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.
-
-
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.
-
‘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.
-
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?'
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
First Streets in West Virginia
The streets of downtown Huntington have changed considerably since I began strolling them in 1980. So, too, have I.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
PICTURE/SHOW: The Hills & Dales of Al Peery’s West Virginia
When it comes to Autumn in the West Virginia outback, nothing could be finer than Al Peery framing the scene from his wanderings in the West Virginia wilderness.
-
POEM: “Almost” by Marc Harshman
'The world will go on without me but for these few moments I am/ sitting on top of the world, a simple summer's day, away/ from the busy rush of roads, the scrolling of screens,/ almost off the map, almost heaven, almost where/ sky meets eternity ...'
-
SPOKEN/WORD: “The Cold Visitor” by Bobby Lee Messer
The autumn leaves brighten the rolling hills with a kaleidoscope of colors. Yet in the wings of all such beauty awaits The Cold Visitor. Watching. Waiting. Always present. | A Spoken Word multimedia performance of an original work by Bobby Lee Messer.
-
CLIMATE/CRISIS: Taking the measure of climate change in three short videos
In three short videos, take the measure of climate change. The climate crisis deepens every day, yet more and more people planet-wide awaken daily to the reality of what must be done to turn down the fever threatening the planet.
-
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.
-
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."
