hamilton.
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REVIEW: Channeling Dorothy Parker in West Virginia
Dorothy Parker was a figure out of a Dorothy Parker story. Fleshing out the life of the critic, poet, short-story writer and screenwriter after seeing her depicted in a fine new production of "You Might As Well Live" in St. Albans, W.Va.
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THE/PAST: When Socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs was sent to Moundsville Prison for making a speech
The story of how Socialist firebrand Eugene Debs once landed in the state penitentiary in Moundsville WV illustrates "how easy it is for Americans to vilify their own citizens and, when seized by fear or fashion, step on each other’s rights," says John W. Miller in this reprint from the Moundsville Blog.
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LISTEN/IN: Michael and Carrie Kline on the art and craft of of hearing & sharing stories
Michael and Carrie Kline sing and listen for a living. But what their songs and stories actually do is affirm "the depth and breadth of cultures under siege by forces of systemic oppression often threatening their very existence."
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EDITORS/NOTE: Look this way
Here is looking at you, Thomas, West Virginia. Plus, how a COVID test saved Jeff Seager's heart and maybe his life; a Crystal Good essay on Black miners and Blair Mountain; new poetry and prose by James Cochran from "I Am Appalachian," and how to get kids talking climate change before it's too late.
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PICTURE/SHOW: 36 Ways of Looking at Thomas WV
Thomas, West Virginia, is a bump in the road several thousand feet up in the mountain air. With a storied past, small-town European feel, and humming creative scene it's a special place in the hills. A photographic encounter.
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FIRST/PERSON: How COVID concerns ate my homework and (maybe) saved my life
Had I just been infected? Was he sick? It's a question we've learned to ask ourselves in this year and a half of plague. I had let my pandemic guard down.
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RE/PRINT: ‘Almost Heaven ’Til We Get There’: Black Miners and Blair Mountain
"I’m a sixth-generation West Virginian. My children are seventh-generation. My generational claim to Appalachia is subversive. It talks back to cavalier anti-Black stories of poor white redneck hillbillies and to the white people who claim an entire region as their own."
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READINGS: Three from “Corona Time Capsule”
'Feed Them on Peaches,' 'Grass Fire,' and '¡Ya Basta!' — three excerpts of poetry and prose from poet James Cochran's forthcoming book "Corona Time Capsule."
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VIDEO: Getting Kids Talking About Climate Change
The best time to address the growing crisis of global climate change was yesterday. The next best time is today. But how to get kids themselves talking about climate change? Here is a video than can help.
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EDITORS/NOTE: Hellzones & Heroes | Painters & Clouds | Gardens & Grief
A look at the lineup for the August 2021 issue of WestVirginiaVille, ranging from global bodhisattvas from the West Virginia hills, to painters, artists, actresses, and memoirists delving into their lived experiences in the Mountain State.
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HERO OF THE OPEN HEART: The Long, Strange Trip of Dave Evans’ Notable Life
He was a West Virginia coal miner’s son who lost his legs below the knees in a deadly ambush in Vietnam at age 18. What happened next sounds like a movie script. Dave Evans went on to work across the planet, building and fitting prosthetic legs, hands, and arm for thousands of adults and children in conflict zones worldwide. A look back at a remarkable life.
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BACK/THEN: On the Bad Streets of Ann Magnuson’s Charleston Upbringing
West Virginia native Ann Magnuson is an American actress and performance artist who was also once a girl growing up on the streets of Charleston, WV. Here's a short recollection of the the city's "bad" street from her girlhood.
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VIDEOS: The Pillars of the WV Climate Alliance
The West Virginia Climate Alliance is a coalition of nearly 20 West Virginia-based environmental organizations, faith-based, civil rights and civic groups with a focus on climate change. This short video describes the three pillars that drive Climate Alliance efforts to address "the most important and essential work of these times."
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MEMOIR: ‘The Garden and the Grief’ by Connie Kinsey
Gardens usually signify growth and the boundless, restorative invention of Nature. Yet what happens when they fall into tangles as life's misfortunes overwhelm and distract us from turning their soil? Connie Kinsey's short memoir on on the dance between her garden and her grief.
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ART/WORK: Sharon Lynn and the Path Taken
How do the paths we choose affect the choices in our lives? And where do begin the path? A new series of works by West Virginia artist Sharon Lyn looks at the first steps take on the paths in our lives.
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PHOTOSHOW: A high-up visit to Robert Singleton’s West Virginia studio
A portrait of the artist at age 84 in his sunlit West Virginia mountaintop studio. Robert Singleton is on a roll, adding another chapter to a remarkable life. Here's what he looks like at work.
