Arts

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — On a typical Saturday night in the 1930s, when coal dust and church bells marked the rhythm of daily life, radios across the Ohio Valley crackled with music that echoes like the hills themselves. The signal came from WWVA in Wheeling, a small but powerful West Virginia station whose Saturday night broadcast … Read more

MILTON, W.Va. — Breece D’J Pancake soared like a meteor through the American literary universe in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Kurt Vonnegut wrote of him, “I give you my word of honor that he is merely the best writer—the most sincere writer I’ve ever read.” Who was Breece D’J Pancake? A rising voice … Read more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There is perhaps no more extraordinary place of honor for a statue in West Virginia than in the plaza in front of its state Capitol. And perhaps there is no better statue to raise there than that of Abraham Lincoln, who signed the proclamation that brought the state into being. However, what’s … Read more

BECKLEY, W.Va. — A flock of oversized birds has descended on this West Virginia city at the edge of one of America’s newest national parks, attracted by one of the region’s growing arts initiatives. Six large, colorful birds now perch on buildings in and near downtown Beckley, adding color and interest where urban decay had … Read more