A rural Tennessee boarding house, a love triangle, and the building of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) dam that will bring electricity to the entire countryside...
"Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you this. The greatest thing on Earth is to have the love of God in your heart, and the next greatest thing is to have electricity in your house."
Author Mark Barr discusses his historical novel, Watershed, set in the late 1930s. The novel explores a New Deal project that will bring electricity to the rural South. Published by Hub City Publishing, this book is from the Cold Mountain Fund series, funded by author Charles Frazier's family foundation that celebrates rural and Southern literary fiction.
Mark Barr’s fiction and essays have appeared in Garden & Gun, Southbound, Poets & Writers, LitHub, and elsewhere. His debut novel, Watershed (Hub City, 2019), received favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and was awarded the 2019 David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction.
Mark has been awarded fellowships from Blue Mountain Center, I-Park Artists Enclave, Jentel Arts, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, Millay Colony, and Yaddo. He lives in Georgia with his wife and sons.
Special thanks to Folk Family Revival for allowing us to share their music in this episode. Thanks again guys. Your music is filled with light.
Heartfelt thanks to Americana roots rock artist, Becca Mancari, for sharing their ethereal, buoyant music with this episode. Find the songs from this episode on their album Good Woman.
Thank you to the following actors for their voice work: Ed Kubit, Ron Kubit, Tom Kubit, Barrie Bryant, Mary D. Minnick, Erick Weed, and featuring Ashtyn Barbaree as Claire.
Thank you to Mike Montgomery of Candyland Recording Studio for mastering the episode.
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Executive Producer and Host: J. Bradley Minnick
Senior Producer: Mary Ellen Kubit
Episode Mastered by: Mike Montgomery of Candyland Recording Studio
Music by: Becca Mancari and Folk Family Revival
