Silas House at Shepherd

September 28 to October 4 marked Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence week here at Shepherd and this year's writer, Silas House, certainly left a positive impression on everyone here. I've been saying for a while now that I am going to get around to writing a long post on House's novels, but there just hasn't been time. I don't think that's just a stall on my part: his stuff is so good that I don't want to rush through it--and I don't think a few blog posts will do him justice. Seriously--he's that good. And don't just ask me--ask anyone who has been lucky enough to read A Parchment of Leaves, Clay's Quilt, or The Coal Tattoo. They are simply amazing books. Silas' texts embody just about everything wonderful about Appalachian literature but also remind me a lot of the Transcendentalist texts of the nineteenth century.

We read Parchment in my English 204 classes and out of 100 students in those three sections, I didn't hear a single "why did we have to read this?" at the end of our discussions. In fact, many students said something like, "I don't like reading [they say this to their English teachers all the time!], but this I really liked."

Anyway, I thought I might just paste in my opening remarks from the "Writing Life" event, held on Wednesday, September 30. (Yes, I was lucky enough to get to introduce Silas, who told me, "You can introduce me anywhere" when I got done. Swoon!) I'll admit that the text reads a bit hokey, but it was the best I could do during that extra busy week.

Welcome to tonight’s Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence event, “The Writing Life” with Silas House. We are in for a treat tonight. First, though, I’d like to thank the Shepherd University Foundation, the Friends of the Shepherdstown Public Library, and the West Virginia Humanities Council for sponsoring this event.

I picked up my first Silas House novel in May of 2008—Memorial Day weekend. The book was A Parchment of Leaves. It was a lovely day—the windows were open, a sweet breeze blew in, birds sang outside. I opened that book in the early afternoon and before I knew it, it has grown dark outside, singing birds replaced by singing crickets. And if you’ve read Parchment, you know how appropriate that setting was. And I read on and on and on. Eventually, I took a break, but got right back to that book the next day and finished it that next night. I was, simply put, captured by this book—moved by it, exhilarated by it, and wanted to read more. Since that time, I will confess: I can’t read enough Silas House and continue to be thrilled by his words.

Last November, I saw Silas read at the South Atlantic Modern Languages Association conference in Louisville, Kentucky. I sat in the back and just listened as he talked about his craft. This is a man who knows what it means to be a writer. Again, we are in for a treat tonight, folks.

At that reading in Louisville, Silas spoke of the best piece of writing advice he’s every received, from the great Appalachian writer James Still: “Discover something new every day.” If you’ve read any of his books, it’s easy to see how closely Silas House has followed this advice, how he makes his readers see the new, the interesting, and the beautiful in the everyday: the way he careful writes of his characters singing, dancing, cooking, or just sitting silently with each other. The way he lovingly creates the landscapes he knows so well. The way he writes about what it means to be alive in the world. Anyone interested in writing—or in reading great writing—will benefit from hearing Silas House talk about his craft and about “The Writing Life.” So it gives me great pleasure to introduce Silas House.

Consider this your introduction to Silas House and pick up one of his books. You will not be disappointed. I picked up a copy of Eli the Good at one of the events and can't wait to get into it. Also on my wish-list, Something's Rising, a collection about mountain-top removal that Silas and some other writers (including Jason Howard, who I also met--he's terrific!) put together.