From fiddle tunes to folk ballads, from banjos to blues, traditional music thrives in the remote mountains and hollers of West Virginia. For a quarter century, Goldenseal magazine has given its readers intimate access to the lives and music of folk artists from across this pivotal state. Now the best of Goldenseal is gathered for the first time in this richly illustrated volume.   Some of the country's finest folklorists take us through the backwoods and into the homes of such artists as fiddlers Clark Kessinger and U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, recording stars Lynn Davis and Molly O'Day, dulcimer master Russell Fluharty, National Heritage Fellowship recipient Melvin Wine, bluesman Nat Reese, and banjoist Sylvia O'Brien.The most complete survey to date of the vibrant strands of this music and its colorful practitioners, Mountains of Music delineates a unique culture where music and music making are part of an ancient and treasured heritage. The sly humor, strong faith, clear regional identity, and musical convictions of these performers draw the reader into families and communities bound by music from one generation to another.   For devotees as well as newcomers to this infectiously joyous and heartfelt music, Mountains of Music captures the strength of tradition and the spontaneous power of living artistry.

A piercing tale of a Malaysian woman''s quest for independence that combines "the nuance of a poet with the ear of a born storyteller" (Julia Watson, coeditor of Women, Autobiography, Theory: A Reader). Li An, a young Malaysian woman of Chinese descent, seeks to understand herself as the country around her struggles to determine its own identity. And much like the politically charged atmosphere of 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Li An must confront the contradictions within. While she supports her nation''s fight to break free from the influence of British colonial rule, she cannot deny her love for the English poetry that she teaches. While she aspires to be an independent woman, she still finds herself married to the dependable Henry—until she meets an American Peace Corps volunteer named Chester Brookfield. Their encounter propels Li An on a quest of self-discovery, one that spans the divide between East and West, women and men, freedom and responsibility. Told with insight and wit, Lim''s sweeping debut novel demonstrates that while the journey is never easy, all roads lead, ultimately, to our true selves. "This elegantly crafted tale places Lim among the most imaginative and dexterous storytellers writing in the English language today." —Rey Chow, author of Primitive Passions "A gripping novel centered around a strong, language-struck, culture-crossing Asian woman''s quest for independence." —Rob Wilson, author of Reimagining the American Pacific "This felicitous novel is several books in one—Madame Butterfly transplanted to Malaysia, a feminist manifesto, and a commentary on the new Southeast Asia that has been emerging in recent years. Lim has woven these strands together in a colorful batik that is dazzling." —Hisaye Yamamoto, author of Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories

This “fascinating autobiography” from an award-winning Asian-American female author “reads like a novel” (The Washington Post Book World).   With insight, candor, and grace, Shirley Geok-lin Lim recalls her path from her poverty-stricken childhood in war-torn Malaysia to her new and exciting yet uncertain womanhood in America. Grappling to secure a place for herself in the United States, she is often caught between the stifling traditions of the old world and the harsh challenges of the new. But throughout her journey, she is sustained by her “warrior” spirit, gradually overcoming her sense of alienation to find a new identity as an Asian American woman: professor, wife, mother, and, above all, an impassioned writer.   In Among the White Moon Faces, Lim offers a memorable rendering of immigrant women’s experience and a reflection upon the homelands we leave behind, the homelands we discover, and the homelands we hold within ourselves.   “What sets Among the White Moon Faces apart is that Lim writes with such aching precision, revealing and insightfully analyzing her changing roles as woman, immigrant, scholar, and Other.” —San Francisco Chronicle Book Review   “Lim’s descriptions are both lyrical and precise.” —Publishers Weekly   “Evocative writing bolstered by insights into colonialism, race relations, and the concept of the ‘other’. . . . This is an entrancing memoir.” —Kirkus Reviews

From fiddle tunes to folk ballads, from banjos to blues, traditional music thrives in the remote mountains and hollers of West Virginia. For a quarter century, Goldenseal magazine has given its readers intimate access to the lives and music of folk artists from across this pivotal state. Now the best of Goldenseal is gathered for the first time in this richly illustrated volume.   Some of the country's finest folklorists take us through the backwoods and into the homes of such artists as fiddlers Clark Kessinger and U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, recording stars Lynn Davis and Molly O'Day, dulcimer master Russell Fluharty, National Heritage Fellowship recipient Melvin Wine, bluesman Nat Reese, and banjoist Sylvia O'Brien.The most complete survey to date of the vibrant strands of this music and its colorful practitioners, Mountains of Music delineates a unique culture where music and music making are part of an ancient and treasured heritage. The sly humor, strong faith, clear regional identity, and musical convictions of these performers draw the reader into families and communities bound by music from one generation to another.   For devotees as well as newcomers to this infectiously joyous and heartfelt music, Mountains of Music captures the strength of tradition and the spontaneous power of living artistry.

A piercing tale of a Malaysian woman''s quest for independence that combines "the nuance of a poet with the ear of a born storyteller" (Julia Watson, coeditor of Women, Autobiography, Theory: A Reader). Li An, a young Malaysian woman of Chinese descent, seeks to understand herself as the country around her struggles to determine its own identity. And much like the politically charged atmosphere of 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Li An must confront the contradictions within. While she supports her nation''s fight to break free from the influence of British colonial rule, she cannot deny her love for the English poetry that she teaches. While she aspires to be an independent woman, she still finds herself married to the dependable Henry—until she meets an American Peace Corps volunteer named Chester Brookfield. Their encounter propels Li An on a quest of self-discovery, one that spans the divide between East and West, women and men, freedom and responsibility. Told with insight and wit, Lim''s sweeping debut novel demonstrates that while the journey is never easy, all roads lead, ultimately, to our true selves. "This elegantly crafted tale places Lim among the most imaginative and dexterous storytellers writing in the English language today." —Rey Chow, author of Primitive Passions "A gripping novel centered around a strong, language-struck, culture-crossing Asian woman''s quest for independence." —Rob Wilson, author of Reimagining the American Pacific "This felicitous novel is several books in one—Madame Butterfly transplanted to Malaysia, a feminist manifesto, and a commentary on the new Southeast Asia that has been emerging in recent years. Lim has woven these strands together in a colorful batik that is dazzling." —Hisaye Yamamoto, author of Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories

This “fascinating autobiography” from an award-winning Asian-American female author “reads like a novel” (The Washington Post Book World).   With insight, candor, and grace, Shirley Geok-lin Lim recalls her path from her poverty-stricken childhood in war-torn Malaysia to her new and exciting yet uncertain womanhood in America. Grappling to secure a place for herself in the United States, she is often caught between the stifling traditions of the old world and the harsh challenges of the new. But throughout her journey, she is sustained by her “warrior” spirit, gradually overcoming her sense of alienation to find a new identity as an Asian American woman: professor, wife, mother, and, above all, an impassioned writer.   In Among the White Moon Faces, Lim offers a memorable rendering of immigrant women’s experience and a reflection upon the homelands we leave behind, the homelands we discover, and the homelands we hold within ourselves.   “What sets Among the White Moon Faces apart is that Lim writes with such aching precision, revealing and insightfully analyzing her changing roles as woman, immigrant, scholar, and Other.” —San Francisco Chronicle Book Review   “Lim’s descriptions are both lyrical and precise.” —Publishers Weekly   “Evocative writing bolstered by insights into colonialism, race relations, and the concept of the ‘other’. . . . This is an entrancing memoir.” —Kirkus Reviews