As I did a deep dive into the multifaceted, and often convoluted, life of Jack Kerouac I came to see West Virginia as my version of Kerouac’s Lowell. He knew that Lowell was an integral part of his identity, which at times he embraced and at other times sought to cast off. I know that territory well.
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5 QUESTIONS: Going deep & writing wild in West Virginia
A Q-and-A conversation with Laura Jackson on her book "DEEP & WILD," about mountains, opossums, coyotes, writing, ramps, and that confounding state of mind known as West Virginia
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EXCERPTS | From ‘DEEP & WILD’ by Laura Jackson
Some excerpts from Laura Jackson's debut essay collection, 'DEEP & WILD: On Mountains, Opossums, & Finding Your Way in West Virginia.' SEE RELATED '5 QUESTIONS' with the author
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READINGS: “THE OUTHOUSE: When you have to go, you have to go”
Over there sits a narrow, tiny, upright building of loosely-fitted, weathered boards painted Theravada Buddhist orange. It has a peaked roof covered with black shingles. It is a monk’s outhouse in the Appalachian hills. I know who built it. He’s a friend of mine.
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Many Fights, One Big Fight
A new history of Local 1199 chronicles the history of a small, respected union that represents the overlooked and previously unrepresented workers of Local 1199. The book conveys the human longing for fairness within an often heartless industry.
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‘Desperate’ highlights fight for clean water in West Virginia coalfields
The fight for clean water is central to "Desperate," which tells the story of coal mining communities in southern West Virginia battling Massey Energy and Don Blankenship, for clean water.
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BOOK REVIEW: The True Story of West Virginia’s (Bourgeois) Revolution and Birth
The birth of West Virginia was more complex than the usual telling that it was born as a result of the Civil War. Industrial and labor forces were in play well before the war that would lead to a breakaway state carved out of western Virginia—with key support from Abe Lincoln, write the authors of the new book "Seceding from Secession."
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‘Hillsploitation’: Things to know before you watch “Hillbilly Elegy”
A consideration of the long history of "hillbillies' in West Virginian and American culture on the occasion of a movie based on "Hillbilly Elegy," whose author can at best claim status as "a hillbilly twice-removed."
