Project Summary

Don West has called been called the poet laureate of Appalachia. He was at various times a union organizer, a teacher, a scholar, a preacher, a farmer, and the founder of the Appalachia South Folklife Center. The Center has gone on to have a life of its own, being a beacon of cultural revival in southern West Virginia for years, hosting music festivals, cultural workshops, and youth summer programs for underserved. This oral history project seeks to uncover the stories and memories of the late Don West, and provide a yet undocumented history of the Appalachia South Folklife Center, its impacts in the region, and the meaning it holds for so many who have been involved in its cultural and political work. As the Center turns 50 years old in 2015, this project seeks to have an archive of oral histories available online for the jubilee celebrations and programs.