Bert is a young girl growing up in the hills of Kentucky in the 1930s. With a coalminer father and a midwife mother life was never boring or easy, but with the love of her family anything is possible. When the family falls victim to injuries, illness, and a family death that all falls apart. She goes from having a poor happy family to a well off miserable family almost overnight. She starts to feel more like a slave than a daughter, never really fitting in to her new life. All she wants is a place to belong, but does she have to run away from home to fine it?
What does it mean to call a place home? Who is allowed to become a member of a community? When can we say that we truly belong? These are some of the questions of place and belonging that renowned cultural critic bell hooks examines in her new book, Belonging: A Culture of Place. Traversing past and present, Belonging charts a cyclical journey in which hooks moves from place to place, from country to city and back again, only to end where she began--her old Kentucky home. hooks has written provocatively about race, gender, and class; and in this book she turns her attention to focus on issues of land and land ownership. Reflecting on the fact that 90% of all black people lived in the agrarian South before mass migration to northern cities in the early 1900s, she writes about black farmers, about black folks who have been committed both in the past and in the present to local food production, to being organic, and to finding solace in nature. Naturally, it would be impossible to contemplate these issues without thinking about the politics of race and class. Reflecting on the racism that continues to find expression in the world of real estate, she writes about segregation in housing and economic racialized zoning. In these critical essays, hooks finds surprising connections that link of the environment and sustainability to the politics of race and class that reach far beyond Kentucky. With characteristic insight and honesty, Belonging offers a remarkable vision of a world where all people--wherever they may call home--can live fully and well, where everyone can belong.
Profiles of 100 prominent African Americans of St. Louis reveal challenges faced by Blacks throughout the 20th century. Men and women from fields including medicine, education, music, journalism, and business relate their experiences of racism, obstacles they overcame in their professions, and lessons that life has taught them. An introduction paints a picture of 100 years of the city's history. The book includes portraits of each person profiled by Wiley Price, a prizewinning photojournalist for the St. Louis American. Wesley and Morris are affiliated with the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
In this book, I wanted to share my amazing story with not only my friends but with others and to let everyone know how my story all began. In looking back and at the things that I have seen in my travels that God has created for you and me hold a life time of memories I have been blessed with such an amazing life and my journey has not ended as my journey continues on and I can't wait for the next Chapter. So let our amazing journey began and I hope that you like my story
James Still remains one of the most beloved and important writers in Appalachian literature. Best known for his acclaimed novel River of Earth (1940), the Alabama native and adopted Kentuckian left an enduring legacy of novels, stories, and poems during his nearly seventy year career. The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still honors the late writer by collecting all of Still's short stories, including his stories from On Troublesome Creek (1941), Pattern of a Man and Other Stories (1976), and The Run for the Elbertas (1980), as well as twelve prose pieces originally published as short stories and later incorporated into River of Earth. Also included are several lesser-known stories and ten never-before-published stories. Recognized as a significant writer of short fiction in his day -- many of his stories initially appeared in The Atlantic and The Saturday Evening Post and were included in The O. Henry Memorial Award Stories and The Best American Short Stories collections -- Still's short stories, while often overshadowed in recent years by his novels and poetry, are among his most enduring literary works. Editor Ted Olson offers a reassessment of Still's short fiction within the contexts of the author's body of work and within Appalachian and American literature. Compiling all of James Still's compelling and varied short stories into one volume, The Hills Remember is a testament to a master writer.
In 1946, at the age of 41, Janice Holt Giles wrote her first novel. Although it took her only three months to complete the first draft, working at night so as not to conflict with her secretarial job, it was another four years before The Enduring Hills was published. Three years later, when her sixth novel appeared, Janice Holt Giles's works had accumulated sales of nearly two million copies. Between 1950 and 1975 she wrote twenty-four books, most of which were bestsellers, regularly reviewed in the New York Times, and selected for inclusion in popular book clubs. Her picture held pride of place in her literary agent's New York office, alongside those of Willa Cather, H.G. Wells, and Edith Wharton, yet until now there has been no biography of this immensely popular American writer. Humbly professing to be "just a good storyteller," Giles was a keen observer of life with great sensitivity, an ear for language, and a superb imagination. Her artistic achievements become even more remarkable when placed in the context of her often difficult personal struggles. Dianne Watkins Stuart, for years the acknowledged expert on Giles's work, has traced the path of her unique life. Stuart walked around the small house where Giles's brother was born and The Kinta Years (1973) had its origin, wandered through the yard where The Plum Thicket (1954) grew, and made countless trips to Adair County, Kentucky, to trace the trails of the Piney Ridge trilogy (The Enduring Hills, Miss Willie, Tara's Healing) and seek out the day-to-day life of her later years. Stuart's long-anticipated biography provides both a narrative of Giles's life and an in-depth description of the art and commerce of American publishing in the middle years of the century.
AnnaBelle's Spirit" is the follow-up to "The Journey, The Dreams, & AnnaBelle" The writing in this book takes the story to the next level, adding more depth to the already troubling life of AnnaBelle and her two daughters. It tells of her first husband, how he destroyed her young dreams, and forever altered her faith and trust in men. Leaving her with two small children, and a mountain of debt that she alone would have to deal with. Then came the "step -dad from hell". The girls jokingly referred to him as "Daddy Dearest". He ruled their lives for nine miserable years before they were rid of him. AnnaBelle moved her daughters from St Petersburg, eventually settling in Indianapolis. AnnaBelle's work brought her in contact with politicians, movie stars, racers, and then the DiMaggio family after a move to San Francisco. There would never be another man in her life to tell her what to do, or intimidate her daughters. Although this story focuses on AnnaBelle, it eventually includes life from Carolyn's perspective. It follows both women on a journey through a lifetime of challenges, dreams, and temptations. One of Carolyn's decisions continues to haunt her dreams, as well as her waking hours. Both she and her mother possess the gypsy spirit that would prove to be difficult to control at times. The continuing saga of the Wicker and Bollan women attests to the strength of these families. From 1924 to 2007, a lifetime of dreams, a lifetime of journeys. Throughout the book you will find the subtle humor Carolyn uses in everyday life. You will also find family photographs that span the timeline of the story. As with her first book, she hopes this will bring the family to life for her readers.
