Red Holler


Book Description

New York Times–bestselling author Ron Rash joins 23 writers on Appalachian culture and community: “Buy this book, it's a barn burner!” (Dorothy Allison). Drawing on Appalachian literature’s roots in Native American myth, African American urban legend, and European folk culture, and embracing Appalachian urban fiction, the Southern Gothic, gritty no-holds-barred realism, and magical realism, the illuminating works in Red Holler perfectly depict what makes Appalachia so fascinating: its irreverent and outlaw challenges to mainstream notions of propriety and convention. “Enthusiasts of Appalachian literature will appreciate the breadth of work” in this extraordinarily diverse anthology of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and graphic narratives by fresh new voices alongside widely known and celebrated authors. We travel into housing projects, forest-stripped ravines, trailer parks, and communities ranging from Mississippi to New York to explore vibrant hometown and migrant Appalachian traditions, values, and society. Red Holler takes us over and beyond the stock imagery of rural mountain habitués and redefines this expansive and distinctive American landscape (Publishers Weekly).




The Adventures of Little Red Bear


Book Description

Family-friendly, Old-fashioned Short Stories for All Ages! A fun and captivating blend of humor and action/adventure stories featuring a new kind of "Action Hero." This collection of six short stories, the first in a series, features Little Red Bear, an uncommonly special bear living in the scenic Ozarks Mountain Country just a little south of the Sweet Tea Line, with a great number of friends-woodland critters, barnyard animals and human folk alike. Exciting and heartwarming stories feature colorful, fun and loveable characters with positive themes of friendship, helping others, kindness and overcoming challenges in life; blended with educational information on the ways of nature, the environment, conservation and a love of the outdoors. Family-friendly reading entertainment told in an old-fashioned, story-telling tradition in a style and pace described by the author as "Country Comfortable", the stories are suitable and fun for all age groups. Join Little Red Bear and his friends on a series of thrilling and sometimes offbeat adventures in the scenic Ozarks Mountain Country. You never know who (or what) you may encounter while searching for honey or in an afternoon of fishing!




Ruby Holler


Book Description

Tiller and Sairy live a quiet life in Ruby Holler; their children have long since left home and things are peaceful. But when they decide to adopt two children from the local orphanage to take on a giant adventure, they form an unlikely foursome. And Tiller and Sairy have to deal with some pretty unconventional behaviour on the part of the children, who don't believe they could ever be 'wanted'.A wonderful, magical story that combines quirky action and adventure with family, loyalty and learning to belong. Winner of the Carnegie Medal.




The Honk and Holler Opening Soon


Book Description

Caney Paxton wanted his cafe to have the biggest and brightest sign in Eastern Oklahoma-the "opening soon" part was supposed to be just a removable, painted notice. But a fateful misunderstanding gave Vietnam vet Caney the flashiest joke in the entire state. Twelve years later, the once-busy highway is dead and the sign is as worn as Caney, who hasn't ventured outside the diner since it opened. Then one blustery December day, a thirtyish Crow woman blows in with a three-legged dog in her arms and a long-buried secret on her mind. Hiring on as a carhop, Vena Takes Horse is soon shaking up business, the locals, and Caney's heart...as she teaches them all about generosity of spirit, love, and the possibility of promise-just like the sign says.




Redbuds Are Not Red


Book Description

The redbud tree that is so prominent in the landscape of eastern Kentucky during the early spring when they are profusely blooming is something that “draws” people back to the mountains. “I want to come back when the redbuds are blooming” is a common refrain from many folks who want to come back home or a stranger who wants to just come and experience the beauty of the mountains. Yet the redbuds are not red; they are a deep pink, and neither are all of the natives of the Appalachian Mountains and the hills of eastern Kentucky lazy, illiterate, apathetic, drug addicts, and generally low-class citizens. But still this region is identified as being a society made up of these individuals. Redbuds Are Not Red is written to illustrate that just as the tree is known for its “red” name, there is a misconception about it. The same is true of the people who are perceived in a negative sense, and this story attempts to describe a region that has good people, respectable and honest people, who need to be seen through a different perspective. It is written to illustrate that despite the poverty, deprivation, and lack of many needed resources, there is a way of life here that is good, decent, and deserving of the same respect and acknowledgment as any other segment of this great nation. People can come out of these hardships and rise to positions of productivity, respectability, and prominence.










Holler Rat


Book Description

From a critically acclaimed, Pushcart Prize–nominated performance artist, a funny, vivid, and ultimately heartbreaking memoir about forging identity in the chasm between cultures and classes Anya Liftig grew up with her feet in two very different worlds. While her mother’s upbringing was so rural that the other kids called her “holler rat,” her father came from a comfortable, upper-middle-class Jewish family. Anya spent her childhood school years in Connecticut and her summers in the holler. Shaped by the experience, she would go on to win a scholarship to Yale and become an acclaimed artist, using provocative performances to explore the contradictions and unanswered questions of her life. But when the world Anya was building for herself shattered, she was forced to reconcile where she’d come from with who she was and who she wanted to be. In Holler Rat, Anya skillfully interweaves family lore from her childhood with descriptions of her performance art pieces and scenes of the year-long period in which her life fell apart, then plumbs the cathartic self-reckoning that followed. She takes us from her mamaw’s porch to the site of a violent family land feud; from Yale to the rancid odors of a pre-gentrified Bushwick loft; and from making out with a 14-pound salmon to having 243 raw eggs pelted at her in the name of art. In visceral, beautiful prose that ranges from raunchy and outrageous to serious and tragic, Holler Rat is the origin story of an unconventional artistic life and a captivating account of the stumbling blocks, sacrifices, and discoveries along the way.