Black Mountain Poet, Fascinating Fungi And A Unicorn Mug, Inside Appalachia

This week, a poet talks about his new collection, “If Lost.” He found inspiration for it by walking around in the woods. .

Also, now is a great time for mushroom hunters to head to the woods and find all kinds of fascinating fungi – even those not meant to be eaten.

And, almost everybody has a favorite cup or coffee mug, but how far would you go to replace yours?

In This Episode

What to do “If Lost.”
Meandering With Mushrooms
The Perfect Mug Exists

What to do “If Lost.”

Poet and poetry organizer, Clint Bowman, says the best way to read poetry in front of people is to read poetry in front of people. *Courtesy*

When Clint Bowman of Black Mountain, North Carolina couldn’t find the writing group he needed, he formed the Dark City Poets Society.

Bowman has used the group to develop his poetry, some of which explores people and their connection to nature.

Producer Bill Lynch recently spoke with Bowman about his new collection, “If Lost.”

Meandering With Mushrooms

Glow in the Dark Jack O’ Lantern mushrooms spout out of a hundred-year-old Black Gum tree. These mushrooms make up one of many species that make this area a biodiversity hotspot. *Courtesy*

The fall tends to be a great time to hunt mushrooms in Appalachia. You might see orange, yellow, red, even blue mushrooms. A few are edible, but some are poisonous, and it’s best not to pick them unless you know what you’re doing.

Radio IQ’s Roxy Todd joined a mushroom hike in southwestern Virginia to learn more.

The Perfect Mug Exists

The magic is in the mug. *Wendy Welch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Inside Appalachia’s Folkways stories cover a lot of ground. They can also be about finding something lost. Folkways reporter Wendy Welch brought us a mystery behind a very specific mug.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Kaia Kater, Joe Dobbs and the 1937 Flood, Jeff Ellis, John Inghram, Gerry Milnes and Blue Dot Sessions.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from folkways editor Chris Julin. You can find us on Instagram @InAppalachia.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.