Attention, high school-age poets and their teachers, friends, and parents: a Youth Poet Laureate program is underway in West Virginia's capital city. Here are some details.
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“Appalachian Freshwater Pearls” by Owen P. Cramer
‘I took your freshwater pearls, harvesting them / from an archeological site you call “home.” / I left nothing behind to give you pride / in where you live / because pride is a sin …’
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“Teena’s Story (for Don West)” by Bob Henry Baber
‘When I was little he seemed as strong / as the mountains, / but after a shuttle buggy busted loose / and ran over top of him, breaking his back in four places, / he just wasn't the same …’
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5 QUESTIONS: From West Virginia to the San Francisco Bay and beyond
D. Scot Miller was a bright student from Dunbar, West Virginia, considered transgressive in class as he had a vision of how things might be better. What happened next bounced him to the other side of the country and a lively career as a writer, poet, thinker, and creator of The Afrosurreal Manifesto.
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A Poetry Sampler from D. Scot Miller
The poems "The New Body," "Afro-surreal Generation," Woodshed," and "AfterGraph" by D. Scott Miller
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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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“The Broken Poem” by John Berry
How God, Gravity, Silence, and Darkness whipped the universe into shape over the course of a few billion forevers ...
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“Watoga 2021” by James Cochran
‘Somewhere between Anhedonia and Ataraxy / we drive east on the turnpike in torrential / downpour, passing old man in rusted sedan / with driver's window down completely. / Is it broken, or is he just looking to feel something? …’
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VIDEOGRAPHIC POEMS: 3 to Go
You might call it video poetry, but how about the more colorful coinage of 'videographic poetry.' Some examples of animated poetics from TheStoryIsTheThing.com series "Poems To Go."
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“Fiery Thoughts” by Douglas John Imbrogno
‘I am a devoted householder / & secret reprobate. / I am an insomniac & / daring dreamer. / I am eternal & / dying as we speak. / I am a teller of truths / & serial liar, too …’
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INDEX: A guide to the August 2022 issue of WestVirginiaVille.com
Here's a linked guide to all the articles, essays, videos, and photographs in the August 2022 edition of WestVirginiaVille.com
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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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EDITOR/IAL: Score one — a big one — for Manchin
The Earth wins one (with some important caveats) as Joe Manchin finally steps up and does right by the Biden administration's grand climate hopes. It's not everything, but it is a serious something.
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FIRST/PERSON: Why I Have Four First Names
"They were both the most cussed, stubborn people you’d ever meet, my Dad and Mom, when they come together over something that stood them apart. “Both would not give up their position on the proper naming of you,” said K. “So, they agreed to disagree. And gave you all four names.”
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‘KEEP THE DOOR CLOSED’: Inside the chaotic week when West Virginia Republicans’ efforts to ban abortion stalled
“I can’t hear,” Senate President Craig Blair repeated from his dais. The body had just passed a bill that would ban nearly all abortions in West Virginia. The remaining pro-abortion rights protesters had packed themselves into the hallway beside the chamber in their 10th straight hour of demonstrations. “No justice! No peace!”
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FIRST/PERSON: ‘A Wild Woman Love Story’
Once upon a time, a round-faced girl with curly hair and identity issues was told by someone (that genuinely loved her) that she was not "model pretty" like her sister but that she could be "mother pretty" ...
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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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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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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
