Tales from Sacred Wind: Coming of Age in Appalachia: the Cratis Williams Chronicles.

Book Description
Prior to his death in 1985, Cratis Williams was a leading scholar of and spokesperson for Appalachian life and literature and a pioneer of the Appalachian studies movement. Williams was born in a log cabin on Caines Creek, Lawrence County, Kentucky, in 1911. To use his own terms, he was "a complete mountaineer." This book is an edited compilation of Williams’ memoirs of his childhood. These autobiographical reminiscences often take the form of a folktale, with individual titles such as "Preacher Lang Gets Drunk" and "The Double Murder at Sledges." Schooled initially in traditional stories and ballads, he learned to read by the light of his grandfather’s whiskey still and excelled at the local one-room school. After becoming the first person from Caines Creek to attend and graduate from the county high school in Louisa, he taught in one-room schools while pursuing his own education. He earned both a BA and MA from the University of Kentucky before moving to Appalachian State Teacher’s College in 1942; later he earned a Ph.D. from New York University and then returned to Appalachian State.

About the Author
David Cratis Williams, son of Cratis, works in speech and media studies at the University of Missouri at Rolla. Patricia D. Beaver is director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.


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The premier scholar on Appalachian life and culture, Williams (1911-85) pioneered research in Appalachian studies with his 1961 dissertation, "The Southern Mountaineer in Fact and Fiction." Williams was born in Caines Creek in the isolated mountain region of eastern Kentucky. He began his formal education in a one-room schoolhouse and went on to become an English professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. This current volume is a compilation of his childhood memoirs, edited by his son and Beaver, director of the Center for Appalachian Studies (Appalachian State Univ.). Williams recounts stories about his family and community, including his school days until 1929, when he attended Cumberland College. Included are local folktales such as "Mutts Mag"; accounts of humorous events, such as "My First Drunk"; as well as chapters on Appalachian folkways. This book provides an insightful look into the unique life of this influential scholar and is essential for all Appalachian studies collections.-Eloise R. Hitchcock, Middle Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Murfreesboro Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.


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