The Talking Appalachian Podcast
Talking Appalachian is a podcast about the Appalachian Mountain region's language or "voiceplaces," cultures, and communities. The podcast is hosted by Dr. Amy Clark, a Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. The podcast is based on her 2013 co-edited book Talking Appalachian: Voice, Identity, and Community. Her writing on Appalachia has appeared in the New York Times, Oxford American Magazine, Salon.com, on NPR, and Harvard University Press blog. She is also founder and director of the Appalachian Writing Project, which serves teachers, students, and the communities of the central Appalachian region.
The Talking Appalachian Podcast
What Two Letters a Century Apart Tell Us About the Writers' Home Voices
What did you think of this episode?
Listen to the voice of John Gregory, a Civil War infantryman writing home from a cold, February campsite in 1862, a year before he would die at Gettysburg. Then, listen to the voice of Cordia Nichols, a woman diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1959 and recovering in the Catawba Sanitorium. John's letter allows us to study his dialect before audio-recording was invented, and Cordia's letter helps us to see (and hear) patterns that were still being spoken almost 100 years later in Virginia. This is just one example of what old documents like letters, journals, recipes, and more can teach us about voice through content analysis.
Thank to Brock Davidson (gbdavidson7@icloud.com) and Addy Hutchison for lending their voices to these letters.
Gregory's letter comes from the Corpus of Civil War Letters
Cordia's letter was found in an old sewing machine given to me.
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Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain
