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Mountain Heritage's Interests
General
Writing, Reading, Music, Appalachia.
Music
Our past visiting musicians have been Carla Gover, Jason Howard, Jessie Lynne Keltner, Kate Larken, Brett Ratliff,and Reel World String Band. In 2007 Kate Larken will lead a songwriting workshop at the festival. Our musical guest is not confirmed yet, but we guarantee you she is one you won't want to miss. We honor the Carter Family every year in some capacity as we are only about 80 miles from the Carter Fold.
Movies
All photographs of the Festival are by Neela Vaswani.
Television
Books
Past staff-members include Darnell Arnoult (Sufficient Grace), Virginia Boyd (One Fell Swoop), Pamela Duncan (The Big Beautiful), Sharon Hatfield (Never Seen the Moon), Jane Hicks (Bone and Blood Remember), Paul Brett Johnson (The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down), Catherine Landis (Harvest), George Ella Lyon (Don't You Remember?),Rita Quillen (Her Secret Dream), Anne Shelby (The Adventures of Molly Whuppie), Barbara Bates Smith (Ivy Rowe), Neela Vaswani (Where the Long Grass Bends), and Marianne Worthington (Larger Bodies Than Mine).
Heroes
At the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival we always pay tribute to the work of Emma Bell Miles, James Still, Jesse Stuart, George Scarbrough, and Don West, all of whom have been affiliated with Lincoln Memorial University.
About me: The Mountain Heritage Literary Festival was estabished in 2006 to pay tribute to the rich literary heritage of the region and of Lincoln Memorial University, which is the alma mater of such writers as James Still, Jesse Stuart, and Don West. The festival happens every year in June. Past keynote speakers have been Ron Rash (One Foot in Eden, Among the Believers) and Earl Hamner (Spencer's Mountain, The Waltons). In 2008 our keynote speaker will be none other than Lee Smith, author of such classics as Fair and Tender Ladies, The Devil's Dream, and Oral History.
This festival not only celebrates the rich history of Appalachian literature that we have all come to love, but also offers a guiding light for a new generation of writers who have been inspired by the writers who come from LMU and other writers of the Appalachian South. The Mountain Heritage Literary Festival will celebrate our living history while also providing master classes, workshops, lectures and readings to entertain and inform writers of today's generation.
At LMU we've always had our eye firmly planted on the future while never forgetting the importance of our past, and we hope to apply that same philosophy to our literary festival. which is directed by bestselling author and LMU Writer-in-Residence Silas House.
Besides the literary tradition that is still thriving at LMU, we also offer an amazingly beautiful space for writers to find inspiration. This is a festival that is completely down-home, accessible and fun–-traits for which Appalachians have rightly been known. Instead of fancy meals, at the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival you'll be fed the food your grandmother might have prepared for you. You'll hear storytelling and be treated to traditional music strummed on an autoharp. There will be plenty of music to be heard, plays to be seen and good fellowship to be had. Upon leaving the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival you will be able to say "I am a writer."
Who I'd like to meet: The staff for the 2008 Mountain Heritage Literary Festival has been announced:
-Fiction-Mark Powell, author of BLOOD KIN
-Poetry-Maurice Manning, author of BUCOLICS
-Nonfiction-George Ella Lyon, author of DON'T YOU REMEMBER?
-Songwriting-Kate Larken, guitarist, singer, songwriter
-Keynote Musician-Sheila Kay Adams
-Keynote-Lee Smith, author of FAIR AND TENDER LADIES
If you haven't yet had the intense literary pleasure of immersing yourself in a Sue Miller novel, please meet: Sue Miller, our feature author.
Also in this issue: our feature poet, Harry Owen, Poet Laureate of Cheshire, England.
Wander through four pages of poetry by many fine poets from various points across the globe... then lose yourself in a collection of stories, essays, and a memoir that will haunt you for days. Continue your tour of Greece, part two, then don't forget to read the book reviews. Gracing these pages with watercolor and oil paintings, etchings and charcoal sketches is the artwork of Viestarts Aistars.
