Celebrating over five decades of folk wisdom, storytelling, and handcrafting tradition, The Foxfire 50th Anniversary Book is a fitting tribute to the people who have preserved the stories, crafts, and customs that define life in the Appalachian mountains.
First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia's philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Today, Foxfire's mission remains the same, and The Foxfire Book of Simple Living is both a rich look back at five decades of collected wisdom, as well as an intriguing look forward at the artists and craftsman who are working to preserve the Appalachian tradition for future generations. We hear from doll and soap makers who continue to use and adapt the time-tested methods outlined in The Foxfire Book, not to mention hunters, blacksmiths, musicians, and carpenters whose respect for those who preceded them enhances their own art. We see how the mountain community has responded to the films, books, and plays that have tried (and sometimes failed) to represent them. And, above all, by listening to the voices of those who came before, we celebrate the people who have preserved the stories, crafts, and customs that define life in the Appalachian mountain region.
By:
Foxfire Fund Inc.
Edited by:
Kaye Carver Collins
Imprint: Bantam Books Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 231mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 30mm
Weight: 561g
ISBN: 9780804173100
ISBN 10: 0804173109
Series: Foxfire Series
Pages: 592
Publication Date: 23 August 2016
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Fifty Years and Counting An introduction from Ann Moore, Foxfire President and Executive Director Making Real Human Connections A note from editors Kaye Carver Collins and Jonathan Blackstock Wisdom of Our Elders Livin’ High On The Hog VANISHING ARTS Community and Gratitude The Art of Making Cornshuck Dolls and Real Connections An interview with Beth Kelley Zorbanos Mountain Folk Art at Its Peak An interview with Local folk artist Eric Legge Mother Vine and King Kudzu An interview with Kudzu artists Joleen Oh and Cleve Phillips Making What We Need By Hand Making Soap, Living Clean, and Giving Thanks A day of crafting with Jenny, T. J., Briar, and Moses Stevens How to Make Rope the Old-Timey Way Kermit Rood teaches students to make old-fashioned rope Joe Williams’ Point of Life! Joe Williams tells of his experience making bark berry buckets The “Gourd” Life An interview with gourd artist Priscilla Wilson The Art of Making Furniture by Hand John Roper shares his love for wood, tools, and a vanishing art Storytelling Tiger Mountain’s Storyteller An interview with renowned local storyteller, Janie P. Taylor Legends That Will Never Die Cherokee Storyteller, Davy Arch The Oral Tradition: Preserving Tales that Shaped a Nation Jerry Wolfe, Cherokee Storyteller, shares stories of the Cherokee People Mawmaw’s Stories Mountain tales told by Bonnie Shirley Blacksmithing The Hammer and the Forge Dan Maxwell on the trade of blacksmithing David Burress: The Makings of a True Appalachian Blacksmith An interview with John C. Campbell, Folk School Ferrier Hunting and Protecting The Art of Making Turkey Calls An interview with Dale Holland, North Carolina turkey-call maker Traditional Weaponry William Swimmer demonstrates construction of primitive weaponry Wisdom of Our Elders Virtuous Living THE WORLD IS WATCHING Hollywood Comes a Calling The Great Locomotive Chase Local residents on the production of the 1956 film Deliverance Shall Come A community responds to the 1972 film “I never expected the novel would be published.” An interview with North Georgia author Olive Ann Burns The Making of the Foxfire Play and Movie Foxfire students’ experiences Appalachia Goodbye Laura Monk and High Cotton create a video at the Foxfire Heritage Center Wisdom of Our Elders Making Do With What We Have PICKIN' AND GRINNIN' Oliver Rice and Curtis Blackwell Two old-time musicians reminisce The Blackwell Tradition An interview with second-generation bluegrass musician, Shane Blackwell I’ve Been Everywhere, Man An interview with traditional bluegrass musician Rodney Worley The Art of a Luthier: Making the Lord’s Trees Sing An interview with Danny White Wisdom of Our Elders My Most Valuable Possession REMEMBERING WHEN THE WORLD WAS BLACK AND WHITE “I’ve Traveled a Bit, Yet I Keep Coming Back Like Iron Filings to a Magnet” An interview with James Still The Big Cat Baseball star Johnny Mize recalls his raising in the Appalachian foothills Sock Suppers, Cake Walks, Cotton Pickin’, and A Water Lily Quilt Frances Harbin shares her memories Front Porch Stories An interview with Edgar Owens Hearts Touched and Healed An interview with Lois and Clarence Martin Self-Proclaimed “Black Sheep” Mischievous Antics with Malcolm Dillard “It Has Been Wonderful, Really!” The Unique Life of Beanie Ramey From the Mountains to the Mansion and Back Home An Interview with Zell and Shirley Miller “A Little Good in Everybody” An abundance of love from Susie Hembree Dockins Wisdom of Our Elders “Train up a child in the way he should go”: Advice on Child Rearing Women of Appalachia WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED Student Spotlight From Pencils to PCs Former student Laurie Brunson Altieri discusses changes in the magazine Highlighting a Former Student An interview with Foxfire alumnus, Allison Adams Experiencing Arts and Crafts Southeastern Art and Craft Festivals Editors and Staff Biographical Sketches Contributors Contacts, Students, and Readers
Founded in 1966, FOXFIRE is a nonprofit education organization. Foxfire's learner-centered, community-based approach is advocated through The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center and grounded in the Southern Appalachian culture that promotes a sense of place and appreciation of local people and culture as essential educational tools.
