22 episodes
The Talking Appalachian Podcast Amy D. Clark
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- Society & Culture
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4.6 • 9 Ratings
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Talking Appalachian is a podcast about the Appalachian Mountain region's diverse linguistic landscape (otherwise known as the "voiceplace") and other aspects of its culture, hosted by Dr. Amy Clark: linguaphile, maker, wanderer, and founding Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. The podcast is based on her 2013 co-edited book Talking Appalachian: Voice, Identity, and Community. Her writing on Appalachia has appeared in the New York Times, Oxford American Magazine, Salon.com, on NPR, and Harvard U. Press web site. She is also co-host and producer of the podcast Southern Salon, which covers communication and culture.
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The Burial Ground in the Woods Part II
How do ghosts speak through their artifacts? As we continue the story of the burial ground in the woods, I'm joined by Dr. Angela Washington, my co-researcher and family. We talk about the chilling death portrait that proved to be our starting point, the coverlet supposedly woven by enslaved women linking the land to the folklore, and the surprising things you find when you search old barns. We're talking to ghosts in this episode, so join us as we talk about the kind of genealogical research that rewrites the family narrative. For photos of the artifacts we discuss in the podcast, subscribe to our You Tube channel and check out the community tab or here on our Patreon page, where a paid subscription will give you access to the full story of the burial ground, plus behind the scenes content, early access, and bonus photos/videos.
Support the Show.
Get your 2024 Talking Appalachian desk calendar here and support the podcast.
Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us.
You can also support the show by sharing links to episodes on social or here at our Patreon page:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
One time support: @amyclarkspain on Paypal
Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
Acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain -
The Burial Ground in the Woods
What secrets does a 19th century burial ground hold, when the stones have no words or dates, and family folklore says they belonged to enslaved people? In this episode, I'm joined by William Isom II of Black in Appalachia, my co-researcher on this burial ground project for the past ten years. For almost two centuries, gravestones with no inscriptions have huddled in the woods on my family's land, covered in graveyard ivy. From a death portrait to a woven coverlet to ground penetrating radar that revealed the remains, we slowly pieced together their story as we asked the questions: Who were they? Is the family story true? And listen as Will narrates an incredible discovery.
Join us on Patreon for the full account, an essay narrated by Amy. Previously titled "The Rocks," it garnered honorable mention in 2016's Best American Essays, edited by Jonathon Franzen and won the 2014 Lamar York Prize for Nonfiction.
Support the Show.
Get your 2024 Talking Appalachian desk calendar here and support the podcast.
Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us.
You can also support the show by sharing links to episodes on social or here at our Patreon page:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
One time support: @amyclarkspain on Paypal
Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
Acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain -
Talking Appalachian in Ireland
Join us in beautiful Ireland where we learn about a town with two names (Londonderry/Derry), an Irishman's take on "hillbilly," familiar words and pronunciations, and a primitive alphabet inspired by trees.
Support the Show.
Get your 2024 Talking Appalachian desk calendar here and support the podcast.
Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us.
You can also support the show by sharing links to episodes on social or here at our Patreon page:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
One time support: @amyclarkspain on Paypal
Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
Acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain -
The Woodcarver
The sisters remembered her "witchy" looking dolls, but they were forever haunted by that one day when the woodcarver's knife nearly took their mother's life.
In this episode, I retell a chilling story told to me by my great-grandmother and her sisters...one that has given me nightmares. But it's also a story about mental illness, and family, and how we reconsider stories passed down through time from 21st century perspectives. Later in the episode, I'm joined by my cousin, Dr. Angela Washington, as we examine this horror story once passed among the grandchildren, and consider what really might have happened and why.
For a photo of the woodcarver, subscribe to our Patreon community or join us over on our YouTube channel.
Support the Show.
Get your 2024 Talking Appalachian desk calendar here and support the podcast.
Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us.
You can also support the show by sharing links to episodes on social or here at our Patreon page:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
One time support: @amyclarkspain on Paypal
Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
Acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain -
What Two Letters a Century Apart Tell Us About the Writers' Home Voices
Listen to the voice of John Gregory, a Civil War infantryman writing home from a cold, February campsite in 1862, a year before he would die at Gettysburg. Then, listen to the voice of Cordia Nichols, a woman diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1959 and recovering in the Catawba Sanitorium. John's letter allows us to study his dialect before audio-recording was invented, and Cordia's letter helps us to see (and hear) patterns that were still being spoken almost 100 years later in Virginia. This is just one example of what old documents like letters, journals, recipes, and more can teach us about voice through content analysis.
Thank to Brock Davidson (gbdavidson7@icloud.com) and Addy Hutchison for lending their voices to these letters.
Gregory's letter comes from the Corpus of Civil War Letters
Cordia's letter was found in an old sewing machine given to me.
Support the Show.
Get your 2024 Talking Appalachian desk calendar here and support the podcast.
Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us.
You can also support the show by sharing links to episodes on social or here at our Patreon page:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
One time support: @amyclarkspain on Paypal
Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
Acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain -
Three Reasons Why You Can be Proud of Your Dialect (Plus a Discussion of 'Sworp' and 'Watch for Deer')
If you've ever found yourself in the position of having to defend your accent or dialect, or if you're an educator who wants to support your students' home voices but you're not sure whether you can do that while teaching standard English, this one is for you. We'll cover three (among many) justifications for Appalachian home voices (as well as others.)
1. It's a legitimate way of speaking a language, and that is backed by research.
2. It can co-exist alongside standard English.
3. Stigma and stereotype fill the void when people do not know the histories or reasons for accent (and dialect in general.)
We'll also cover "sworp" and "watch for deer."
Support the Show.
Get your 2024 Talking Appalachian desk calendar here and support the podcast.
Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us.
You can also support the show by sharing links to episodes on social or here at our Patreon page:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
One time support: @amyclarkspain on Paypal
Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
Acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain
Customer Reviews
Giving us a voice.
I enjoy this podcast because it gives a serious voice to my people. In popular media we are usually made fun of and generally disrespected. It gives me a resource to direct people to who genuinely want to learn about our culture. Thank you from East Tennessee!!