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| Dr. Gary Neil Carden addresses crowd at Sylva library. |
“Gary Carden feted by Sylva, Jackson
County, and friends.”
Sylva November 11, 2012—Friday
November 9 friends of Gary Neil Carden honored the
playwright/storyteller with a gala recognition event at the Jackson
County Library. The reception, hosted by the Jackson County Friends
of the Library, began at 6:00 pm in the library's atrium with music
from local musicians Paul Iarussi and Eric Young. Proclamations and
speeches from County Commissioner Doug Cody, Town of Sylva Mayor
Maurice Moody (who declared November 9 “Gary Carden Day”), and
Jackson County Historic Preservation Commission Chair Cherrie' Moses
followed at 7:00 pm in the Community Room of the old Jackson County
Courthouse to a crowd of over fifty people.
Dottie Brunette, librarian and one of
the organizers of the event, said “Gary makes me laugh and cry more
than any other playwright/storyteller and I am proud to be from the
same town as Gary Carden. We needed to honor him as being part of
us.”
Bill Crawford, a childhood friend, said
“I think its wonderful what happened here and I appreciate what all
of you did by having this for him.”
Patricia Cowan, president of the
Friends of the Library said “We were honored to be asked to help
honor Gary.”
When asked what he thought about this
surprise celebration Carden said “I guess its okay. I really do
appreciate the people of my hometown honoring me—thank you.”
Dave Waldrop, local author and personal
friend of Carden's said “Anybody who's written anything knows how
hard it is to write. To write the plays and stories that Gary has and
to receive state and national recognition for them is an
accomplishment that happens far less than getting struck by
lightening. Gary's earned everything’s he's gotten and will be
remembered for his plays, stories, teaching Appalachian culture, and
portraying Appalachia and its people in a realistic and poignant
manner across multiple genres. I'm proud to call Gary Carden a friend
and a mentor.
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| Carden given standing ovation for lifetime achievement in Southern Appalachian literature |
Gary Neil Carden
236 Cherry Street, Sylva, NC 28779
Birth Date: January 20, 1935
Websites:
tannerywhistle.net ;
hollernotes.blogspot.com ; facebook.com/gary.n.carden
Accomplishments:
Plays:
"The Uktena" - "The
Raindrop Waltz" - "Land's End" - "Nance Dude."
"Birdell" - "Prince of Dark Corners" - “Madison”
- “Signs and Wonders” - "Mother Jones" - “Outlander”
Appalachian Heritage Live
Presentations:
“The Liars Bench” (2010 - current)
Books:
“Outlander” (2012) - “Mason Jars
in the Flood and other stories” (2000) - “Papa's Angels: A
Christmas Story” (1996; with Collin Wilcox Paxton) - “Belled
Buzzards, Hucksters and Grieving Specters Appalachian Tales: Strange,
True & Legendary” (1994; with Nina Anderson)
Videos:
“The Prince of Dark Corners” (2009)
- “Blow the Tannery Whistle” (1994) – Narrator of 2005 PBS
Documentary “Mountain Talk”
Paintings (Southern Appalachian
Outsider Art):
“Preaching to the Chickens” -
“Jonah” - “The Fall of Sky Woman” - “Learning to Ride A
Leopard” - “Mason Jars in the Flood” - “Two Foxes Dancing on
a Moonlit Road in Georgia” - “Daniel in the Lions' Den” -
“Rapture at MacDonald's”
Awards:
North Carolina
Award for Literature (2012)
WCU Honorary
Doctorate of Humane Letters (2008)
The North Carolina Folklore Society:
2006 Brown-Hudson Folklore Award
2001 Appalachian Writers Association
Book of the Year (Mason Jars in the Flood)
American Library Association 1998
Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video
Influence in Appalachian
Folklore/Culture:
Gary
Carden, a regular contributor to The
Smoky Mountain News/Smoky Mountain Living Magazine,
is a playwright, storyteller and dramatist who has been recognized by
the North Carolina Folklore Society for his contributions to
folklore. The nominee taught Appalachian culture at Elderhostels at
Highlands and Lake Junaluska for more than 20 years. The nominee
created and is the artistic director for the Liars Bench, a
live, authentic Southern Appalachian storytelling, music, poetry,
drama, and folk arts presentation. The nominee has been invited to
give a presentation on Southern Appalachian culture/tradition at the
Democratic national Convention in Charlotte in September of 2012. The
nominee has also been nominated for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial
Literary Award for “Outlander” in 2012. It is quite possible that
no single individual has done more for the realistic portrayal of
Appalachia and its people across multiple genres for over the past 40
years than Gary Neil Carden.
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