Access Type
Online access to this book is only available to eligible users.
Files
Download Full Text (14.9 MB)
Description
Sporty Creek is a series of short stories set in the Kentucky hills. Narrated by a young boy (a cousin of the narrator of Still's classic novel River of Earth), the book tells the story of his family during the Great Depression. With work in the coal mines sporadic, they move from place to place, trying to earn a living the best they can. The story is told with gentleness and humor.
Tells of the tough living that many people in that region experienced and the humor and love that kept life rich. -- Appalachian Quarterly
A testament to people of courage and humor with a zest for living. -- Language Arts
What James Still has done is to look at the people of the mountains and just a 'bunch of houses in a hollow' and see a universe unto itself. -- Lexington Herald-Leader
Vintage James Still. . . . The tale of a poor, but proud, Eastern Kentucky mountain family who, when there’s no work in the coal mines, is to turn to an unforgiving landscape as a means of survival. -- Paintsville Herald
Still’s novel is an appealing mixture of earthiness and poetry. . . . We are filled with admiration for robust people who have time to laugh and enjoy life, even in hard times. -- Publishers Weekly
Hard times during the Depression and family sacrifices are treated with honesty and humor. -- School Library Journal
James Still is a Kentucky writer I profoundly admire. He is capable of such delicacy and at the same time such power, and he's a man who has really mastered the art, the craftsmanship. -- Wendell Berry
Publication Date
8-5-1999
Publisher
The University Press of Kentucky
Place of Publication
Lexington, KY
ISBN
9780813109657
eISBN
9780813146294
Keywords
Economic depressions, Family life, Appalachian Region, Appalachia
Disciplines
American Literature
Recommended Citation
Still, James, "Sporty Creek" (1999). American Literature. 10.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_american_literature/10
Consortium members may access while on their campus.
Notes
With illustrations by Paul Brett Johnson