They Say in Harlan County Quotes

“The handling of poisonous snakes in church is a test of faith and grace, just as catching them in one’s yard is a test of prowess and courage. The deathly presence of the snake parallels the daily danger in the mines, and the culture takes a sort of ironic pride in its ability to handle it. … The snake is both something radically other and a household presence.”
― Alessandro Portelli, They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History

“…but the image of a “fatal” disappearance of the “vanishing American” allows Indian ancestry - as opposed to African American “blood” - to function as nostalgia and pride rather than shame. Somehow, by claiming the Indians as ancestors, whites can legitimate as lawful inheritance the taking of their land.”
― Alessandro Portelli, They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History

“The interface between the natural and the supernatural is death. In Harlan, the culture is imbued with the awareness that “death could come at any time” … Because death is always at hand, the culture centers on the struggle to stay alive: survival, indeed, is not just a word. I have always admired the way in which people fight back under great odds and survive, especially in the United States, where one is not supposed to up against impossible odds. Harlan County does not display much pursuit of happiness. But you see there the persistence of life in the face of danger and death.”
― Alessandro Portelli, They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History