Participation Type
Performance
Session Title
Session 4.17 (Literature) Steel Valley Days: Two Northern Appalachian Writers
Session Abstract or Summary
A multi-genre reading of original works by Richard Hague and John Ray.
Richard Hague and John Ray present readings in several genres from their own works, punctuated, illustrated, and accompanied by a soundtrack of the Motown, Doo-Wop, and Rock and Roll music that was popular, in the industrialized Upper Ohio Valley, including eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and the northern Panhandle of West Virginia, during the Sixties. Readings capture the ethnic diversity, multi-cultural vitality, and chronic problems of this crucial coal, steel, and railroading region of Appalachia.
Presentation #1 Title
Steel Valley Days: Two Northern Appalachian Writers
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
A multi-genre reading of original works by Richard Hague and John Ray. Richard Hague and John Ray present readings in several genres from their own works, punctuated, illustrated, and accompanied by a soundtrack of the Motown, Doo-Wop, and Rock and Roll music that was popular, in the industrialized Upper Ohio Valley, including eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and the northern Panhandle of West Virginia, during the Sixties. Readings capture the ethnic diversity, multi-cultural vitality, and chronic problems of this crucial coal, steel, and railroading region of Appalachia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
John Ray's three most recent plays—"The Sweet Burning Yonder," "And The Band Played On," and "Revolting Circumstances"—have been featured in the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, for which he also directed Richard Hague's "Where Drunk Men Go." He holds an MFA in Theater from Ohio University. "Radio Gomorrah," a serial podcast set in our own dyspeptic, dystopian and near future, is his current project.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Richard Hague, poet, fiction writer, and performer, is a native of Steubenville, Ohio. Hague received The 2012 Weatherford Prize in Poetry for "During The Recent Extinctions: New & Selected Poems l984-2012"; "Alive in Hard Country" was named 2003 Poetry Book of The Year by the Appalachian Writers Association, and his "Milltown Natural: Stories and Essays From A Life", was nominated for a National Book Award.
Steel Valley Days: Two Northern Appalachian Writers
A multi-genre reading of original works by Richard Hague and John Ray. Richard Hague and John Ray present readings in several genres from their own works, punctuated, illustrated, and accompanied by a soundtrack of the Motown, Doo-Wop, and Rock and Roll music that was popular, in the industrialized Upper Ohio Valley, including eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and the northern Panhandle of West Virginia, during the Sixties. Readings capture the ethnic diversity, multi-cultural vitality, and chronic problems of this crucial coal, steel, and railroading region of Appalachia.
