Stories I Ain't Told Nobody Yet: Selections from the People Pieces

by Jo Carson

A collection of first-person poems taken from the actual conversations of Appalachian people

Genres: Poetry, Drama, Short Stories, Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Jo Carson was a playwright, poet, fiction writer, performer, author of children's books, and NPR commentator.

Her books highlight voice and narrative, such as the popular collection of first-person persona poems Stories I Ain't Told Nobody Yet. She devoted many years to developing community theater and storytelling projects.

Reviews

[Coco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really beautiful collection of poems. Most people who have grown up in Appalachia l, at least for me, being raised by a generation born in the 50's, can 100% relate to the stories being told here, and the way of speaking.

I felt very connected and almost melancholy finishing this. 5 stars!

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a true poetry lover, but I really enjoyed these poems. Carson says they're based on bits of conversations she's heard and I can well believe it. It's how she's shaped them into character sketches that delights me so. Reminds me a bit of Spoon River Anthology except that they're not dead. Love the use of language and Appalachian phrasing.

[Karima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo Carson is a LISTENER. She listens to the utterances (stories, conversations, rants ) around her (East Tennesee)and "distills" them into down-home rural Appalachian poetry. 'Set a spell' on a rickety porch in an old hard-backed rocking chair (or at least imagine yourself doing so) and have a good read with this one.

From Publishers Weekly
In one of the most powerful poems in this 96-page collection, a mother asks her grown child to come home while she is still alive: "I could fill you up with stories, stories I ain't told nobody yet. . . . When I am dead, it will not matter / how hard you press your ear to the ground." Like the voices in the oral histories collected by Studs Terkel, these monologues and dialogues from east Tennessee and the Appalachian region "all come from people," and while the poems "remain true to the speaker's thoughts and rhythms of speech," they are Carson's "distillations." Haunting and funny, full of folk wisdom and unflinching honesty, the characters seem spotlighted on a stage. Many poems presume an adult perspective and understanding, but all reflect Carson's sensitive and unsentimental awareness of her characters' lives and language.

[nkp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pulled this book reaching for Anne Carson on the library shelf, and now I cannot imagine a more beautiful swath of stories to sit beside. Jo Carson turned the Appalachia I’ve always known upside down, shook it out like a dirty rug, and snatched up what fell out of its pockets. This collection is a remarkable intersection of journalism, anthropology, and poetry. I will not spend another second without this book in the back of my head.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jo Carson was a wonderful east Tennessee writer who recently passed away. This collection of poems was one I frequently shared with my students over the years. It's an excellent example of southern Appalachian literature and it lends itself well to reader's theatre.

[Tammy]

Whoops, I wish I had remembered to add this to my Read list right away. I read it for the 2022 Read Harder Challenge task #12: read an entire poetry collection. This is a book I had already owned but hadn't read yet, so I was happy to realize I could count it for the challenge. I am not much of a poetry reader, but these poems were stories made into poems, and it worked well for me. Jo Carson got the ideas for the stories from conversations she overheard over the years. The main sections are titled: Neighbors & Kin, Observations, Relationships, Work, and We Say of Ourselves. It has been a little while since I read it, but I'm pretty sure I enjoyed this and would recommend it!

[Ahmed Addnan Negim]

Thats not poetry, a misleading prose , a blind one , waste of time

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jo Carson lives and works in East Tennessee, and her work, in this book, has been taking overhard conversations around her, modifying the language into something that approximates folk poetry, and writing it down. Normally, this is a recipe for disaster. However, Carson's ear is finely-tuned enough that what comes out more often than not does resemble both rural dialect and poetry. And that in itself is more than enough reason to consider this a noteworthy book. But every once in a while, the stories she tells are the kind that tug at the heart without the naked appeal of obvious emotional manipulation (though there's certainly some of that here, too; if you go into this not expecting to find the cliched "boy, I wish people wouldn't treat East Tennessee folk like hicks," you're going to be disappointed-- but Carson does amnage to keep it to a minimum). A good, solid volume that's worth a quick read. ***

[Kim Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of poetry that reads like conversations heard on someone's front porch in appalachia. Some of the passages remind me of people I know or family.

[Trey · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like poems that deal with every day life and times...especially about mountain folk...this one's for you.

[Lynne Vanderveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! Often shared poems from this book with my students and never, ever tire of them!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry

[Rita Quillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A favorite...I used it extensively in teaching --for modeling exercises, teaching students to eavesdrop effectively :-) and to look for poem ideas and creative monologues in daily conversations.

[Sharla · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad our book club decided to do a poetry book and that my friend picked this book.

[Jack Hambly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on poetry. "People" poems.

[Kim Lovy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike this book, I have no words.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems about Appalachia.

[Mary Jo]

She nails the voices of Appalachian men and women. The stories ring true to what I hear in the NC mountains.