 For Authors: November 02, 2011 Issue [#4694] |
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This week: When The Mountains Sing Edited by: Fyn  
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Quotes referring to either Sheila Kay Adam' books or to her singing or from one of her books~~
"I laughed, I cried. I felt everything I remember feeling as a child."~~Dolly Parton
"Some people is born at the start of a long hard row to hoe. Well, I am older than God's dog and been in this world a long time and it seems to me that right from the git-go, Larkin Stanton had the longest and hardest row I've ever seen."~~ Sheila Kay Adams, My Old True Love
"pure mountain magic" ~~Life Magazine
My Old True Love is "as passionate and eventful as an Irish ballad." ~~The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
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I've been trying to get this interview with Sheila Kay Adams for over a year now. Over that time, I've come to know her son, A.T.B: It'sWhatWeDo  very well, and I've talked with Sheila a bunch of times. But the woman is BUSY! Between writing, working on her new book, singing, traveling, being a mom and grandmother, singing, writing and doing all that collective stuff we all do, the woman hardly stops, and when she does, she's most likely sitting out on a front porch looking out over her mountains and taking the time to appreciate the sheer beauty that is life. She is, simply put, extraordinary!
I remember first hearing about her from her son after we 'met' here at WDC. During the course of one of our conversations, I remember mentioning one of my all time favorite movies, "The Songcatcher." "Mom was in that movie and served as the vocal coach for it," he'd said. I was stunned because I really LOVED that movie and the music in it had snagged a hold of me deep down inside somewhere. I was instantly starstruck, sad to say. Drew didn't allow that to last, drawing me in to that place where everyone is special and while the appreciation stays put, I can now relate to Sheila as mom to mom, writer to writer, friend to friend.
Somewhere along the line, talking 'writer talk,' he mentioned his mom's books. I found a lengthy excerpt from one of them online and spent several happy hours devouring it. After I mentioned this to Drew, he sent me Come Go Home with Me, published September 11th 1995 by The University of North Carolina Press and My Old True Love, published January 4th 2004 by Algonquin Books. I started reading and was still curled up on the couch hours later when my husband came home from work. I held up the one I'd already devoured and pointed to the one in my lap saying that I was going to read until I'd finished it and dinner would have to wait. "They must really be good," he'd said at the time. They were. Are. I've read them again and again and each time I find something new, something I'd missed before and each time I am lost on that mountain path or a flutter with butterflies!
We tried to find the time to be able to be on the phone for a good yack but our schedules never seemed to coincide. A trip I planned to their neck of the Appalachians in western North Carolina was delayed until next spring, so I sent her a list of questions and she answered some, combined others and was kind enough to send me the following. I am truly grateful.
Which came first - writing or singing? Did one feed the other? How old were you when you first started?
The singing came first by a good while. I was less than five-years-old when my great aunt, Dellie Chandler Norton became my Granny. Granny Dell was already my mother's best friend, so I 'adopted' her, you could say. It was from her that I learned my first ballad, or as the older folks around home called them, love-songs. Most have dozens of verses, and I learned to sing them a cappella, without accompaniment.
In the small mountain community where I was raised, really no more than a collection of homeplaces and churches still affectionately called Sodom, there were four families who were keepers of the 'oral tradition', singing the old songs, brought here to the southern Appalachian Mountains by their English, Scottish, and Irish ancestors. I was related to all four - by blood, marriage, and, usually, both.
I learned my first song when I was five and was on stage by twelve. I'm fifty-eight now and recently realized I've been playing banjo for half-a-century. I've learned to accompany myself on guitar as well, but I wouldn't consider myself more than a 'sort-of guitar player.' I don't think the oral tradition necessarily fed my songwriting - more what I grew up listening to on the radio, since the songs that I've written lean more toward my idea of Country & Western.
Although, I should add that becoming comfortable with myself, after so many years learning from or performing for other people, has nurtured a certain confidence on stage and as a writer. The Traditional singing found its way into both books I've written, but I've been around music as long as I can remember. It would be difficult for me to write anything that didn't include some mention of my musical background as it was simply a part of everyday life.
Why sing songs that are so old, tragic and have so many verses?
They are simply beautiful, a part of the complicated weaving of the fabric of my family's existence, and these songs were ancient before Mozart. They have literally saved my sanity and my life.
Are you really a 7th generation balladeer?
On being a 7th-generation ballad singer, I have to smile here. I would probably be something like a 25th-generation ballad singer, but I find that a bit pretentious. 7th was the number I settled on, after researching and studying my family history. The old songs were such a part of my world as a child I never thought of them as being a burden or felt burdened by the singing of them. They have been a welcome blessing in my life. I know and love so many ballads it would be difficult to choose a favorite; I'm singing 'The Four Marys' a lot right now, so I guess I'd call that one a 'favorite,' if I had to.
Your books are based upon your family history, what prompted this?
My family were fantastic storytellers. That was a part of the oral history - to pass down names of ancestors in the best possible way by telling their story.
Why should folks look to family histories as a source of inspiration?
As a child I learned how every person's life is rich story material. It also helped that the majority of the singers lived into their nineties. And they stayed in the same place most of their lives.
I've discovered through performing that most audiences love to hear the stories I was either a part of or remembered hearing as a child, because they're the most honest and heartfelt. It's also worth mentioning that I doubt anyone's creative enough to make this stuff up! Everyone listening begins to remember their own family members' oddities and personality quirks; it's just one of many benefits that come with staying true to my people and true to life.
My first and strongest message to other writers and storytellers is that they are a walking history book of their family. Use the information. It serves two purposes - the people you have loved most in your life will live on as long as you keep telling their story, and while it may seem 'bigger-than-life' you learn and incorporate all the most valuable lessons each member of your family learned, just doing the best they could, always and in all ways. I believe that's extremely important in today's' world.
What is the most important piece of advice you can offer writers?
My advice as a writer would be not to let anyone tell you how to write or what to write about. One of my favorite writers and a dear friend, Lee Smith, gave me the best advice ever - at least for me personally - to always write about what you know. And one thing I know very well is mountain women. Another bit of advice would be that if you want to be a decent writer, you will always need to be a well-read reader.
Just a handful of my favorite writers would be Lee Smith, Harriet Arnow, Wilma Dykeman, Mark Twain, Margaret Mitchell, Ron Rash, Silas House, Pamela Duncan, Thomas Wolfe, Stephen King, William Faulkner, William Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss, Charles Dickens, Michael Crichton, Anne Rice - I could go on but the list would likely never stop.
I read voraciously, fiction and non-fiction, biographies, topics that interest me like "Bury Me Standing," a fascinating account of the lives of what we refer to as Gypsies in Europe. I'm drawn to what I read because I'm curious by nature and have an honest passion to continue learning. Reading is as much a part of my everyday life as breathing.
The worst advice you've received about writing?
I don't think I've ever gotten what I could call bad advice concerning writing. I've always found other writers to be thoughtful and caring when offering advice, and I've always found it useful. I believe that anyone dedicated to storytelling, however they go about it, are by their very nature invested in the quality of others' work. I think every writer, regardless of success, has a wealth of advice for anyone interested.
You can hear some of Sheila Kay Adams' songs at http://www.myspace.com/sheilakayadams.
Her books are available through both Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com.
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Had to put this one it as it was inspired by Sheila Kay Adams!
And thought it was only fair to include one by Drew, too.
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and others
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atwhatcost questions: Do they offer E-books (Nook and Kindle) or not?
Do I care? I admit, I'm old school and prefer paper in my hand, the kind that smells like a library, but here I am, 55 and writing my first book. I can always find out if the publisher includes e-books. Want to tell me if or why I should care? What are the advantages/disadvantages? I can certainly find out, when I get that far along. I simply don't know why I should, yet. ;)
E books are important to some folks and it is an option to get your work out there. Why should you care? Well, as much as I, too, prefer to hold a book in my hands and turn the pages, {for that matter I prefer to receive a birthday card by way of the good old US Mails, but these days I'm as likely to get an ecard or a 'Happy Birthday' on Facebook!) the truth of the matter, the reality (if you will) is that like it or not, the world is changing and sometimes one has to keep up with the flow or get run over. Do you, as an author, make as much money? Nope. But it DOES get your work out there and read, which is the point, after all. It was just one more thing in the list to consider.
Mara ♣ McBain  says: Great advice for those of us out here still dreaming of seeing our novel in print!
{user;oldwarrior} adds: Excellent Newsletter! Thanks!
{user;bertiebrite} comments: I have compared my need to write to a fever. My mind cannot center on anything else but the story or poem I am about to construct. If I do not write it out, I sicken. I mean, that I become disgruntled and not very nice. It is like having a dull toothache and there's no aspirin. Recently I saw a quote by Ray Bradbury. I will have to paraphrase, don't know the actual words, but he said, get drunk on writing so you won't have to face reality. I get it. And, I do it.
NickiD89  says: You give such great advice here. Thanks for always being so generous with your knowledge of the publishing world!
Thanking you all for your feedback! |
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