Rusty Barnes's Blog: Fried Chicken and Coffee, page 45

Mindy Beth Miller via Bent Country's Sheldon Compton

More young Appalachian writers to watch out for: Mindy Beth Miller and Sheldon Compton.

Before anything else, have a look at Mindy Beth Miller's writing chops. Here's a couple paragraphs to give you a taste:

"Back on Low Gap, the sun spit out its last blast of rays over the top of Saddleback Mountain. A puddle of [...:]

Daniel Woodrell's Winter's Bone, the film

These notes may be late to the party, but I just got this first review in my email via Google Alert. It's difficult to believe this description of the movie Winter's Bone, based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell, has anything to do with reality. Prairie Miller seems offbase. I have not seen the film [...:]

Bradford County PA, You Are Being Misled

And here's why. This is from the Keystone Edge site, a seemingly reputable outfit covering economic change and other programs in certain area of MI and PA.

Some drillers, including Range Resources and Chesapeake Energy, are simply reusing their water. By the end of last year, Range was recycling all of its [...:]

Whatever You Do To The Least Ghazal, by Dennis Mahagin

"When I coughed I saw fireflies. . ."

–Denis Johnson

Hindsight is 20. With twenty twenties, at Happy Hour, burning
pin holes in the eyeball of a dollar bill > pyramid. In God, whatever.

Luckily, pimps, repo men and beat cops are not Machiavellian
;otherwise we'd all be in a serious frigging. . .world. Of whatever.

Those beatific Puget Sound ferry [...:]

In Case You Thought Things Had Changed Lately

(from citizensvoice.com)

BY ROBERT SWIFT (HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF)
Published: May 26, 2010

HARRISBURG – Increased crime and damaged roads are two negative impacts of the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling boom, Rendell administration officials said as the push for a state severance tax heats up.

State Police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski said state troopers are reporting more arrests and incidents [...:]

Charles Dodd White Interviewed

Here's a guy you ought to know more about, and not just because I say so. Here's what his site says.

Charles Dodd White was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1976. He currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina where he teaches writing and Literature at South College. He has been a Marine, a flyfishing [...:]

Kesich vs Baker in Pennsylvania

This is gratifying to see, but Kesich doesn't represent the typical Millerton resident, either, many of whom I imagine will, like Steve Miller, take the money and run. And why wouldn't they?  To paraphrase my dad, these are mostly lifelong farmers and blue collar workers who are getting more money then they ever dreamed possible. [...:]

Prizes Have Been Sent. . .

for the Barry Hannah Competition. Sorry it took so long to get them out to you. Thanks again, everyone, for entering.

Here's a Barry H. interview from the Paris Review to warm you up this cool MA morning.

There's a line in Barry Hannah's most recent novel, Yonder StandsYour Orphan (2001), that nicely describes his life and [...:]

Barry Hannah Competition–1st place, Jeff Crook

The End of the War

Mother drove our exhausted Toyota out of the shade of the trees, past a swath of sunburned lawn littered with bits of Styrofoam where they had dragged the raft from the shed down to the lake. Out on the raft two girls broiled, bronzed, blonde, too far away to see who [...:]

Barry Hannah Competition 2nd Place–Charles Hale

The Wire Out

For the second morning in a row Lawrence leaned back in the chair onto two legs and away from the table and let go.  Countless attempts at striking the perfect balance so the chair would stay on two legs had Lawrence exhausted.  Yesterday morning he had fallen on his back once.  It was [...:]