I have this canoe that is tied to my imagination and docked to my memory bank. This book is simply a ride down the rivers of my memories. I grew up in the mountains of western NC under the shadow of Mount Pisgah. The mountain way of life during the 40's and 50's is worth writing about and preserving for future references. It is my story, seen and experienced through the eyes of a young boy. And for me the canoe rides are real, for the places and folk it takes me to are real. The river of my memories is deep and wide, for there are 70 plus years of storage. The traditions, the way of life in the 40's and 50's, Mountaineer spirit and humor are worth talking and writing about. There is nothing really spectacular about what I have to say, but I do hope the stories of growing up in a time that has almost slipped away help you take your own ride down your river of memories. The good times have left me upbeat and positive and extremely happy to have lived in those years. The tragedies have left me raw and exposed and extremely emotional. I truly hope these stories bring some smiles and joy to you. And I really hope you just relax, hop in my old canoe and take a river ride with me. Part of life that comes too sudden is the 'last time'. The last time you see a friend. The last time you talk to your folks. The last time you hugged a family member. One part of writing these stories is remembering the last time I had with some of my people. That is why tears have been shed while trying to write this memoir. I wish I had asked more questions. I wish I had had hugged a bit harder, and loved a lot sweeter. So as for me, I have tried to show in words just how much those folk, growing up in that time, and my Faith have meant to me. Be a blessing because you are blessed.

Southerners are known for their strong sense of history. But the kinds of memories southerners have valued--and the ways in which they have preserved, transmitted, and revitalized those memories--have been as varied as the region's inhabitants themselves. This collection presents fresh and innovative perspectives on how southerners across two centuries and from Texas to North Carolina have interpreted their past. Thirteen contributors explore the workings of historical memory among groups as diverse as white artisans in early-nineteenth-century Georgia, African American authors in the late nineteenth century, and Louisiana Cajuns in the twentieth century. In the process, they offer critical insights for understanding the many communities that make up the American South. As ongoing controversies over the Confederate flag, the Alamo, and depictions of slavery at historic sites demonstrate, southern history retains the power to stir debate. By placing these and other conflicts over the recalled past into historical context, this collection will deepen our understanding of the continuing significance of history and memory for southern regional identity. Contributors: Bruce E. Baker Catherine W. Bishir David W. Blight Holly Beachley Brear W. Fitzhugh Brundage Kathleen Clark Michele Gillespie John Howard Gregg D. Kimball Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp C. Brenden Martin Anne Sarah Rubin Stephanie E. Yuhl

Conflicting Memories is a study of how the Tibetan encounter with the Chinese state during the Maoist era has been recalled and reimagined by Chinese and Tibetan authors and artists since the late 1970s. Written by a team of historians, anthropologists, and scholars of religion, literature and culture, it examines official histories, biographies, memoirs, and films as well as oral testimonies, fiction, and writings by Buddhist adepts. The book includes translated extracts from key interviews, speeches, literature, and filmscripts. Conflicting Memories explores what these revised versions of the past chose as their focus, which types of people produced them, and what aims they pursued in the production of new, post-Mao descriptions of Tibet under Chinese socialism. Contributors include: Robert Barnett, Benno Weiner, Françoise Robin, Bianca Horlemann, Alice Travers, Alex Raymond, Chung Tsering, Dáša Pejchar Mortensen, Charlene Makley, Xénia de Heering, Nicole Willock, M. Maria Turek, Geoffrey Barstow, Gedun Rabsal, Heather Stoddard, Organ Nyima. "Conflicting Memories is a truly marvellous book. It has assembled critical readings of Tibetan memories of their fateful encounters with the Chinese Communists who came uninvited as their ‘liberators’ and ‘friends’. Supplemented with excerpts from key Tibetan writings or oral reminiscences, the volume brings forth hitherto unheard of Tibetan voices. Yet, these were not hidden voices, but often commissioned by Chinese authorities or in dialogue with them, each trying to juggle the promissory pronouncements and an unsavoury reality. Taken together, the contrapuntal reading of these memories masterfully showcases Tibetan people’s resourcefulness in dealing with a regime that often redefines its relations with Tibet while always aiming for total ownership." - URADYN E. BULAG, author of Collaborative Nationalism: The Politics of Friendship on China's Mongolian Frontier "Conflicting Memories offers an invaluable collection aiding us to think through the complex and much contested ramifications of Tibet's incorporation into Maoist China. The mix of analytical articles by some of the best scholars now working in the area and original documents translated from the writings of astute Tibetan observers is particularly welcome. The volume will be required reading for all serious students of contemporary Tibet." - MATTHEW KAPSTEIN, author of The Tibetans "This remarkable book offers unequalled access to the Tibetan experience of Communist nation-building. By examining how the Maoist encounter has been remembered and misremembered across many media—under the influence of ever-changing political conditions—the authors communicate both the trauma of those years and the persisting difficulty of coming to terms with it, for Chinese as well as Tibetans. The chapters, enhanced by numerous first-hand accounts and illustrations, represent the best scholarship of this field. Strongly recommended for readers interested in the history of the People’s Republic and its ethnic minorities." - DONALD S. SUTTON, co-author of Contesting the Yellow Dragon: Ethnicity, Religion and the State in the Sino-Tibetan Borderland (with XIAOFEI KANG) "This groundbreaking work sheds unprecedented light on the various processes of historical rewriting about Tibet since the death of Mao. The multivocal composition of the book offers rich and diverse accounts of a set of key events and epochal moments that attest to the numerous obstacles in retelling the Maoist past and the experience of sufferi...

Gary Ashbaugh - I just finished reading your book. Boy, did that ever turn the clock back. I think that described life in those small towns to a tee. Congratulations on getting it published. TOWN and TIME ... My cycle of life began January 12, 1945, seven months before the end of WWII, in Emlenton, Pennsylvania, a borough of some 800 souls, where generations of my father's family had lived and died. Emlenton, which lies partially isolated in the hills of northwestern Pennsylvania, offered few outside distractions, so we relied heavily on our imaginations and the natural resources that surrounded us. The swimming holes along Richey Run Creek, the Indian cave below the town cemetery, and long hikes along the railroad tracks that followed alongside the majestic Allegheny River offered plenty of adventure and diversion. Our lives revolved around paper routes, baseball, pin ball machines, hotdogs, French fries, 5&10 stores, dances, and dating. The freezing cold winters involved basketball, deer hunting and fur trapping. A youthful fertile mind, interested in science, led to rocketry, homemade motors, crystal radios, moonshine, and motor scooters that provided a lifetime of memories. The stories shared are sometimes funny, poignant, and often laced with mischief. Emlenton seemed to be magical, and those times now seem idyllic. This is where I grew up, and this book is about the time, the place, the people, and the events that formed my coming of age in the 1950s.

The volume traces the founding critical theories of the autobiographical genre, from the Enlightenment period to the most recent developments, which, since the Sixties and the essays of Roy Pascal and Jean Starobinski, have had a greater and greater influence. It offers – in contrast to the essential, and by now classic, definition of Philippe Lejeune – an increased effectiveness of the poem to express the narrative purposes of autobiography, recognizing poetic writing that has the extraordinary ability to say what “the mortal language does not say,” to quote Leopardi. The works of Seamus Heaney, Thom Gunn, Carlos Barral and Jaime Gil de Biedma are analyzed here, and show an unveiling of the self through memories, places and objects that often characterize them and that allow, to whomever recalls one’s own experience through writing, the recovery and restoration of essential meanings to the reconstruction not only of subjective identity, but also of one’s own community.

A look at the first five decades of 20th century American literature, covering a wide range of literary works, figures, and influences A History of American Literature 1900-1950 is a current and well-balanced account of the main literary figures, connections, and ideas that characterized the first half of the twentieth century. In this readable, highly informative book, the author explores significant developments in American drama, fiction, and poetry, and discusses how the literature of the period influenced, and was influenced by, cultural trends in both the United States and abroad. Considering works produced during America’s rise to prominence on the world stage from both regional and international perspectives, MacGowan provides readers with keen insights into the literature of the period in relation to America’s transition from an agrarian nation to an industrial power, the racial and economic discrimination of Black and Native American populations, the greater financial and social independence of women, the economic boom of the 1920s, the Depression of the 1930s, the impact of world wars, massive immigration, political and ideological clashes, and more. Encompassing five decades of literary and cultural diversity in one volume, A History of American Literature 1900-1950: Covers American theater, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, magazines and literary publications, and popular media Discusses the ways writers dramatized the immense social, economic, cultural, and political changes in America throughout the first half of the twentieth century Explores themes and influences of Modernist poets, expatriate novelists, and literary publications founded by women and African-Americans Features the work of Black writers, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Jewish Americans A History of American Literature 1900-1950 is essential reading for all students in upper-level American literature courses as well as general readers looking to better understand the literary tradition of the United States.

Take a fascinating trip back through time. Memories of Tug Valley celebrates and captures the colorful and proud history of Mingo County and the Tug River Valley. Using vintage photographs and rare images, along with historical narrative, this book vividly illustrates, page-by-page, the county's past, and depicts many of the people who have shaped the future of this rugged portion of the Mountain State. It's the land of the Hatfields and McCoys, the Matewan Massacre, the Glen Alum train payroll robbery, catastrophic floods, and more. Themes covered include the emergence of the local railway system, the development of communities, and the growth of the coal and timber industries. Find local landmarks. Discover a land of resilient individualists-courageous, inspiring, and hardworking families-who have endured and overcome many setbacks. Through old photographs and history, experience what the area was once like, and learn about proud West Virginians who have created their own successes.