By Kiesa Kay, Yancey County Being born gets more dangerous day by day in these mountains. As birthing centers close, women big with child are being airlifted to big city hospitals or going into labor while driving down twisty mountain roads. …

Flourishes outside Morganton, North Carolina — By Kiesa Kay For many years, Chue Lee dreamed of Lee’s One Fortune Farm, and hard work brought that dream into being outside the town of Morganton, North Carolina. “At first, I planted to feed my family,” Chue Lee says as she dishes up a meal of bok choy, sausage…

By Kiesa Kay — Eight years ago, I planted a little stick in the ground — a buddleia, the beginning of a butterfly bush. That butterfly bush has grown as tall as the house, and it spreads at least eight feet wide. Today, dozens of black butterflies alight on its purple flowers, nuzzling nectar…

By Kiesa Kay The 4WD pickup truck bumps along the half mile dirt road to Pat Tompkins’ Blue Ridge homestead. She stops briefly at a large stump beside the road to remember the tree that the stump used to be, giving a moment of respect to all that’s changed in…

By Sarah Justice Ilay awake before dawn with the weight of the world like a lump in my throat. Hot tea, pajamas, flipflops, and the blanket from my couch that I grab as I walk out the door. …

Survival and homelessness in rural North Carolina — “I grew up in a nice house close to here. My dad worked at the mill, back when the mill was still here. I went to South End elementary school and later to Reidsville Senior High School. When I say I’m from here, I mean it. Some people say they…

A poem by Lavinia Jackson — Pasta swimming in red soup Shouldn’t spell out fear It should taste like comfort Microwaved Waiting for you to be The work, too. Working it out Presses curls straight Drapes Easter fabric Over innocence Trying to salvage the space Between patriarchy And pretty. Pretty has much to do Measured in…

The progress that small town organizers are making in rural NC. — Observations written by Devin Ceartas. How did you celebrate the failed coup? I believe there were some other rallies throughout North Carolina and I heard there may be a right-wing rally in Durham this weekend, though I don’t know the details. I attended a small rally from 6:00 to 6:30…

Schools, teaching, school boards and what our kids truly need — When Christina Clark drives to work in the mornings, she sees students walking to school. It’s a normal enough sight: Kids with heavy backpacks, bundled up for the winter, walking in groups, teasing each other and chatting. But she also notices that there is no sidewalk here, so the kids…