Our mountains and Foothills have inspired generations of Carolina-born and -bred folk musicians — who have, themselves, inspired generations of writers. Four books tell the stories behind the musical storytellers.
Friday Night Jams at Phipps Country Store
On Friday nights in Lansing, music has a way of turning strangers into friends.
May 2016 Book Picks & Music Review
A writer’s surroundings often influence his or her earliest work. A young Thomas Wolfe, for example, was famously inspired by his hometown, Asheville. Here, some of our state’s best-known writers show us where they started.
The South, In Verse: April Book Picks
Four North Carolina poets reflect on our Southern landscape and its people, creating an ode to the everyday — a “blazing sensory world,” says James Applewhite — of the history, rhythms, and voices that mark our region.
New Lullabies, Rooted in Nature
Three local artists, an author, song-writer, and illustrator, collaborate to write a new, positive spin on the classic nursery rhyme "Rock-a-bye Baby," in the form of a children's book and lullaby album.
Reflecting on the Past: March Book Picks
They say that time heals all wounds, and for most of us, that's true: Time obscures our views of a ragged past. For writers, however, memories are reflective lenses used to observe personal histories, providing stark recollections charged with truth, not mellowed by time.
Traveling Musical Trails
The Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina preserves the songs and sounds of the western part of our state.
Family Ties: February Book Picks
From Fred Chappell’s humorous look at the life of a boy growing up in the 1940s, to Wiley Cash’s harrowing tale of a father who will do anything to keep his children safe and by his side, four novels speak to the importance of family, and the trials of coming of age.
Coastal Blues
The one type of winter blues we could use more of.
