 By
Rose Hooper Granny Myrt says the lights protect but only special people
can see the lights because the lights are really flames from fires
set in our mountains by medicine men.
The title of a new book of stories, poems and essays by mountain
writers, "Lights in the Mountains," derived from this poem by
Debora Kinsland Foerst.
Foerst, who teaches eighth-grade language arts at Cherokee Middle
School, is one of many local writers Jackson County residents
will recognize in this just-released anthology conceived by the
N.C. Writers' Network West.
She joins Kay Byer of Cullowhee, Thomas Crowe of Tuckasegee,
Joyce Foster of Cashiers, Dawn Gilchrist-Young of Cullowhee, Ralph
and Pat Montee and Emily Wilson of Sylva and a host of other authors
across the mountain region.
"When we think of a state's literary lights, we tend to focus
on authors who have made names for themselves through numerous
books and awards. Here in Western North Carolina, we know that
our own literary lights can be tucked away in voices and hollows,
often less well known than their more famous counterparts but
shining just as brightly and worthy of being read and celebrated,"
said Byer, who judged the poetry selections.
"These writers show how important the Southern Appalachian mountains
have been to their creative lives and how much place matters in
the creation of their poems, essays and stories. The real creative
voice in this material is the mountains themselves, weaving their
songs of wind, rain, river and light into human voices that give
us this luminous anthology of mountain wordcraft," said Byer.
Hear some of those voices Friday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m. at City
Lights Bookstore when several authors will read from their selections.
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