Critiques the work of Appalachian writer Gloria Houston who has written six children's books based on the culture and history of rural North Carolina. Her most successful work, "My Great-Aunt Arizona," presents an alternative to the usual stereotypes of backwoods teacher and school. Includes a bibliography of Appalachian children's…

Born in 1918, the youngest of 12 children, Walker Calhoun describes growing up on the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina. The schools turned the Cherokee against their old ways, but Walker learned many old songs and dances from his uncle, Will West. Since retirement, Walker has taught the dances and songs to children. His material has been…

Donald Secreast, author of two collections of stories about life in Appalachia, discusses how his experiences growing up in Lenoir, North Carolina; his parents' lives as factory workers; and his escape into academia influenced his writing. His work presents "place" as a far more complex and conflicted reality of Appalachia than do other…

Born in 1939 and raised in southwestern North Carolina, banjoist Raymond Fairchild discusses music, religion, the mountain life of his youth, education, racism, and politics from the unique perspective of one who "never did go to school enough to mess up none of my work." His firm belief in a self-made, self-educated person is reflected…