Prejudice of the Disabled in Classic Literature and Today

We all love Jane Austen, right? That's *fairly* universal. Well, here's some food for thought.

Mr. Darcy is a character that women swoon for even today and is held up in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" as a model for all men of gentlemanliness. Consider this, however. In the book, he is betrothed from birth to Lady Catherine de Bourgh's daughter, a sickly, mostly shut-in girl. But, of course, he prefers Elizabeth Bennet. There is nothing wrong with that, per se. Elizabeth is charming and witty and definitely his match. What should concern us as a society, but which is never remarked upon, is the fact that Miss de Bourgh's poor health is used to justify Darcy's complete lack of interest in her. Even Elizabeth expresses disdain when she sees Miss de Bourgh in a carriage as if to say: "Darcy deserves nothing better." Austen also takes a stab at emotional disorders with the character of Elizabeth Bennet's mother.

Perhaps Austen realised that injustice as her own health failed tragically early. In "Mansfield Park", the heroine Fanny Price suffers from mild health issues. She is described as one who requires daily exercise in the fresh air, pale at times, and prone to quick fatigue and headaches. Alarmingly, this is one of the major reasons why the majority of readers describe "Mansfield Park" as their least favourite Austen book. Critics describe the character as unbearably whiny and fragile. The fact that she also has strong principles and conviction to withstand peer pressure is a mark against her as well, regarded by modern audiences as being self-righteous. Most modern day retellings of "Mansfield Park" make Fanny Price much more robust and mischevious. Only in the 1983 BBC made-for-TV mini-series is Fanny portrayed as Austen intended. This version is very difficult to find nowadays. The implication is clear: how could any man truly deeply love any woman who is even mildly challenged health-wise.

This continues today. How many plot lines can you think of which use a spouse's disability to justify and garner sympathy for the able-bodied spouse who is thus burdened and/or commits adultery? Personally, it is too many to count or list here.

The fact that these portrayals have not been pointed out to date is a disturbing reminder that in our modern society it is still acceptable to dismiss and even disdain those who are sickly or disabled. Growing up, I was told multiple times that no one would want to marry me because I'm too much work for a man to willingly accept due to my Cerebral Palsy. While some readers may feel proper indignation at reading that, it is a sad truth for many disabled. We are told, "take the relationships arranged for you by others, marry one of your own kind, or end up alone." Sometimes, you will hear a disabled person remark in a faux-glib tone: "I can't marry." Notice the shift in blame, the tendency to internalise society's idea that the disabled person is at fault because they are disabled and not potential partners and society for teaching those potential partners that it's ok to view a disabled person as a burden or even lacking in character simply because they are challenged. 

Some carry these prejudicial attitudes without realising it. There are those who will talk about how the disabled who need government assistance are lazy and a burden on the taxpayer, but when a relative points out to them that they are disabled and on government assistance, that same person will reply without hesitation "That's different." What is even more frustrating is that these ones fail to see the hypocrisy in that stance and how the rhetoric against the "lazy" also hurts the relative who is "different." Now, it is not my intention to get into politics here. This is simply the best and easiest to explain example of the kind of double-thinking that often happens so that people can somehow rationalise and live with the disgusting prejudicial views they hold and the actions that stem from them.

In the last 5 to 8 years there has been a slight shift in literature. Disabled writers and poets, rather than allowing disable-shaming to silence them, are beginning to write about their experiences, to bring forward characters that open readers' eyes to a challenged person's point of view. This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. Currently, it is but a whisper in the shouting static of societal opinion, but it is there. 

Perhaps in another couple hundred years...

Contemporary Appalachian Poetry: Something Taken, Something Given - Three Book Reviews

Jessica D. Thompson, Bullets and Blank Bibles, (Liquid Paper Press, 2013),  32 pages, poetry, $6.00 U.S.

Roberta Schultz, Outposts on the Border of Longing, (Finishing Line Press, 2014),  32 pages, poetry, $12.00 U.S.

Marianne Worthington, Larger Bodies than Mine, (Finishing Line Press, 2006), 30 pages, poetry, $12.00 U.S. 

Appalachian poetry, like its culture, is changing fast. If you think you know what to expect from it, think again. The three books I am reviewing here are on the more traditional end of contemporary Appalachian poetry, but this is not the poetry that came from the region 100 years ago. And it is not the poetry to come in the very near future. Still, one over-riding principle remains for Appalachian poets - no matter how they choose to practice their art: "For something taken, something/must be given." ("Something Taken", Bullets and Blank Bibles, Jessica D. Thompson). 

When one's culture is in a rapid state of change, the urgent need is to reflect that instability while paying proper respect to what is passing. For some poets this means taking something - experimenting with radical new modes of expression in an effort to capture the mood of change and possibly form a language for what must inevitably follow. For other poets it means giving something - attempting to preserve some of what is passing. The three poets in this review are largely seeking to preserve the heritage and culture that is almost faded entirely into memory, that cozy, warm past that outsiders once derided and now seek out as tourists. 

Marianne Worthington is probably the most notable of the three for this patient homage. Her tipping of the hat in Larger Bodies than Mine consists of family portraits painted deftly from memory in careful metered lines. There is very little alliterative play here, but the preciousness of it renders it surprising and rich where it does occur. Most of her collection focuses on various grandmothers. Heaneyesque in many ways, her verse teeters on the thin line of over-sentimentality without slipping over. This is nostalgia on the tongue and in the mind. While the forms rely heavily on meter, she does not make the mistake of rhyming into sing-song.

Jessica D. Thompson writes of the rural setting and a little of family, but Bullets and Blank Bibles is not as polished. It retains a bluntness Worthington does not allow for, an anger biting subtly below the surface. One might call it simply Discontent. Take this line from the best poem in the volume ("Turquoise") as an example: "We measure our life by what we love/but settle for what we are given". That's Appalachian culture summed up in one neat little aphorism (Thompson is good at that). Compromise is everything in a region that both nurtures and murders, and that is something she knows well. As with Worthington, her verse depends much on meter, but she stretches it a bit. It's a little more fluid, slightly unhinged. Alliteration gets more time on the page. But the overall pace is kept appropriately slow, measured, and deliberate, like the passing of the seasons.

Enter Roberta Schultz' Outposts on the Border of Longing. Though I don't think she means to, she serves as a kind of mediator between the more traditional poets of Appalachia and the radical, avant garde. She too pulls mostly from memory for her subject matter (and not all of it is PC), but her style makes the end result feel less lyrical and more confessional. She deviates from variations on blank verse  more than the previous two and tries out forms less often used by the majority of poets on her side of the spectrum (striking example: "War: A Sestina"). Schultz does, unfortunately, indulge in a nauseating cuteness when she writes of her pet cat ("Be Careful What You Wish For"). For one horrifying moment, I thought I was judging an elementary school poetry contest! But then she recovers nicely with this anecdote as an explanation of her poetic philosophy:

"Night vision begins

at twenty minutes - 

ten minutes after most

of us reach for a switch,

flushing our faith with fear, 

leaving us night blind."

("Night Blind")

The encouragement here is explicit. Poetry is about intuition and insight, not the gathering of data or facts. This is even more true when the old modes of expression are rendered largely irrelevant by seismic cultural shifts. So we must allow ourselves to develop "night vision" and write from that.

While it is true that narrative, form, and meter remain strong components for these three poets, their work nevertheless contains powerful realisations that the old Appalachian ways are gone. Wistful and mournful, these poets clearly feel a keen sense of loss and separation from that which made them who they are. In doing so, they give something back to the culture that it is now missing from it. This serves as a needed balance to those contemporary Appalachian poets who take something by forging ahead to see what they can make of what comes next in the blinding light of the new unknown.  

(For full disclosure: this is an unpaid review. No good or services were received.)

Book Review: "Abdellatif Laâbi: Poems/Poèmes"

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on March 11, 2013)

Abdellatif Laâbi is an acclaimed Moroccon poet writing in the French language and the Poetry Translation Centre of the UK has published a chapbook of his work translated into English by André Naffis-Sahely. It is, of course, too short to be representative of decades of poetry, but is a fine testament of admiration to Laâbi.

Naffis-Sahely explains Laâbi's clashes with Moroccon authorities in the introduction. Apparently the poet even spent some time imprisoned, which is mentioned in the poetry as well. It is clear that Naffis-Sahely has a deep respect for Laâbi and his poems. This respect is evident in the translations.

I do not pretend to be an expert in French. Indeed, I could use some refresher courses. But to the ear of a non-native speaker who, it must be said, became less fluent as I went along, the French of Laâbi's poems is not overly concerned with the inherent musicality of the language. Instead, he seems to employ rather direct wording. I do not think it very possible for French to be gruff, but if it could I get the sense he might take that route. In the absence of that ability, the nearest descriptive word could be straight-forward (?). I add the question mark because even that does not seem to adequately describe my impression, but is the closest approximation. He does not seem to strive for pretty; what he seeks is impact.

This is something that Naffis-Sahely strove to bring over to the English translations. And English is a language that can do straight-foward, even gruff and worse, quite well. The challenge for Naffis-Sahely was to translate impact without becoming too rough and thus losing the quality of French to always remain somewhat pretty when the subject is anything but. He succeeded. For example: "I hear the wolves/ switch the lights off at midnight/ and lawfully rape their wives" (from "The Wolves").

Standout poems are "My Mother's Language", "The Wolves", and "The Poem Tree". The most truly beautiful poem in the chapbook is, for me, "La Terre S'ouvre et T'accueille" translated "The Earth Opens and Welcomes You". It was written for Tahar Djaout, a writer killed in Algiers in 1993.
"O my friend
sleep well
you need it
because you worked hard
like an honourable man

...

Sleep well my friend
Sleep the sleep of the righteous
Rest well
even from your dreams
Let us shoulder the burden a little"

Buy the chapbook at Poetry Translation Centre.

Learn more about Poetry Translation Centre.

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha"

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on January 14, 2010)

"The Song of Hiawatha" is one of the most beloved American classics and yet has been a little neglected recently by the literary community at large. Perhaps its pre-modern origins make it uninteresting as a modern study, or maybe it has simply become a text that is taken for granted? Who knows.

My mother found and gifted to me a 112 year old copy of this book. It was published within 50 years of the epic's first appearance in 1855. It is the Minnehaha Edition with illustrations published by Thompson & Thomas of Chicago in 1898. It is cloth-bound with what looks to have been at one time a beautiful gilded cover. It has a very short uncredited introduction and six pages of notes in the back. Otherwise, there is no scholarly material.

Longfellow was a poet of his time in many senses. One evidence of which is his careful attention to form and musicality within his work. Another was his choice of subject matter which he was at a opportune time in history to explore and record. What makes Longfellow stand out is the ease with which this book-length poem can be read. I am generally not inclined to read book-length poems because of their ungainliness. Poetry sustained over such a long stretch can tend to become cumbersome, dull, and difficult to follow. Not so "The Song of Hiawatha".

Such as the introduction and notes to this particular volume are, they do shed some light on Longfellow's sources for the material contained in "Hiawatha". The disadvantage of reading such an early edition is that these sources are stated as though generally known and accessible, which is not the case for the average modern reader who has not already made a scholarly study of the poem. These are stated this way: Schoolcraft's Algic Researches and other books, from Heckewelder's Narratives, from Black Hawk (one of the most famous Native American chiefs in U.S. history and who Longfellow associated with in Boston. Black Hawk died in 1838), and from the Ojibway chief Kahge-ga-gah-bowh, whom Longfellow entertained at his home.

Though the legends that inspired "Hiawatha" are more or less common to the Native American populations and there are references within the poem to locations throughout the United States, "Hiawatha" largely concerns itself with the Ojibways (modern spelling: Ojibwe or Ojibwa) and much of the story takes place on the southern shores of Lake Superior in Michigan. Hiawatha himself is depicted as an Ojibway of supernatural origins.

There are many similarities in the action of this poem with other known legends and narratives of other cultures. In one part, Hiawatha takes a journey to settle the score with his father, the north-west wind, who jilted his mother who later died of heartbreak that, although told swiftly and briefly, echoes the Odyssey. There are also some similarity with Greek myths concerning stars, etc. Biblical narratives are also brought to mind when Hiawatha gets swallowed by a fish, wrestles an angel-like creature which gave corn its name, and whose friend is the strongest man ever to live and has only one weakness which is fatally exploited, etc.

What may be the most remembered moments of the epic are those involving Hiawatha's relationship with Minnehaha. She was of one of the Dacotah tribes (the notes tell us that those known as the Sioux are most likely meant here) which were longtime enemies of the Ojibways and Hiawatha's marriage to her brought peace between them for a time. Lines 1-5 and 15-20 of Chapter 10, in which Hiawatha and his grandmother Nokomis discuss marriage, are possibly the most quoted passages of the whole poem.

The singular beauty, musicality, and readability of the work may be most owing to the proliferation of Native American names and terms throughout. Except place-names, these are usually explained within the text of the poem as part of the form. For the names of locations, one usually has to refer to the notes in the back or to small clues left in the text and one's knowledge of U.S. geography.

There can be no doubt of the service that Longfellow rendered in preserving these legends in surprisingly accessible form for future generations and readers. It would be beneficial to see more scholarly papers written about "The Song of Hiawatha", from both the viewpoint of the "white" majority and especially from the viewpoint of Native Americans.

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The Evolution of Appalachian Culture

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on June 18, 2013. All references extracted in 2013.)

There are people from all around the globe who have been requesting that I write about life in Appalachia. I have avoided delving too deeply into the subject thus far because, like everything else in life lately (including personal choices in groceries), it is becoming an increasingly politicised one. I am completely neutral in political and social issues and this article is not meant to be political or activist in any way. I do not endorse any particular view or issue over another. This article is meant rather to present an accurate report on the development of Appalachia to date and its current state, as written by an Appalachian.
* * *

Appalachia is a very complex and rich region. To the Native Americans, it was a most beloved home and much of it was considered as sacred ground. It was one of the first regions in North America to be settled. Recent research suggests that settlement occurred in this order:

First, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern peoples came as abandoned slaves and various other unfortunate ways. Second, peoples of European descent arrived, as has been well documented. Third, African peoples were brought in largely as slaves on plantations. Lastly, over the course of the last decade in particular, a scattering of peoples from all over the globe have come into the region as migrant workers and legal and illegal immigrants, mainly seeking employment in the medical field.

All these varied peoples blended blood, cultures, and languages into a people and language unlike anywhere else in the U.S. and the world. For several hundred years, this unique culture developed independently due to the natural isolation caused by the inaccessible terrain.

About the 1850s, however, the region's rich resources attracted the attention of the outside world which was eager to exploit those resources. The people of Appalachia were subjected to slave-like wages and lifestyle as they were employed to cut its vast rainforest for timber and mine its equally vast coalfields. Appalachian coal - from Pennsylvania to Alabama (with its largest and most important coalfields in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky) - fueled the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. and Britain.

It was about this time that Appalachians began to migrate out to other regions in search of better and safer employment. The Great Appalachian Out-Migration, as it has become known, continues down to this day. Its peak was from the 1920s through the 1960s. During this peak period, scholars estimate that 3 to 5 million people left the mountains. Record keeping has always been neglected and spotty at best in the region, so that the actual numbers may be significantly higher.

Because of this phenomenon, aspects of Appalachian culture came to be disseminated to and influence the national culture. For instance, the music genres of Bluegrass, Old Tyme Mountain Music, and Country all have their roots in Appalachia. U.S. Route 23 - which carves a winding path through Eastern Kentucky - is named "The Country Music Highway" because of all the music stars and legends who hail from communities accessible from that road. In time, Country music contributed to the development of Rock n Roll.

Another dominant feature of Appalachian culture is the people's intense zeal for a plethora of Christian denominations. Even within denominations, doctrines can vary widely - often being completely opposite - so that it is not uncommon to have more than one church of the same denomination on the same street or hollow. Much of the region is part of what is known nationally as "The Bible Belt". Certain denominations originated in Appalachia, including those who handle snakes and Pentecostals. A unique style of preaching developed there during the 1700s that is variously called "hacking" or "hiccupping". It continues to be popular in the region to this day. Gospel music and singing is deeply engrained in cultural rituals and day to day life. The Great Appalachian Out-Migration spread some of these practices throughout the English-speaking world. Which ones and to what degree vary according to country and region.

Conditions for those who remained in the mountains began to change with the advent of labor unions. Bloody conflicts - known today as the Mining Wars or the Union Wars - broke out all over the region. This began in the very early 1900s and, in the most isolated areas, continued until the 1980s. These were revolutions to ensure fair wages, an improved and more independent lifestyle, and safer working conditions.

These wars became even more critical and frenzied in the 1930s. This was, of course, the period of the Great Depression. If you are appalled by the economic sufferings of the world in general at that time, I assure you Appalachia was not exempt. The majority of its people had no other recourse but to eat weeds and grass just to put something in their stomachs. This decade saw the invention of such cultural dishes as Dandelion greens, Mustard greens, and Poke Salad. It may also account for the popular stereotype of "hillbillies" dressed in tatters and with bare feet. During those bleak years, it was common for people to hunt game with Civil War era guns and homemade knives just to survive the winters. That may be a reason that the culture continues to be gun-oriented and survivalist to this day.

Some relief came from government work programs like the CCC and the WPA which offered a few jobs. The programs resulted in projects that built the very first government sponsored infrastructure in Appalachia besides the vital-to-coal-production railroad system. Road building, bridge building, and the installation of the first community parks were among these. But the people were aware that the work programs were temporary. Coal was, in comparison, more permanent and reliable, hence the wars to improve the situation of miners continued. The psychological toll of all this was immeasurable. The scars remain indelible on the hearts and minds of the Appalachian people.

In the 1970s, Appalachia experienced what is called "The Coal Boom". The increased prosperity of that decade brought a kind of modernisation to the region. Indoor plumbing became common. Gone was the reliance on horses, public transit, and mainly your own feet because many families were now able to own a car. New road systems were built and many were paved. People could afford to buy groceries at the market so that the family garden generally became a hobby rather than a necessity. Telephones and televisions were introduced into individual homes. Farm animals were no longer kept as a vital means of sustenance. Hunting became entertainment. New school systems were organized with bigger buildings and larger faculties. People began to travel more.

But the Coal Boom was also negative. The Great Appalachian Out-Migration continued. As the region slowly began to open up to the outside world, its people became increasingly aware that they were different and they encountered fierce prejudice. Shame for their way of life, their language, and even themselves as individuals became deeply engrained in the fabric of its society, affecting especially the educational systems of the region.

As time progressed into the next decade, the devastating and defining factor was a single fact: the coal was running out.

I attended school throughout the 1980s and 1990s. I can tell you from first-hand experience what the dominate attitude was in the school systems of the most isolated areas at that time. The emphasis was on leaving. Teachers were exasperated that they were grooming young men primarily for the mines (women would marry, have children, and keep house). Even as young students we didn't need teachers to tell us that to go into the mines meant putting your life at risk every day. Those who survived the often catastrophic work accidents were physically broken men by the age of 40 at the latest. The brightest minds would migrate out to other regions where their talents - whether in the various arts or rocket science or any field - could be cultivated and put to use. It was assumed that this was the only option available to anyone who couldn't or didn't want to work for the coal companies.

Practically every day, we were presented with the mounting evidence that the coal reserves were finite. In a region where coal has the monopoly on the economy, this was the absolute most horrifying reality to contemplate, let alone accept. A common refrain was: "In 20 years, there will be no coal left. Appalachia will be nothing but ghost towns like the ones in the Old West." The solution: go to college and get out. If you couldn't win a scholarship, you were encouraged to join the army. Or, if you loved the mountains too much to abandon them, the disappointed, half-hearted advice was to prepare for a job in tourism or the medical field. The overall outlook was consistently pessimistic.

While the 1990s were prosperous for the world in general, terms like "economically depressed" and "backward" were applied to Appalachia. The reason was that the rest of humanity was moving on from coal in attempts to find renewable, clean, green sources of energy.

The coal companies, such as Massey Energy (also called A.T. Massey), responded by mounting publicity campaigns to convince the people that coal was the only resource available and the only possibility for the people's survival. The unions began to slowly collapse under the pressure. This process accelerated throughout the 2000s.

Today, the situation is at the breaking point. This makes it a very interesting period in Appalachian history and culture. How so?

The coal seams that remain to be mined are thin, yet whole mountaintops are literally blown away to reach them. Every week the equivalent of one atomic bomb (comparable to Hiroshima) is released on Appalachia in a process known locally as strip-mining and worldwide as Mountaintop Removal (MTR). The unique eco-system of this deciduous rainforest is almost completely devastated. Whole species of animal, plant, and insect life have become extinct. The once abundant wild beds of valuable herbs like ginseng, goldenseal, St. Johns Wort, and the like are seriously endangered. Nearly all of the water is polluted with lethal poisons like arsenic. Clean drinking water is nonexistent, even in municipal systems. The highest cancer rates in the nation are found in this region, as well as the rarest forms of cancer. Entire small communities have disappeared because of the combined forces of cancer deaths, poor development planning, and mine operation related disasters. Birth defects are spiraling. Still, the coal that is mined is increasingly of low quality. Some companies have resorted to spraying the waste with chemicals so that it will burn and thus can be sold. Today, most Appalachian coal is exported to countries like India. The coal is indeed running out, and so are buyers.

The coal companies' response to this growing crisis has been to step up the publicity campaign to mania. Slogans like "Coal Keeps the Lights On", "Friends of Coal", and "Don't like Coal? Stop Using Electricity" convinces people that the majority of electricity in America depends on Appalachian coal to fuel it. Everywhere you look billboards and news media spread talk of a so-called "War On Coal" in which the Environmental Protection Agency and the government is supposedly conspiring to ruin the coal industry, destroy Appalachia, and starve its children. There is a Coal Awareness campaign with an Awareness ribbon and Coal Rallies are organised regularly.

All of this whips up people's emotions to fanaticism and almost to violence. The unions are now almost completely nonfunctional entities. In many places, they no longer exist at all. Following the presidential campaign of 2012, there were some who called for secession from the union and another Civil War. The reason? To save coal. People are near panic because they believe their very lives are at stake.

At the same time, there is a growing number who are working for solutions and envisioning Appalachia after coal. New ideas are being brought to the table and gradually put into action. Many of these efforts center on diversifying the economy. Already companies are tapping into the biggest natural gas reservoirs in the country, which lie largely in Appalachia. Politicians are actively seeking to build prisons as a source of employment and community revenue. Appalachia is the premiere region for the development of green energy such as wind, solar, and water power. Initiatives to explore these and use them are well underway. It is also an area that is used for government sponsored agricultural research. There are seed banks nestled on some of its mountaintops for the preservation of seed for future generations. As coal severance tax revenue declines with the coal industry, a variety of other taxes are being implemented to balance the coffers. The revenues from these new taxes are mostly put back into encouraging the growing tourism industry.

In fact, it seems the majority of initiatives to diversify the economy involve tourism. With this in mind, new, expanded infrastructure is being built. This includes new and more efficient highway systems, parks, and attractions. The arts (which have always been prominent and highly valued in Appalachia, but not generally encouraged as viable careers) are receiving increased funding and opportunities.

The most encouraging side-effect of all this new activity is that it is creating an environment in which a renewed pride in Appalachia - its beauty, its resources (plural), its culture, and its people - is slowly awakening.

Interestingly, these combined and opposed forces are acting like the forces that pressure a lump of coal into a diamond. They are, actually, changing the culture. Just as the 1970s brought modern appliances and conveniences to the region, the current period is bringing about a gradual modernisation of mind and heart, with both the positives and negatives inherent to that outcome. It is causing Appalachians to increasingly look outward in the sense of seeing themselves as part of a larger whole. They are beginning to understand just how their region and what happens there is connected to, effects, and is effected by, the rest of the nation and the world. As a people, their horizons are widening beyond the mountains that afford them views of only narrow strips of sky. The final death of isolation is underway.

What will Appalachia be in another 20 years? It is difficult to say; I am no prophet. However, at least two things are certain. First, it will not be a region of ghost towns. Second, it will be very different to anything we have known until now.

Resources:

RANvideo, "Mountaintop Removal: An American Tragedy", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyzwCKoLhDo&feature=player_embedded, April 4, 2011, Youtube.com

Appalachian Voices, "Ecological Impacts of Mountaintop Removal", http://appvoices.org/end-mountaintop-removal/ecology/, 2012, Appvoices.org

Goerge Ellison, "Do You Know Where You Live?", http://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/807-do-you-know-where-you-live, May 19, 2010, Smokey Mountain News

Everett Sizemore, "Appalachian Americans: The Invisible Minority", http://voices.yahoo.com/appalachian-americans-invisible-minority-6422.html?cat=37, August 16, 2005, Yahoo Voices

The Moonlit Road, "Coal Mining in Appalachia", http://themoonlitroad.com/coal-mining-appalachia/, The Moonlit Road.Com

Kentucky Coal Education, Entire Site, http://www.coaleducation.org/coalhistory/default_H.htm, Kentucky Foundation

West Virginia State Archives, "West Virginia's Mine Wars", http://www.wvculture.org/history/minewars.html, West Virginia Division of Culture and History

Socialist Worker.org, "The Miners At War in Kentucky", http://socialistworker.org/2011/06/24/miners-at-war-in-kentucky, June 24, 2011 reprint (original April 1977), International Socialist Organization

Appalshop, "Mine War on Blackberry Creek (1986) - Web Stream", http://appalshop.org/film/minewar/stream.html, Appalshop.org

Jeff Goodell, "The Dark Lord of Coal Country", http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-dark-lord-of-coal-country-20101129, November 29, 2010, Rolling Stone Magazine

Bill Estep, "100 Years of Coal Mining in Harlan County", http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/21/1852406/100-years-of-coal-in-harlan-county.html, August 21, 2011, Kentucky.com

Stephen Lacey, "Five Things You Need to Know About 'War On Coal' Messaging This Election Season", http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/25/1080841/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-war-on-coal-this-election-season/?mobile=nc, October 25, 2012, ThinkProgress.org

Ken Ward, Jr., "Coal's Decline Forewarned", http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201210130087, October 13, 2012, The Charleston Gazette

Vicki Smith and The Associated Press, "'War On Coal' Rhetoric Masks Fundamental Issues", http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201210200030, October 20, 2012, The Charleston Gazette

Martin Kelly, "Top 10 New Deal Programs", http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatdepression/tp/new_deal_programs.htm, About.com

Phillip J. Obermiller, "Historical Sources on Appalachian Migration and Urban Appalachians, 1870 - 1999: A Selectively Annotated Bibliography", http://uacvoice.org/pdf/Historical%20Sources%20on%20Appalachian%20Migration.pdf, Urban Appalachian Council

J. Trent Alexander, "Defining the Diaspora: Appalachians in the Great Migration", Volume 37, Number 2, Autumn 2006, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Homer Hickman, "October Sky", published February 1999, Dell Publishing

Elton Gahr, edited by Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch, "Chapter Summaries for 'October Sky'", http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/121533-october-sky-chapter-summaries/, updated May 21, 2013, Bright Hub Education

Wingo PA, Tucker TC, Jamison PM, Martin H, McLaughlin C, Bayakly R, Bolick-Aldrich S, Colsher P, Indian R, Knight K, Neloms S, Wilson R, Richards TB, "Cancer in Appalachia, 2001 - 2003", http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18000806, January 1, 2008, PubMed.gov

Farron Cousins, "Mountaintop Removal Mining Directly Linked To 60,000 Cancer Cases In Appalachia", http://www.desmogblog.com/mountaintop-removal-mining-directly-linked-60-000-cancer-cases-appalachia, July 27, 2011, Desmogblog.com

Sean Evans, "Online Petitions Call for Secession", http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Online-petitions-call-for-sece-179130701.html, November 13, 2012, WKYT News

Lost In America, "Obama Re-Election Means a 2^nd Civil War", http://justcommonsense-lostinamerica.blogspot.com/2012/07/obama-re-election-means-2nd-civil-war.html, July 18, 2012, Blogspot

Economic Development Research Group, Inc., Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., MIT Dept. of Urban Studies & Planning, "Sources of Regional Growth in Non-Metro Appalachia", http://www.arc.gov/assets/research_reports/sourcesofgrowth_vol1through4_full.pdf, revised 2007, Appalachian Regional Commission

West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, "Summary Data and Statistics: The Atlas of Major Appalachian Gas Plays", http://www.wvgs.wvnet.edu/www/datastat/dataofr1.htm, WVGES

Gallaway, Suzanne, Ph.D., "The Geography of Industry Specialization: Tourism Development Strategies within the Appalachian Regional Commission Area. (2010)", http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/Gallaway_uncg_0154D_10524.pdf, Uncg.edu

News Sentinel Editorial Board, "Editorial: Study Offers Strong Ideas for Growth in Rural Appalachia", http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/jun/08/editorial-study-offers-strong-ideas-for-growth/, Knoxnews.com

Press Release: Sierraclub.org, "Sierra Club and AEP Reach Deal On Future of Kentucky's Big Sandy Coal Plant", http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science/science-a-environmental/43812-sierra-club-aep-reach-deal-on-future-of-kentucky-s-big-sandy-coal-plant.html, June 6, 2013, Enews Park Forest

Andrew Cole, "The Origin of Rock and Roll", http://www.tysto.com/articles09/q2/20090530rockandroll.shtml, May 30, 2009, Tysto

Piero Scaruffi, "A Brief History of Country Music", excerpt from the book "A History of Popular Music", http://www.scaruffi.com/history/country.html, Scaruffi.com