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The Sound Quilt Project Weaves Sonic Fibers To Tell A Story Of Issues Faced By People In Appalachia

courtesy of Jonny Frank Himsel

An Appalachian musician and writer created what he calls a ‘Sound Quilt,’ to tell the story of Appalachian people and how they’ve been affected by issues surrounding the coal industry.

Sound Quilt number one is the first of what is expected to be a series, touching several issues with an impact felt by some Appalachians. 

When in 2019 the Blackjewel Coal Company went bankrupt and its miners were left without pay, Virginia native, Trey Burnart Hall, felt compelled to share historical and creative pieces of that story. The 27-year-old writer/musician says he wanted to show that this narrative has repeated itself in Appalachia for decades. Due to a vocal cord injury, he was inspired to get creative with his approach. He calls the project, Sound Quilt #1: Harlan County Reprise. 

“My goal is to take different sonic fibers if you will, such as music, poetry, other multimedia and weave them together to create something new,” said Hall. 

Appalachian poet Pauletta Hansel reads from her poem, ”Harlan County, USA 2019”. She wrote that poem in 2019 when she heard the news about how the miners were treated.

“What really struck my imagination was both the unfairness of that situation with the unfairness of how coal companies have often treated miners over the many years. But then the direct action that the miners took which was basically getting on the train tracks where there was a full set of coal cars that Blackjewel was getting ready to ship out without payment to the miners and the miners said, basically ‘no, we aren’t moving until we get our pay,’” said Hansel. 

Hansel is the first voice heard in Hall’s “Sound Quilt” Project.  He utilizes different voices and stories throughout history. Along with poetry and song, there are news clips of protestors who’ve lost jobs. The late Florence Reece, labor-activist and poet, is included. She’s known for her song “Which Side Are You On,” which she wrote in 1912 when her coal-mining father was on strike. Reece updated her version in 1931 during the Harlan County strike by the United Mine Workers of America. 

Trey Burnart Hall said, “It’s a bridging of the present and the past to show that this labor unrest and injustice is cyclical and is something we need to face.”

Third-generation quilter Shaina Naillieux is intrigued by the idea of the sound quilt project. She says it makes sense to weave poetry, music and news clips from different eras of an Appalachian story together and call it sound quilting. The Breathitt County resident said it’s very common for Appalachian quilters to use pieces or blocks of material from other generations and combine them with new material to make a quilt.

“We’ve always been a people that treasure our older generations and that really learn from those older generations, and, so when you’re using fabric that your grandmother had or finishing a quilt top that your great grandmother started, you really can sit there and feel that connection to that older generation,” said Naillieux. 

Being Appalachian is a core part of Trey Burnart Hall’s identity. He hopes this project reminds people that social activism has a home in Appalachia as much as it does anywhere. 

“And that poetry, textile crafts, such as quilting, and music have a potential and a history to be used in ways far beyond entertainment,” explained Hall. 

Hall said he’s released this first in his “Sound Quilt” series on all streaming platforms under the new label he started called Vocal Rest Records.

 

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Cheri is a broadcast producer, anchor, reporter, announcer and talk show host with over 25 years of experience. For three years, she was the local host of Morning Edition on WMUB-FM at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Cheri produced and hosted local talk shows and news stories for the station for nine years. Prior to that, she produced and co-hosted a local talk show on WVXU, Cincinnati for nearly 15 years. Cheri has won numerous awards from the Public Radio News Directors Association, the Ohio and Kentucky Associated Press, and both the Cincinnati and Ohio chapters of the Society for Professional Journalists.
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