"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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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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‘HERO OF THE OPEN HEART’: A WV native’s global humanitarian life showcased in documentary
When "The Wake Up Call" make its West Virginia debut June 23, 2022 in the state's capital city, the documentary will train a lingering spotlight on a remarkable global humanitarian life which ranged far beyond the Appalachian hills where Dave Evans was born.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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IN MEMORIUM: Giancarlo DiTrappano
Recalling "Tyrant" book editor, "bad boy" of publishing, and Charleston, West Virginia native Giancarlo DiTrappano.
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PASSAGES: Sister Mary Pellicane Moves On at 99
A look back at the long life of Sister Mary Pellicane, who died today at age 99, at the Catholic retreat house in West Virginia's capital city that she helped found.
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BLACK HISTORY 1: ‘I was first-class in my own mind’
As part of our Black History Month coverage, here is the tale of Mountain State native Joe Turner, part of a pioneering officer class of Black West Virginians who served with distinction in Vietnam and beyond.
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ARCHIVES: Revisiting West Virginia’s Connection to “Gilligan’s Island”
The death from COVID of the actress who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island" is another sad pandemic casualty. Her passing is an occasion to recall the connection West Virginia has to the iconic television show from the 1960s.
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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."
