Celebrating Heritage, Changing Lives
We are improving lives by addressing critical issues surrounding literacy, food insecurity, and access to traditional arts.
MEETING THE CHANGING NEEDS OF Central Appalachia
Who We Are
Honoring the past, improving the present, and planning for the future of central Appalachia.
Since our founding in 1902, Hindman Settlement School has evolved to meet the changing needs of the region. The Settlement’s work today includes education and service programs that address the critical needs of youth and families while promoting the rich traditional arts of Appalachia.
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This peaceful snapshot captures a serene Easter Sunday morning on the campus of Hindman Settlement School in the early 1900s. Nestled in the heart of the eastern Kentucky mountains, the blooming orchard trees and students relaxing on the lawn offer a glimpse into the simple joys of springtime in Appalachia.
Easter traditions in the region were deeply rooted in both faith and community. Families dressed in their Sunday best would gather for sunrise services, followed by a big meal often featuring home-cured ham, fresh eggs, and biscuits. Children dyed eggs with natural dyes—think onion skins and pokeberry juice—and enjoyed egg rolls down grassy hills, a beloved local pastime. Many schools and churches held pageants or readings, celebrating renewal, resurrection, and the beauty of nature waking up after a long winter.
#FlashbackFriday
Love this
Sounds like a perfect Easter Sunday.
Hindman Settlement School will be closed Friday, April 18 in observance of Good Friday.
We look forward to serving you again when we re-open on Monday, April 21.
Learn to create unflinching imagery that immerses readers in the worlds you create with Amy Alvarez in her upcoming class with The Makery! Class will begin on Saturday May 10th. Register at bit.ly/4j3WL6Y!
In 2024, dozens of writers signed up through the Settlement School to participate in the national Stafford Challenge, which sets a goal to write a poem a day for a year. The souvenir anthology of that year, These Mosaics, is finally in print! The book has poems by 46 writers including new and well-known names.
Pick up your copy today at bit.ly/3YuTg17!
In 2024, dozens of writers signed up through the Settlement School to participate in the national Stafford Challenge, which sets a goal to write a poem a day for a year. The souvenir anthology of that year, These Mosaics, is finally in print! The book has poems by 46 writers including new and well-known names.
Pick up your copy today at bit.ly/3YuTg17!
We are one week away from our next class! Join Marianne Worthington in three weeks of generative writing sessions exploring different types of poetic forms. This class is perfect for anyone who may be new to poetry or for those with more experience wh owant to sharpen their skills. Register at bit.ly/4i92VBC
🚨 ADDITIONAL FACULTY ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
Rae Garringer is joining the faculty of the Workshop this summer to offer two additional afternoon sessions for participants! Their sessions will be "Writing from Interviews" and "Representing Rural Queer & Trans Stories".
Rae (they/them) is a writer, oral historian, and audio producer who grew up on a sheep farm in southeastern West Virginia, and now lives a few counties away on traditional S’atsoyaha and Šaawanwaki lands.
Rae is the founder of Country Queers – a multimedia, community-based oral history project and podcast documenting rural and small town LGBTQIA2S+ experiences since 2013. Rae is a senior Civic Media Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Innovation Lab, a member of the Mapping Trans Joy team, and producer of The NERVE! Conversations with Movement Elders, a podcast from the National Council of Elders.
Rae is the author and editor of Country Queers: A Love Letter (Haymarket Books, 2024) which received a 2025 Stonewall Honor Book Award from the American Library Association, and the editor of To Belong Here: A New Generation of Queer, Trans & Two Spirit Appalachian Writers (University Press of Kentucky, 2025).
When not working with stories Rae spends a lot of time failing at keeping goats in fences, two-stepping around their trailer, and swimming in the river. They are a hermit introvert who is resolutely committed to rural people and places, most especially the central Appalachian region. They believe deeply in the power of storytelling work made by and for rural communities.
#AppalachianWritersWorkshop #AWW25 #HindmanSettlementSchool
💛 I wish I were coming this year!
Yesss
💛💛💛
Woo hoo!!
YES!!!
Yes RAE!!
Yayyyyyy ❤️❤️❤️
AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Yes!!!
Don’t miss our next generative writing workshop, Generate Together, with Neema Avashia! No pre-work required. You’ll come, warm up, and write based on prompts that foster creativity. This Saturday beginning at 10am! Register at bit.ly/40YT4cd
⌛ The deadline to apply for the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop is nearly here! ⌛
Apply by 11:59pm on March 1, 2025 for the opportunity to join us at the Forks of Troublesome Creek for our 48th annual gathering. Full details at www.Hindman.org/workshop!
