KATHERINE MANLEY
I am so happy that Katherine Manley’s portrait was the first of this series for me. Within the first few pages of her book, I called my mom and insisted she get it and read it. I was floored when I realized she grew up in Paint Creek, West Virginia, where my mom grew up and where my sisters and I spent many weekends and summer days with family. I had several tearful conversations with Mom while we both read (Kathy’s dad had a truck he called the Blue Goose! My great uncle Cliff had a Blue Goose!). Mom knew exactly where every Paint Creek landmark described in the book was. I had dreams of the creek at night, riding in the backseat through the mountains to my great grandmother Ina’s house. Kathy’s book was so vivid, and somehow still felt warm, though much of the life she described in it was spent cold and hungry.
This is a story of a kind of poverty I have a hard time wrapping my mind around. A kind of childhood I have a hard time imagining, but I was able to see it with clarity when I read her memories. The very next time I cooked dinner after I started this book, I cried like a baby, overwhelmed with gratitude that I had an avocado. I honestly have thought of her story every day in some way since reading it. It’s just a beautiful memoir, and I think it should be required reading in Appalachian schools.
I got to interview Kathy along with Kandi Workman after I read her book, and before I painted her. I also got to meet her in person when she did a reading at a local bookstore that happened to line up with this project. She is an incredibly warm, kind person. I loved listening to the selections she read and kind of wished I could listen to her read the whole thing. She spoke in our interview and at the bookstore about the power that teachers’ words hold over their students. She spoke about her role as a mother in a similar way, with an awareness of the overall power of kindness and encouragement. I feel so honored to have crossed paths with Kathy Manley.
BIO
Katherine Manley lives in southern West Virginia and has been an educator in Logan County schools for over 35 years. Earning degrees from Marshall University and West Virginia State University, she is a National Board Certified Teacher. She is a fellow of the 1995 West Virginia Writing Project directed by Dr. Fran Simone and the 1996 West Virginia Humanities Council Appalachian Seminar directed by Dr. Judy Byers. Her writing has been featured in Hamilton Stone Review, Traditions: A Journal of West Virginia Folk Culture and Educational Awareness, The Guyandot Observer, and Fearless: Women’s Journeys to Self-Empowerment. Her short stories have placed in West Virginia Writers’ Contests, and her memoir was a semi-finalist in William Faulkner’s Writing Competition. Katherine has won several prestigious teaching awards including finalist for West Virginia Teacher of the Year, Arch Coal Teacher of the Year, and The Prodigy Foundation Teacher Achievement Award given in memory of the Rocket Boys’ beloved teacher, Freida J. Riley of Coalwood, West Virginia. She is married and the mother of three adult children and has two precious grandsons. In her spare time, you’ll find Katherine hiking the heavenly mountains of West Virginia, reading by a cozy fire, or relaxing at the beach, taking a well-earned rest.
WHAT I’M READING
“West Virginians are among the very best story tellers in the world, and Kathy Manley is clearly a West Virginian. Her story rings with vibrancy and truth. Highly recommended.”
“Kathy Manley’s compelling memoir ought to be required reading for every person in America today-especially every person in high school. Not a shred of sentimentality or self-pity mars this beautifully written account of an Appalachian childhood spent in deepest poverty, yet Manley’s narrative is neither pitiful nor sad, it is courageous and loving, filled with hope for the future. Read this book. ”