You need several categories — performer, musician, actress, artist, etc. — to sum up the swath Ann Magnuson has cut through the cultural scene since leaving her hometown of Charleston WV. And there’s a reason she comes back so often.
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BEST/SHOT: Lights, Losers, Lovers, Lillies & Leaves
A sampling of a 'Best/Shot,' photograph from the multiple spires of West Virginia's capital all seen at once, to Autumn leaves, lily pads, and some thoughtful graffiti.
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POETRY/PERFORMED: Two Versions of “BOOM BOOM” by Crystal Good
Here are two versions of Crystal Good reading/performing her iconic poem "BOOM BOOM," which reflects on strip-mining mountains and women who strip off their clothes for money.
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PICTURE/SHOW: A West Virginia Walkabout from Elkins to Lost River
If you could use a West Virginia roadtrip, here's a vicarious one, traversing from Elkins to Lost River. You'll cover lots of ground. From August Heritage Center jamming at Davis & Elkins College, to the soothing solitude of Kimsey Run Lake in Lost River.
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ONE/PHOTO: What the thistle tells
'the ants quickly took to the milk thistle this year. her bloom doesn’t last long. maybe two days. they seem to be in sync with this knowing, almost as if there is a pulse they can feel when she begins her bloom.'
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VIDEO: “WATER/CLOUD/WIND/LEAF: A Hoeft Marsh Melody”
Hoeft Marsh in Greenbottom WV is where I go when I want to get off the timeline of the world's news. Here's a short, lyrical visit there. It's a little fishy, at the end.
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PICTURE/SHOW: Traces of Faces in West Virginia Places
Here are shots of West Virginia folk who passed within range of my phone the last six months, when I wasn't using it to order a pizza.
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WATCH LIST: Here are some things to look at, West Virginia-wise
Check out this version of variations on "Country Roads" by the Kanawha Valley Community Band which channels Aaron Copeland; plus a video of a crazy fitness guy sledding around Charleston WV; and more.
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‘HEY JOE’: Harmonically urging Joe to take climate action
In late 2021, a harmonic convergence of West Virginians came together on the statewide music video "Hey Joe," urging Joe Manchin to take decisive action on the climate crisis.
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PICTURE/SHOW: A taste for solitude & forests in West Virginia hill country
'Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild's fondness?'
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A first-hand story about an elephant’s birth in West Virginia
They had dreamed of an elephant for the parade that capped off All Together Arts Week in Mercer County. But where do you get an elephant? A group of artists and elephant enablers decided they must do what they had to do: manifest one.
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5 QUESTIONS: Spencer Elliott on the Art of the Guitar
Spencer Elliott's instrumental guitar persona is two-fold: as a genre-defying solo performer and in the burning-down-the-house trio SE3. Like many stellar players, he has kept his day job in West Virginia's capital, even as his international fanbase grows.
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MAN/MADE: A brief meditation on ‘Reflected Glory’
I may be obsessed with the way a glass-wall skyscraper in Charleston WV tries to re-define the sky. Each square of the building's many-eyed frontage is like a channel-surfing TV screen, displaying constant motion.
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A West Virginia hero’s life to be showcased June 23 at 2022 FestivALL Charleston
"The Wake Up Call," a documentary about the remarkable and heroic international life of West Virginia native Dave Evans, will be screened Thursday, June 23, 2022, in West Virginia's capital city as part of the citywide FestivALL Charleston 2022.
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First Streets in West Virginia
The streets of downtown Huntington have changed considerably since I began strolling them in 1980. So, too, have I.
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Buddhist daily life in backwoods West Virginia
A picture show and video of an unexpected place in the West Virginia woods. In the face of often overwhelming challenges of daily life, and horrors like the current attempted mugging of Ukraine, places that strengthen the spirit such as the Bhavana Society Buddhist forest monastery deep in West Virginia's hills are vital.
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Chris Haddox tells stories from the hills, plus unexpected ones, too
On the occasion of the March 2022 release of his CD of high songcraft from the Appalachian hills, here's the world-premiere music video of the Chris Haddox tune "A Soul Can't Rest in Peace Beside the Four Lane — and a chat with the artist about songwriting and life.
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Losing yourself in Lost River
Wandering the byways and backroads of the Lost River environs in eastern West Virginia, while trying to write a sorta memoir. An imagistic journey.
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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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Q&A: “Where Sky Meets Eternity” documents an extraordinary artistic hand-off in the WV hills
The documentary "Where Sky Meets Eternity” profiles an ambitious, offbeat art project from deep in the West Virginia hills, as 12 artists bounced off each other's work in often surprising, unexpected ways.
