Marshall U. prof Bill Price has a Ph.D. in Biomolecular Physics, reads Sanskrit (but says he's not fluent), and has pages of peer-reviewed publications on his Curriculum Vitae. He also plays the harmonium, had a Naval Academy appointment and began yoga at age 11.
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CHARACTERS | The One-Armed Bandit of No. 1 Holler, West Virginia
The story of the "The One-Armed Bandit" is the stuff of heroes and legends. You may not know Gary Mays' tale, however, as the major league career the West Virginia native might have had may have been blocked by racism. Yet nothing ever kept Gary down for long. | By Douglas John Imbrogno, reprint of 2016 Charleston Gazette story
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CHARACTERS: “The Hobo Girl” had many names and left many stories
Beautiful and mysterious — and ultimately tragic — was "The Hobo Girl" who traveled the country with her dog Ashes, like a footloose wanderer from another era. One day, she wandered into St. Albans WV.
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CHARACTERS, PART 1: A music video about how I never slept with Allen Ginsberg
What do you get when you mix famous poet Allen Ginsberg, a bonfire deep in the West Virginia hills, an interview, and a recording studio. Well, 30 years later you get a music video.
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CHARACTERS, PART 2: Allen Ginsberg speaks up in West Virginia
In Part 2 of our Allen Ginsberg in West Virginia history, we reprint an interview with the poet who was featured at the 1983 WV Writers Inc., conference deep in the West Virginia hills.
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COVERSTORY: CHARACTERS: “When Earl Went to War”
American men of Earl Goodall's generation are famously not forthcoming about their psychological states or what it's like to go to war, people dying in front of and beside you. But this Korean War vet communicates all you need to know about that 'Forgotten War.'
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CHARACTERS: The West Virginia brain drain made one of the world’s greatest popstars
In a new edition of our 'Characters' series, we reprint a John W. Miller piece on Lady Gaga's West Virginia roots—and how her Northern Panhandle grandma lifted her up at a low moment, sending her packing back to New York with instructions to "kick some ass."
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CHARACTERS | The “Spark-eyed” Vision of WV Poet Bob Snyder
Influential West Virginia-native poet Bob Snyder died in 1995. But a new collection of his poetry exemplifies why, says a fellow poet: "Every West Virginia writer should know Bob. At least know about him. You may not ever get the whole story, but this book will help you understand some of it."
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CHARACTERS: A Portrait of the Artist in Her Garden
Sassa Wilkes paints every day. Now, she is painting in a different fashion, using the Earth as a palette. A portrait of a West Virginia artist growing things in a big way for the first time, thanks to Covid-19.
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CHARACTERS | Recalling Stick Artist-Poet-Philosopher-Shaman Boyd Carr
Boyd Carr, who died at age 88 this summer, was many things. West Virginia-based poet Kirk Judd recalls a man he describes as "one of the few true geniuses I have known. He was brilliant in his use of language and in the art of storytelling."
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CHARACTERS: A Rebel of the Decidedly Non-Confederate Sort
She hated several things, one of which she called“narrowmindedness,” a catchall term for her that included racism, religious bigotry, homophobia, science-denying, disapproval of card playing, abstinence from wine and other offenses against humanity.
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One night, out strolling in the cool, high air of Appalachia
Take a break from worrying about the fate of the Republic, beyond the locked gates of a forested park where the pine trees offer fine company and conversation and the view from on high poses some good questions.
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GUEST ESSAY: ‘Dad, Donald Trump and My Mountain Mama’
"As limited as his formal education was, dad was a smart and insightful person. I think he would have seen through Trump’s use and manipulation of a religious faith that was the sustaining factor in my dad’s life ..."
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INDEX: A Guide to Stories in the November 2022 issue of WestVirginiaVille
Here is a clickable guide to all the articles, profiles, Q-and-As, videos and whatnot in the November 2022 edition of WestVirginiaVille.com
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‘A farm woman wrapped up with a world-class poet’: Irene McKinney in her own words
Irene McKinney was a nationally-praised poet and West Virginia’s very down-to-earth poet laureate. As the Hiram Poetry Review said: “Even people who think they don’t like poetry end up loving Irene, her sense of humor, her 'rhythmic, beautifully ordinary speeches of the heart.'”
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5 QUESTIONS: Creating the universe with God, Gravity, Darkness & friends
John Berry is not shy in taking on poetic tasks, including "The Broken Poem and Other Strange Ideas About God," which tracks the offhand creation of the universe as God and buddies like Gravity and Darkness lend a hand.
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EDITORS/NOTE: About our August 2022 Issue from legislators to Lost River, thistles to abortion bans
In the midst of all the normal chaos of American and West Virginian political life, some good news breaks out. Plus, some worthy tales from worthy lives around the state. An overview of WestVirginiaVille's August 2022 edition.
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PASSINGS: Recalling the ironic, sardonic, compassionate writings of PJ Laska
"It would be impossible for me to do justice either to his writing or to his intellectual prowess. But I will say, as a man, he always sought to share what he knew and never once came across as anything other than a person who could learn from any and everyone ..."
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EDITORS/NOTE: About our ‘Memoirs of Daily Life’ Issue
to devote so many pages and pixels to writers, poets, and memoirists, who issue dispatches from the front lines of their lives or the imagined lives of characters, is not to take a step away from Important Things and Essential Matters. At their best, poetry and prose are no less a form of truth-telling ...
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EDITORS/NOTE: May 4, 2022
A few words — indirectly via Bob Dylan — about the reason why life in West Virginia can be sweet. Plus, what's up in the jam-packed May 2022 issue of WestVirginiaVille.com
