Interview with Lee Pennington, June 26, 1991

Interview Summary

Pennington's grandmother told him stories of being able to summon spirits and move furniture before she joined a church. Pennington was ill as a child, and hospitalized for 29 days from the diphtheria at three years old. He was one of eleven children, and his early schooling took place in a one-room schoolhouse. His two great interests in school were literature and science. Jesse Stuart, the author, was a great influence on his life, and Stuart's work was the subject of Pennington's Masters thesis. He met his wife at Berea college, and they were married in their final year of college. Pennington describes rejection being a big part of the creative process. He taught creative writing at Southeast College, in Harlan County, where he encouraged his students to publish their work. The book, called "Tomorrow's Promise" caused considerable controversy in the town. He wrote "Songs of Bloody Harlan" after working through the effects of the controversy. After moving to Louisville, Pennington taught storytelling. He describes the nature of storytelling and why it is an art form that has lasted so long.

Interview Keyword

Lee Pennington Kentucky Writers Oral History Project Linda Beattie Middletown (Ky.) Father John's Medicine Science fiction Star Trek The Dark Hills of Jesse Stuart Racial integration I Knew a Woman McKell High School W-Hollow (Ky.) Tomorrow's People Storytelling

Interview LC Subject

Authors, American--Kentucky Intellectual life Literature Middletown (Jefferson County, Ky.) Pennington, Lee Oral history recordings Beattie, Linda Stuart, Jesse, 1906-1984 Garci?a Lorca, Federico, 1898-1936 Camus, Albert, 1913-1960 Iwo Jima, Battle of, Japan, 1945 Appalachian Region Pulitzer Prizes Segovia, Andre?s, 1893-1987 Harlan County (Ky.) Jefferson Community and Technical College (Louisville, Ky.)

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.