Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Telling the Story of Mountain Life and Work
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Mountain Life and Work was the first periodical publication devoted exclusively to the interests of the residents of the southern Appalachian mountain region. llege in Berea, Kentucky, and in later years from new offices in Clintwood, Virginia. Even now, ML&W appears cited in Appalachian Studies scholarship about nearly every subject in the discipline, from education reform to coal union organizing to handicrafts, including poetry, editorials, photographs, and advertisements. ML&W started as a conservative advocacy tool for religious and educational reform, run by a small group of educated people, but transformed into a radical, community-driven resource for activism and change. It went from a glorified church newsletter to a fixture in radical underground journalism. The transformation of the magazine mirrors the transformation of Appalachian studies and the region as a whole. But almost nothing is known about the publication itself, even though it is a constant fixture in bibliographies. This paper will outline a basic history of the production of Mountain Life and Work and its place in regional journalism, giving us a glimpse of how Mountain Life and Work changed along with a changing Appalachia. It draws on archival research from Berea's Special Collections, as well as scholarship about the phenomenon of little magazines, to create a timeline of ML&W history that describes how the production changed as the editorship changed, and how each phase of ML&W transformed it more into the radical publication it became. The story of Mountain Life and Work reflects the ways Appalachian studies and Appalachia itself transformed from institution-based to community-driven, from reform to activism, from being spoken for to speaking out.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Emma Parrish is a second-year MA candidate at Appalachian State University's Center for Appalachian Studies. Her research tends toward regional literature and publications. After graduation she plans to work in the public library field and spin yarn.
Telling the Story of Mountain Life and Work
Mountain Life and Work was the first periodical publication devoted exclusively to the interests of the residents of the southern Appalachian mountain region. llege in Berea, Kentucky, and in later years from new offices in Clintwood, Virginia. Even now, ML&W appears cited in Appalachian Studies scholarship about nearly every subject in the discipline, from education reform to coal union organizing to handicrafts, including poetry, editorials, photographs, and advertisements. ML&W started as a conservative advocacy tool for religious and educational reform, run by a small group of educated people, but transformed into a radical, community-driven resource for activism and change. It went from a glorified church newsletter to a fixture in radical underground journalism. The transformation of the magazine mirrors the transformation of Appalachian studies and the region as a whole. But almost nothing is known about the publication itself, even though it is a constant fixture in bibliographies. This paper will outline a basic history of the production of Mountain Life and Work and its place in regional journalism, giving us a glimpse of how Mountain Life and Work changed along with a changing Appalachia. It draws on archival research from Berea's Special Collections, as well as scholarship about the phenomenon of little magazines, to create a timeline of ML&W history that describes how the production changed as the editorship changed, and how each phase of ML&W transformed it more into the radical publication it became. The story of Mountain Life and Work reflects the ways Appalachian studies and Appalachia itself transformed from institution-based to community-driven, from reform to activism, from being spoken for to speaking out.
