Weekend Fifteen: The Appalachian Intellectual Diaspora

We are in a renaissance, a rebirth, here in Appalachia, the product of the mixed bag that is the conquest of space and time. The same forces of easily accessible mass media and transportation technology that threaten to engulf every small culture on our planet, from the Basques to the Khoi-San to the to the Hmong to the Ainu to, yes indeedy, us Appalachians, forces that threaten to obliterate our uniqueness, well, they also offer opportunities. Opportunities to disseminate our cultural heritages, our art, our histories, and our mythologies. No where is this more clear than on the internet, where now, for the first time in human history, writers from cultural, political, philosophical, religious and ethnic minorities, all frankly on the verge of extinction, are now able communicate widely with any and all human beings willing to listen to them. This paradox, frankly, dominates my thoughts - nothing like being an Appalachianist who studies interstate relations and globalization. Ah, well, enough introduction. Enjoy, if you will, these examples of the paradox's finer points, at least in the instance of our humble mountain people.

1. Appalachian Heritage: "More Than Moonshine"
2. Appalachian History: "It's the Snallygaster" and "Traveling This Holiday Season?"
3. An Appalachian View: "Virginia Wines"
4. Blue Ridge Country: "Appalachian Images: The Photography of Jack Jeffers" and "Damascus, VA: The Day the A.T. Hikers All Come to Town"
5. DowntownWV: "Snow Day: Flaky Photos of Downtown Charleston, Feb. 6, 2007"
6. Fragments from Floyd: "Straight Path to the Crooked Road"
7. Maysville, Kentucky Blog: "1937 Flood: How High the River Flowed"
8. The Mountain Laurel: "It's Time to Remember the Slave Meadow: Unmarked Graves on National Park Service Land" and "Alone at the Top"
9. Nantahala Review: "Featured Artist: Jon Hounshell"
10. Roam: "Reflecting on 15 Years of 'Mayberry Days'"
11. Tennessee Journalist: "Fire Destroys Downtown Building, Injures Firefighters"
12. View From the Mountain: "Dinette Trip"
13. (via) West Virginia Outdoors: "The LoC's American Ginseng and the Idea of the Commons"
14. Wonderful West Virginia: "The Curse of Chief Cornstalk"
15. WV Highlands Voice: "Warblers in Trouble"