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.
Episodes
42 episodes
Graveyards, Famous Houses, and an Inspirational Mailbox in the Middle of Nowhere: Sleepy Hollow to Sunset Beach
In this places and spaces episode that starts in the northern reaches of the Appalachian plateau, we travel from quaint Sleepy Hollow, New York to the serene sands of Sunset Beach, North Carolina, uncovering stories of history, literature, and ...
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28:20
What Do We Mean by 'Directly' and 'Needs Washed'?
This episode is about a word and a phrase that are still commonly used in the Appalachian region. First, I'll offer a little refresher on what makes up a dialect and how these words fit in. We'll talk about "directly" as in "I'll be there direc...
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Season 2
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Episode 41
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9:07
Places and Spaces: Edgar Allen Poe's Baltimore Home and a Reading of "The Raven"
In this "Places and Spaces" episode, we'll mark the October anniversary of Edgar Allen Poe's mysterious death with a visit to Poe's house in Baltimore and the cemetery where he is buried. Then, listen to a haunting reading of "The Rave...
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Season 2
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Episode 40
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13:27
Grave Matters: Appalachian Death Lore, Burial, and Mourning Rituals
In this chilling episode (just in time for spooky week), SWVA Museum Education Specialist Burke Greear joins me to talk about pre-funeral industry Appalachian customs and superstitions surrounding premonitions, death and burial. We'll exp...
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Season 2
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Episode 39
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22:33
Appalachian Reckoning, Hillbillies, and Accents with Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll
The co-editors of Appalachian Reckoning: a Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy and the author of Hillbilly: a Cultural History of an American Icon join me to talk about the region's literary response to J.D. Vance's...
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Season 2
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41:31
Appalshop: 55 Years of Telling Appalachia's Stories
Appalshop was founded in eastern Kentucky in 1969, providing "space for Appalachians to tell their own stories in their own words." Its founding followed the War on Poverty, when Appalachia was put on display for the rest of the world in a way ...
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Season 2
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35:26
Adriana Trigiani: a Bestselling Author on Books, Movies, Podcasting, and Place
Adri and I sit down at the Library of Virginia to catch up and talk about writing, The Origin Project, her podcast (
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Season 2
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25:56
Finding Glimmers with Poet Jane Hicks and Music by Tiffany Williams
Poet Jane Hicks is the author of three award-winning poetry collections: Blood and Bone Remember, Driving with the Dead, and recently,
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Season 2
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29:33
"Hillbilly" and an Interview with Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker Ashley York
In this episode, I explore the word "hillbilly" with native Kentuckian and documentary filmmaker Ashley York, who co-directed the award-winning film by the same name in 2018. I talk about the history of the word first, and then Ashley and I dis...
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Season 2
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41:54
The Meaning of "Redneck" and Its Role in the U.S. Labor Movement
Redneck. Hillbilly. White Trash. These are some of the class-based words used to describe people of Appalachia. But did you know that redneck, in particular, has a very special meaning associated with red bandanas worn in solidarity by...
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24:38
Appalachia's Scottish Roots and the Dialect Influences of Scots Gaelic
Musician and storyteller Jack Beck, a native of Dunfermline, Scotland, joins me in this episode to talk about his homeland's cultural connection to the Appalachian region. He'll tell us about: how Scots-English came to be part of the Appalachia...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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46:15
A Conversation with Barbara Kingsolver Part II
In this continuation of the Barbara Kingsolver episodes, the eastern Kentucky native gives her last talk on her novel, Demon Copperhead on the campus of The University of Virginia's College at Wise
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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1:03:08
A Conversation with Pulitzer Winning Author of Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver (Part 1)
In this first of two episodes with the author of Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver says she is "bringing Demon home" in her last talk about the novel. She discusses her love of her Appalachian language, how the novel began at the de...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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45:01
Mountain Lake Lodge in Southwest Virginia: History, Mystery, and Hollywood
Join us as we spend a weekend at beautiful Mountain Lake Lodge in this Appalachian Places and Spaces episode. Hear about the history of the lodge, dating back to the 1700's, and why the property was once known as "Salt Pond." We'l...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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23:58
The Origin of "Dog Days" and Its Folklore, and the Southern Appalachian City of Knoxville
Dog Days has begun, and I'm exploring the origins of this 16th century phrase. Did you know the season from July 3rd to August 11 coincides with Sirius, or Canis Major (in the shape of a dog) of the Orion Constellation? Joining me in this...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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32:01
The Tradition of Prayer Cloths, and the Only Town in Appalachia That's Named "Appalachia"
Prayer cloths are symbols of a deep and widespread faith that has been in Appalachia since its settlement. From simple squares to quilts to shawls, prayers are embedded in the fibers, along with a promise that faith has healing power. Learn abo...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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10:17
The word "Holler," Lightning Bug or Firefly, and Spellcheck by Anne Shelby
Those of us who grew up in a "holler" know that they can be deep, dark valleys or winding roads between hills. But did you know holler also refers to yodeling, calling, yelling? And if you've never heard "holler down a rainbarrel" you might be ...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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19:17
The Myth of Isolation in Appalachia
We know modern Appalachia isn't isolated, so why do people keep using that word to describe a region that includes 13 states and 25 million people? This episode is a commentary on the origins of isolation (the word and the concept), ho...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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25:14
'Eye Dialect' as a Contributor to Stereotype and Michael Montgomery's Research on the Written Dialect of 18th Century Documents
Early authors used "eye dialect," or a deliberate misspelling of words that doesn't change how they sound (like "tu" for "to" or "uv" for "of.") This literary practice, based on the authors' observations of what they heard people say, was to ma...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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9:26
Talking Cherokee, Resilience and Devotion
A Cherokee language revival is underway, thanks to the efforts of the Cherokee Nation and their communities in Oklahoma and western North Carolina. The story of Cherokee language history and the work to create Cherokee language schools and imme...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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40:19
The Burial Ground in the Woods Part II
How do ghosts speak through their artifacts? As we continue the story of the burial ground in the woods, I'm joined by Dr. Angela Washington, my co-researcher and family. We talk about the chilling death portrait that proved to be our starting ...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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28:01
The Burial Ground in the Woods
What secrets does a 19th century burial ground hold, when the stones have no words or dates, and family folklore says they belonged to enslaved people? In this episode, I'm joined by William Isom II of
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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31:58
Talking Appalachian in Ireland
Join us in beautiful Ireland where we learn about a town with two names (Londonderry/Derry), an Irishman's take on "hillbilly," familiar words and pronunciations, and a primitive alphabet inspired by trees.
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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23:38
The Woodcarver
The sisters remembered her "witchy" looking dolls, but they were forever haunted by that one day when the woodcarver's knife nearly took their mother's life.In this episode, I retell a chilling story told to me by my great-grandmother a...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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24:58
What Two Letters a Century Apart Tell Us About the Writers' Home Voices
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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28:19