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Slick as a Dogwood Hoe Handle: Craft in the Stories of James Still

Slick as a Dogwood Hoe Handle: Craft in the Stories of James Still Ii by Joe Glaser Y¡ :.: I came somewhat late to Appalachian literature, but I came with one thing in my favor. I have always had a weakness for scofflaws and scamps--fellows whose profession and amusement it is to confound the unwary. It seems to me that a disproportionate number of Appalachian writers and characters fall into this category, and no one fits there more perfectly than James Still. Still is a supremely artful man who mixes misdirection into everything he does. In his public statements about his work, there is a large element of recreational flimflam. In his fiction, the same duplicity is put to more complicated uses. It shapes his plots, controls the unfolding of events in his stories, enriches his characteriza- tions with unexpected turns, and even determines the basic tone of his fiction. With Still, guile is a prime ingredient of art. His trickery is essential to his work's fundamental nature and appeal. but it would be a mistake to trust this appearance far. In fact, his life as well as his work is marked by an abhorrence of genuine simplicity. Like a number of writers he admires (Twain and Frost, to name two), http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Appalachian Review University of North Carolina Press

Slick as a Dogwood Hoe Handle: Craft in the Stories of James Still

Appalachian Review , Volume 11 (3) – Jan 8, 1983

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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Copyright
Copyright © Berea College
ISSN
1940-5081
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Ii by Joe Glaser Y¡ :.: I came somewhat late to Appalachian literature, but I came with one thing in my favor. I have always had a weakness for scofflaws and scamps--fellows whose profession and amusement it is to confound the unwary. It seems to me that a disproportionate number of Appalachian writers and characters fall into this category, and no one fits there more perfectly than James Still. Still is a supremely artful man who mixes misdirection into everything he does. In his public statements about his work, there is a large element of recreational flimflam. In his fiction, the same duplicity is put to more complicated uses. It shapes his plots, controls the unfolding of events in his stories, enriches his characteriza- tions with unexpected turns, and even determines the basic tone of his fiction. With Still, guile is a prime ingredient of art. His trickery is essential to his work's fundamental nature and appeal. but it would be a mistake to trust this appearance far. In fact, his life as well as his work is marked by an abhorrence of genuine simplicity. Like a number of writers he admires (Twain and Frost, to name two),

Journal

Appalachian ReviewUniversity of North Carolina Press

Published: Jan 8, 1983

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