James Still in Interviews, Oral Histories and Memoirs

Ted Olson lives in Johnson City, Tennessee, and teaches Appalachian Studies and English at East Tennessee State University.

“Olson has assembled a variety of interviews with Still and reminiscences and tributes by writers who knew him. This collection allows one to get to know the man and serves as a complement to an earlier collection titled James Still: Critical Essays on the Dean of Appalachian Literature”—The Journal of Southern History; “though I think and hope, of course, that James Still will always be associated with his region, I also look forward to the day when he will not be identified quite so invariably as ‘an Appalachian writer.’ For I think and hope also, in fact I know, that the value of good regional writing extends far beyond its region, and I think James Still, by any standard, is a supreme writer.”—Wendell Berry; “this book is important not only because of the lasting legacy of its subject, but also because of the great line-up of contributors, including many who knew James Still well: Jesse Stuart, Dean Cadle, Wade Hall, Jim Wayne Miller, Gurney Norman, Shirley Williams, William Henry Young, and Herb E. Smith. This effort will be very useful not only to those interested in Mr. Still, but also to those who wish to learn more about many of the important figures who share their reflections on Still in this book.”—George Brosi, Appalachian Heritage.

• Table of ContentsPreface      Introduction: The Source of the River: James Still’s Literary LegacyTED OLSON      I. Still in His Own Words: Interviews and Oral HistoriesJames Still: Portrait of the Artist as a Boy in AlabamaWADE HALL      An Interview with James StillJ. W. WILLIAMSON      “Daring to Look in the Well”: A ConversationJAMES STILL and JIM WAYNE MILLER      An Interview with James StillTOM and CAROL FRENCH-CORBETT and LOIS KLEFFMAN      An Interview with James StillLAURA LEE and FOXFIRE STUDENTS            Pattern of a Writer: Attitudes of James StillDEAN CADLE      James Still on His Life and Work: An InterviewJUDITH JENNINGS      James Still: Conversation with a Kentucky WriterL. ELISABETH BEATTIE      Conversations with James StillFRANK EDWARD BOURNE      II. Still on Other People’s Minds: MemoirsObscurity Begins Back Home for Kentucky’s James StillRENA NILES      “I Write Because I’m Unhappy When Not Writing”—James StillGURNEY NORMAN      “...Some things a man does just for himself ”: In Regard to Writing, That’s the Philosophy of Gifted Kentucky Author-Poet James StillJOE CREASON      Before Saying Yes: Discovering James Still’s “First Sweetheart”ANN W. OLSON      James “Lucky” Still: A FortunateCAROL BOGGESS      Sgt. James Still’s Gold CastingsJACK D. ELLIS      Both Ends of a Walnut Log: The Correspondence of James Still and Jesse StuartJAMES M. GIFFORD and ERIN KAZEE      Why Does Knott County Send the Largest Ratio of Graduates to College?JESSE STUART      Personal Memories of James Still and Jesse Stuart: These Noted Writers Had a Great Effect on a Young Knott CountianWILLIAM HENRY YOUNG      Green Peppers and a StrawJAN WALTERS COOK      Travels with Mr. Still: In Search of Richard JefferiesJUDITH JENNINGS      Still Writing After All these Years: An Author Who Began His Career Nearly a Half Century Ago in Hindman, Kentucky, Is Being Rediscovered and HonoredSHIRLEY WILLIAMS      Writing About James Still: “Be ye in the world, but not of the world”HERB E. SMITH      A Memoir of James StillJONATHAN GREENE      In Remembrance of James StillLINC. FISCH      Terrain of the HeartLEE SMITH      Remembering James StillSILAS HOUSE      Remarks at James Still’s Funeral (May 1, 2001)LOYAL JONES      His Side of the Mountains: The Enduring Legacy of Southern Poet James Still; An Interview with Editor Ted OlsonJEFF BIGGERS      Reflections on Pappy StillTERESA L. PERRY REYNOLDS      On the Occasion of James Still’s 100th BirthdayHAL CROWTHER      Index