4 AUTHORS IN 8 WEEKS SERIES:
Tuesday, January 14, 2014 JOE TENNIS Mr. Tennis is a native Virginian, award-winning journalist, and acclaimed author. His books include Southwest Virginia Crossroads, Beach to Bluegrass, Haunts of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands and others. (One of his collected ghost stories takes place right here in Cedar Bluff!) You can follow his work in the Bristol Herald Courier newspaper, and in numerous regional magazines.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 JIM COUNTS Mr. Counts is a native of Washington County and a graduate of Patrick Henry High School. He holds a BA from Virginia Tech and MS from Radford University. A retired educator, Mr Counts is the author of five novels centered on life in Southwest Virginia. His philosophy concerning writing is to “be happy, not sappy.” His books have a quiet interweaving of his Christian faith but never preach or vilify. One finishes Mr. Counts’ books with a sense of being a little happier and little stronger for having read them.
Tuesday, February 11,2014
TAL STANLEY Dr. Stanley is a tenth generation Southwest Virginian. He holds a BA from Emory and Henry College as well as an M Div and PhD from Emory University. He is Director of the Appalachian Center of Community Service (among other jobs) at Emory and Henry. He is the author of the highly acclaimed best seller, The Poca Field: an American Story of Place, which deals with his family’s history in Pulaski County, Virginia, and McDowell County, West Virginia. It is the story of values, ambitions, choices and trials which may be readily seen in our own lives.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 JERRY JONES Dr. Jones is a native of Glade Spring and a professor at Emory and Henry College. He holds his bachelor’s and master’s from Virginia State University and his doctorate from Virginia Tech. He is the author of Go and Come Again/ Segregation, Tolerance and Reflection: A Four Generation African-American Educational Struggle. The book outlines much of his family’s history, from slavery to his career in modern technology. It is a fascinating story of everyday life that expresses core values, avoids blanket hatred and celebrates the hard-earned success of a Southwest Virginia family.
The readings and question and answer session will be held at the Appalachian Arts Center (located in the old Archie Helton Store on Route 19, 2.5 miles south of Claypool Hill.) All events begins at 7:00 PM and will last about an hour. Light refreshments will be served. Books will be available and autographed on request.
These readings are FREE TO THE PUBLIC and made possible by the following sponsors:
Darrell’s Super Stop Willis Land and Goat Company Bees of Deskin Mountain Trustpoint Insurance Hurst-Scott Funeral Homes Community Home Care Services Richlands First United Methodist Church Omega Mining, LLC Ultra Pipeline, LLC Additional funds were provided by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
