In mid-December we held our first Winter Burrow Literary & Arts Conference, and it was an inspiring and educational weekend.
The idea behind Winter Burrow was to create a gathering before many of the December holidays began that could bring together people with interests in Appalachian art, literature, and music as well as educators and scholars of Appalachian studies.
Amy Clark, author and co-editor of Talking Appalachian: Voice, Identity, and Community and host of the Talking Appalachian podcast offered our Verna Mae Slone keynote. Slone (1914-2009) was a Knott County resident who was known for her quilting and dollmaking, her writing in multiple genres, and her fierce desire to preserve Appalachian folkways and dispel negative stereotypes about the people of this region. Several of Slone’s family members attended Clark’s keynote. Pictured above (left to right) are Boone Amburgey (great-great-grandson), Kasi Lynn Amburgey (great-granddaughter), Vicky Amburgey (granddaughter), Breanda Slone-Vasquez (granddaughter), Matthew Ryan Slone (grandson), Marcel Len Slone (son), Ricky Slone (grandson), and Amy Clark.
Tiffany Pyette served as the featured artist and Jeremy Paden was the featured writer. They each presented a session that connected their work to the conference theme of Borderless Appalachia.
Other sessions and presentations discussed a variety of topics from the creative and educational, to the historical and political. There were documentary film screenings, a display of Verna Mae Slone’s quilts, a square dance, lots of good food, and tables full of art, books, music, and crafts for sale by conference attendees.
It was great to meet new friends and see old friends around campus during this normally quiet time of the year, and we look forward to planning the event for 2024.
Photos by Melissa Helton and Tyler Barrett
