At least 200 people turned out April 23 in Berea to hear Kentucky authors read from Missing Mountains and speak out against willful abuse of the land and people represented by mountaintop removal mining.

    Among the authors speaking out at the free community event were Kristin Johanssen, Jim Webb, Bob Sloan, Loyal Jones, Artie Ann Bates, Erik Reece, Wendell Berry, Mary Ann Taylor-Hall, Ed McClanahan, Christina Lovin, Charlie Hughes and Bobbie Ann Mason.

    KFTC member and musician Randy Wilson performed a number of songs. Anne Shelby and Jessie Lynn Keltner also sang.

    Photographers Ann Olson and Warren Brunner took part in the authors tour and were present at the Berea event. Dexter Collett and Gray Zeitz were present at an earlier meeting as authors planned additional educational efforts including the possibility of a new book project.

    Wendell Berry noted in his remarks that the writers’ work on the issue has been transformative for the participants, in addition to raising the public’s awareness of the issue.

    “This is a significant moment in Kentucky,” he stated. “What it means to be a writer in Kentucky will not be the same.”   

    Mary Ann Taylor-Hall described how her involvement in the fight against mountaintop removal mining has affected her. On a recent hike in the Red River Gorge, she found it hard to shake the images of strip mining she had witnessed. 

    “A sharpness has come to my vision. I can’t look at the world anymore without envisioning its destruction,” Taylor-Hall shared.

    Berea authors Loyal Jones and Kristin Johanssen each reminded the audience about aspects of life in eastern Kentucky that are both special and endangered by destructive mining.

    Jones told a number of humorous stories that highlighted the culture and heritage of the mountains. Johannsen read sections from her new book on ginseng, a herb that grows wild only in the Appalachian mountains. “Today, the plant’s forest habitat is under siege,” she stated.

    Bob Sloan emceed the presentation and introduced each author who read from his or her contribution to Missing Mountains or a similar writing.

    Erik Reece read from his book Lost Mountain, published in February, that chronicles a year in the destruction of a mountain in Perry County.

    At a reception following the event, participants had an opportunity to purchase books and get them signed by the authors. A number of new members joined KFTC and about a dozen participants are scheduled to take part in a Mountain Witness Tour in Perry County this month.
    Bobbie Anne Mason, Anne Shelby and Erik Reece also were speakers for a panel on mountaintop removal at the Bluegrass Festival of Books on April 29 in Lexington. Charlie Hughes moderated.

    “If you knew the true cost of electricity it would break your heart,” Mason said at that event.

    Shelby mentioned the “intimidating and mean-spirited” reactions she and other authors have gotten in response to speaking out against mountaintop removal.

    “Some people really don’t want us to talk about this,” Shelby said. “The coal companies really don’t want to be questioned.”

    “The dedication from the authors is overwhelming,” said KFTC member Teri Blanton. “But then once you see what is happening to our mountains it is hard to ignore it.”

Loyal Jones	Bobbie Ann Mason	Artie Ann Bates	Charlie Hughes	Erik Reece