Mountains Piled upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene

by Jessica Cory (Editor)

Mountains Piled upon Mountains features nearly fifty writers from across Appalachia sharing their place-based fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry. Moving beyond the tradition of transcendental nature writing, much of the work collected here engages current issues facing the region and the planet (such as hydraulic fracturing, water contamination, mountaintop removal, and deforestation), and provides readers with insights on the human-nature relationship in an era of rapid environmental change. This book includes a mix of new and recent creative work by established and emerging authors. The contributors write about experiences from northern Georgia to upstate New York, invite parallels between a watershed in West Virginia and one in North Carolina, and often emphasize connections between Appalachia and more distant locations. In the pages of Mountains Piled upon Mountains are celebration, mourning, confusion, loneliness, admiration, and other emotions and experiences rooted in place but transcending Appalachia’s boundaries.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Essays

360 pages, Paperback

Published June 24, 2019

Reviews

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book on a recent vacation to the Smoky Mountains. A big part of why I liked it so much was the purchasing experience; I picked it up at a local independent bookseller (City Lights) in Sylva, North Carolina, where they had a whole room devoted just to Appalachian topics, but also where they had a bookstore cat. I like the City Lights in San Francisco, but I have to say that if I had to pick one City Lights in a fight between the two, it would be the North Carolina version.

Anyway, this is a great collection of nature writing that was an excellent companion to our tromping around a tiny part of Appalachia. It left me with some other things I'd like to read (Our Southern Highlanders), a reminder that it is very dumb (and also elitist, classist, and racist) to write off the South as somehow irredeemable, and a desire to spend more time in the woods.

[E. M. Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

⛰️Why I picked: I ❤️ Appalachia. This was a Downbound books find
🌿 Medium: Physical

I feel incredibly inspired after finishing this collection. Inspired to take part in more environmental activism, inspired to research more about climate change and all the movements and technologies out there working to fight it, inspired by the power of the pen! There are some real gems here and I feel so much love for Appalachia and its people.