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Every River on Earth: Writing from Appalachian Ohio
Every River on Writing from Appalachian Ohio includes some of the best regional poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction from forty contemporary writers, both established and up-and-coming. The wide range of material from authors such as David Baker, Don Bogen, Michelle Burke, Richard Hague, Donald Ray Pollock, and others, offers the reader a window into daily life in the region. The people, the landscape, the struggles, and the deepest undercurrents of what it means to be from and of a place are revealed in these original, deeply moving, and sometimes shocking pieces.
The book is divided into four Family & Folks, The Land, The Grind, and Home & Away, each of which explores a different aspect of the place that these authors call home. The sections work together beautifully to capture what it means to live, to love, and to die in this particular slice of Appalachia. The writing is accessible and often emotionally raw; Every River on Earth invites all types of readers and conveys a profound appreciation of the region’s character.
The authors also offer personal statements about their writing, allowing the reader an intimate insight into their processes, aesthetics, and inspirations. What is it to be an Appalachian? What is it to be an Appalachian in Ohio? This book vividly paints that picture.
Every River on Earth
David Lee Garrison
I look out the window and see
through the neighbor’s window
to an Amish buggy
where three children are peeping back,
and in their eyes I see the darkness
of plowed earth hiding seed.
Wind pokes the land in winter,
trying to waken it,
and in the melting snow
I see rainbows and in them
every river on earth. I see all the way
to the ocean, where sand and stones
embrace each falling wave
and reach back to gather it in.
The book is divided into four Family & Folks, The Land, The Grind, and Home & Away, each of which explores a different aspect of the place that these authors call home. The sections work together beautifully to capture what it means to live, to love, and to die in this particular slice of Appalachia. The writing is accessible and often emotionally raw; Every River on Earth invites all types of readers and conveys a profound appreciation of the region’s character.
The authors also offer personal statements about their writing, allowing the reader an intimate insight into their processes, aesthetics, and inspirations. What is it to be an Appalachian? What is it to be an Appalachian in Ohio? This book vividly paints that picture.
Every River on Earth
David Lee Garrison
I look out the window and see
through the neighbor’s window
to an Amish buggy
where three children are peeping back,
and in their eyes I see the darkness
of plowed earth hiding seed.
Wind pokes the land in winter,
trying to waken it,
and in the melting snow
I see rainbows and in them
every river on earth. I see all the way
to the ocean, where sand and stones
embrace each falling wave
and reach back to gather it in.
- GenresAnthologiesPoetryFiction
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
4 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Neil Carpathios
16 books8 followersNeil Carpathios earned an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He has been awarded various grants and fellowships, including three Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards in Poetry. He currently teaches at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 26, 2019
Ohio's Appalachian region is often overlooked when thinking of the mountain range. Significantly more attention is given to areas of western North Carolina, West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. This collection provides a gentle reminder that there are parts of the Buckeye state, especially along the Ohio River, which share the overall Appalachian culture of the areas mentioned above yet remain distinctly "Ohio".
As for the pieces selected for inclusion, I enjoyed the short stories more than the poetry. As a whole, the poems seemed more varying in quality - especially when compared to the quality of the prose pieces. With the exception of one selection, which appears to have been included to represent the perspective of the reluctant outsiders who "dumb" themselves down to be lovingly accepted as part of the community before moving on to greener pastures, all the short stories are well-crafted and vivid - packing a decent punch while using very little paper.
If, like me, you happen to love Appalachia and the art produced there or are a Donald Ray Pollock "completist", I would highly recommend you add Every River on Earth to your collection. It's a quick and enjoyable read that provides a glimpse of the Appalachian region of Ohio and the people the River and hills have produced.
As for the pieces selected for inclusion, I enjoyed the short stories more than the poetry. As a whole, the poems seemed more varying in quality - especially when compared to the quality of the prose pieces. With the exception of one selection, which appears to have been included to represent the perspective of the reluctant outsiders who "dumb" themselves down to be lovingly accepted as part of the community before moving on to greener pastures, all the short stories are well-crafted and vivid - packing a decent punch while using very little paper.
If, like me, you happen to love Appalachia and the art produced there or are a Donald Ray Pollock "completist", I would highly recommend you add Every River on Earth to your collection. It's a quick and enjoyable read that provides a glimpse of the Appalachian region of Ohio and the people the River and hills have produced.
April 3, 2015
This is a fantastic anthology! I'm from southeast Ohio, born and raised, and only recently moved farther north. Reading about the rolling hills, farms, and yes, the problems the area has, reminded more of home than the many photographs I've taken. It's not often that writing is done that focuses almost singularly on the area, so finding this book in a library felt like discovering hidden treasure. Thank you for putting this collection together!
November 8, 2018
One of the best anthology books I've ever read. Made me appreciate southern Ohio even more! I could relate to many of the placed mentioned in the book which made the book even better. The book gives different perspectives of Ohio and Appalachia that I never considered, knew about or haven't recalled in long time. The poems and stories relate the deep feeling for 'home' that never go away and bring a lifetime of good, and even some not so good memories, people have of southern Ohio. I'm so glad I came across the book; one of the books that leaves a warm feeling when you close it.
January 16, 2023
I thought the selections of this book were good, and gave a nice overall portrait of the area through various perspectives. Being from the region, some of the poems felt like home: Janet Ladrach, Scott Urban, David Lee Garrison, Sue Lonney to name a few writers who stood out, all new to me.
I would prefer the poems to have been organized separately from the short stories. (I have the same criticism for most collected works arranged in this way).
I would prefer the poems to have been organized separately from the short stories. (I have the same criticism for most collected works arranged in this way).
June 15, 2024
I read this collection directly after reading another group of essays by Appalachian writers. The previous work focused on silence that is foisted onto Appalachian artists and has a large amount of queer individuals. While I did enjoy this, I felt more seen and represented in “Walk till the Dogs get Mean.”
June 23, 2015
A riveting anthology that manages to highlight everything I love about Ohio as well as everything that makes it such a difficult state to live in. From the beautiful poetry that sticks with you even after you just skim through it to the colorful, heart-wrenching prose segments, Every River on Earth is deeply evocative of every significant experience I had growing up in the rural outskirts of Cincinnati and earning my degree in the rusty Appalachian badlands. It's not sensitive. It doesn't hold anything back. It's beautiful in a way that isn't initially apparent and is often pretty hard to make eye contact with.
W/r/t the pieces themselves: Roy Bentley's poetry pretty much opens the book and his descriptions of youth and generational differences nails the tone early on. "The Farmer's Wife's Vacation" romanticizes rural living by equating breakfast down the road at (presumably) Bob Evans to taking a full week's vacation. It's super clever and concise, not unlike Adam Sol's "Portrait of Southern Ohio in 5-Syllable Road Signs."
The best prose pieces come from the section titled "The Grind," which takes a look at the daily struggles Appalachians face, from drug rehabilitation (Michael Henson's "Coming Home") to the pained thrills of blue collar childhood (Brooks Rexroat's "Destroying New Boston") to (Christina Jones' "The Last Shot"--still just as ingenious as the first time I heard it read). The clear gold star, however, is Ron D. Giles' "The Friday Night Dance," which recounts Portsmouth's golden days from behind a 13-year-old's rose-colored glasses. It's fun--a nice reprieve--and full of detail, but it's also valuable for the sorrowful irony knowing what comes after 1955's industrial boom evokes.
Definitely worth buying/reading.
(As usual, though, I have one standout complaint. It's already been thoroughly aired out on the hyper-popular "You Know You're From Portsmouth If..." Facebook page, so I may be beating a dead horse at this point; Tanya Bomsta's "Painting Portsmouth" is little more than a college freshman's derogatory, superficial tirade about a town that's had all the complaints she mentioned drilled into its streets for years now. It does not belong in the anthology. The line about "enforc[ing] a little bit of northern grammar" is painful to read on its alone, let alone the weak assault on Hickie's that follows. Feel free to skip and/or read it purely for laughs.)
W/r/t the pieces themselves: Roy Bentley's poetry pretty much opens the book and his descriptions of youth and generational differences nails the tone early on. "The Farmer's Wife's Vacation" romanticizes rural living by equating breakfast down the road at (presumably) Bob Evans to taking a full week's vacation. It's super clever and concise, not unlike Adam Sol's "Portrait of Southern Ohio in 5-Syllable Road Signs."
The best prose pieces come from the section titled "The Grind," which takes a look at the daily struggles Appalachians face, from drug rehabilitation (Michael Henson's "Coming Home") to the pained thrills of blue collar childhood (Brooks Rexroat's "Destroying New Boston") to (Christina Jones' "The Last Shot"--still just as ingenious as the first time I heard it read). The clear gold star, however, is Ron D. Giles' "The Friday Night Dance," which recounts Portsmouth's golden days from behind a 13-year-old's rose-colored glasses. It's fun--a nice reprieve--and full of detail, but it's also valuable for the sorrowful irony knowing what comes after 1955's industrial boom evokes.
Definitely worth buying/reading.
(As usual, though, I have one standout complaint. It's already been thoroughly aired out on the hyper-popular "You Know You're From Portsmouth If..." Facebook page, so I may be beating a dead horse at this point; Tanya Bomsta's "Painting Portsmouth" is little more than a college freshman's derogatory, superficial tirade about a town that's had all the complaints she mentioned drilled into its streets for years now. It does not belong in the anthology. The line about "enforc[ing] a little bit of northern grammar" is painful to read on its alone, let alone the weak assault on Hickie's that follows. Feel free to skip and/or read it purely for laughs.)
February 1, 2016
Mostly depressing, southeastern Ohio stories about poverty, mills and factories shutting down, and drugs. Tempered with stories of the natural beauty of the state. One poem that really stuck out was titled "Portrait of Southern Ohio in 5-Syllable Road Signs." The last stanza? "WalMart Coming Soon."
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews