29 Saturday Aug 2015
Posted in Lincoln County Feud
Tags
Appalachia, author, Barnes and Noble, Blood in West Virginia, books, Brandon Kirk, history, Lincoln County Feud, Morgantown, West Virginia
Today, the book and I will appear at Barnes and Noble in Morgantown, WV, from 1 pm to 4 pm. If you’re local, come and see us!
Writings from my travels and experiences. High and fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water. Mark Twain
This site is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and promotion of history and culture in Appalachia.
Genealogy and History in North Carolina and Beyond
A site about one of the most beautiful, interesting, tallented, outrageous and colorful personalities of the 20th Century
Brandon Ray Kirk 
I’m two-thirds done. It’s still reading like a great mystery novel, only it’s not a novel. You must have done an incredible amount of research in the 20 years you’ve put into this. This is a unique reading experience for me. My intent is still to understand better the life of the great fiddler, Ed Haley. I’m learning about what I’ve come to think of as “backwoods culture.”
Thank you, Janet! It means a great deal to know that you “get” the book’s style. Most importantly, I’m glad you are enjoying the story. As to the style, my years of work with John Hartford taught me that it’s okay to operate outside of the box — to create things in my own way and not worry about labels or categories. Is it fiction? Is it nonfiction? Was John’s music bluegrass, old-time, Americana, country? Ed Haley, of course, appears as a child in the book. Knowing what we know about his biography, we realize that great things are waiting for him in life, at least musically speaking. Ed Haley’s life during the feud, however, is a bit bleak. Without question, for those who are interested in Ed’s music, the story of his family background leads to a better understanding of his music. John and I believed that Milt’s life and demise had a profound influence on Ed’s life and music. When you play Ed’s tunes or hear his tunes being played, knowing the tragedy and hardship in his early life, in light of his father’s long shadow (and other things not revealed in the book), the music becomes almost unbearably powerful and deep.
Unbearably powerful and deep — yes. In Stephen Wade’s book The Beautiful Music All Around Us he quoted someone commenting on Ed Haley’s rendition of Bonaparte’s Retreat: “If two armies could come together and hear him play that tune, they’d kill themselves in piles.”
In my Skype lessons with Adam Hurt he encourages me to listen and learn from Ed Haley. In my last lesson I mentioned a bit of what I’ve learned from your blog. I sent him a link to this blog journal and think he should read the book, too.
I just finished Blood in West Virginia this evening. That’s enough fearful living and violence to last a lifetime! There’s so much going on that I’d have to re-read it several times and try to draw some family trees to get it straight. Your research is thorough, to put it mildly. I see the Kirks are related to the Brumfields. Does that give you a bias in choosing sides?
I liked your inclusion of tunes Milt and Green played, and especially your description of Milt’s last tune, Brownlowe’s Dream, his “champion piece.” Powerful writing, Brandon!
I also appreciated those photos, especially the one of young Ed and poor Hollene as an old woman. It’s a reminder to count our blessings.
Hope your Barnes & Noble day was a great success.
Thank you, Janet. I’m glad to know you enjoyed the book. What required a few days of your time to read represents about 25 years of research. To be honest, I became so attached to the story and so involved in its discovery that it was difficult to let go of it. I hope you will return to the story, as I have, to find new appreciation of characters and events. For me, it’s served as an endless well of fascination. At the time of the feud, my Kirks and Brumfields had not yet married into one another’s family. The Brumfields, of course, were chief feudists in the community, while Melvin Kirk risked his life and the wrath of the Brumfields and their allies to bury Haley and McCoy out of a sense of “doing right.” Being a descendant of the Brumfields afforded me great opportunity to gather their side of the story; they were remarkably honest. From the outset, I approached the story with an “I just want to know” attitude that refused any biases. I became very attached to all of the characters in the story and tried my utmost best to occupy/inhabit all of their spaces as best as I could a century later. I researched much more about each of their lives than I would ever need to write the book, but I wanted the whole picture before I wrote about this one particular moment. I would defend any of them as you might an old friend. Be sure to follow the book’s FB page where I post additional material daily. If you enjoyed the book, the FB site will enhance the experience.