Books, Writing, & Editing
Things I Want to Say
“We Are Not A House Divided”
My friend KT Peterson and I embarked on a writing challenge on August 4-5: write 10,000 words and the read an excerpt from it. The title of this piece is “We Are Not A House Divided.”
About That Thing You Ask Me About Hillbilly Elegy
That’s where the single narrative becomes so dangerous. Because people don’t know the history of the region, and they don’t understand its problems. Yet many of those same people have a great number of preconceived notions they aren’t afraid to unleash.
What We Mean When We Talk about Infrastructure
The Appalachian region faces an uphill battle to survive. But that’s how it was designed. If the region — and its people — have any chance to prosper, it’ll come from the most boring of places: infrastructure building.
The Curious Case of Explaining, not Excusing
As I sat down down to write this book, I was faced with this strange tightrope act: I wanted to write a book about why Appalachia and its people ended up as they have, but I also needed to acknowledge its sometimes brutal and horrible history.
Roger (& Jared & J.D.) and Me, or Breaking Appalachia
The things that have always sustained me, and carried me through the darkness, and given me a world with color: the writing, and the voices, and the stories. I’ve found my voice in the wilderness. I’ve found other voices in the wilderness.
The Great Writing Adventure Begins
The next chapter starts tomorrow: a move to Pittsburgh, a new job, and two years to reignite my writing career.
Fitzgerald, in Volumes
Whenever I see Fitzgerald in the bookstore, I can’t but recall fondly how his books taught me to write.
Why I Write: Mariah Ivey
Indianapolis poet, spoken word artist, and MC Mariah Ivey is our first guest on the new series “Why I Write.”
207. STEPHEN KING: The desk
If that sounds bad the best I can offer is that it is not. Those swells remind me that whatever part of me is broken, there is another part that isn’t.