Unbroken Circle: Stories of Cultural Diversity in the South (Appalachian Writing)

The writing gathered here is the result of some deep questioning and brave sharing. Whether in personal nonfiction or projected storytelling, the writing witnesses life as it's lived today. Character and voice are paramount, as are theme and style. These are real people caught in authentic situations and struggles for acceptance and caring. In a country where division and judgment are so prominent, they open the circle of acceptance. As Ram Dass declares, the circle is a wonderful image and concept, only keep it expanding. We thank these writers and welcome you reading it as part of our unbroken circle.

--Larry Smith (Introduction)

In turbulent times, what we need is possibility, and in this rich gathering of diverse voices, Watts and Smith give us just that. A girl molds clay against her deaf brother's ears to heal him. A gay man finds his Appalachian clan in a dark world. These are stories and essays about the blues, about poverty, about families lost and made. Unbroken Circle is about broken and unbroken lives, and ultimately, hope. --Karen Salyer McElmurray, author of Surrendered Child.....................
One of the goals of Unbroken Circle is to subvert stereotypes--to show that Southern people are not simply shoeless, rural white people. We are a people as varied as the Southern landscape, from the mountains of Appalachia to the deltas of Mississippi to the skyscrapers of Atlanta. We are black, white, Latino, Native American, Middle Eastern, Asian, and multiracial. We are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Wiccan, atheist and agnostic. We are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, straight, and questioning. We are urban and rural, old and young, poor and rich, and all points in between. We are all these things, plus more that don't fit into neat categories.

The voices in this collection represent some of the diverse voices of our region, just a few spoonfuls from the giant pot of gumbo that makes up our region. --Julia Watts (Introduction)