A! Magazine for the Arts

Silas House

Silas House

House reads from new book at Washington County Public Library

January 28, 2023

Silas House, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Appalachian region, is the featured speaker in the “Sunday with Friends” literary series Sunday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. at the Washington County Public Library in Abingdon, Virginia.

House’s new novel, “Lark Ascending,” is a powerful story of survival set in the not-too-distant future. After fires have destroyed much of America and religious nationalists control the country, Lark and his family sail to Ireland, the only country rumored to be accepting American refugees. After losing his family, Lark bonds with a mysterious woman in search for her son and one of the last remaining dogs still alive, as they search for safety.

House is the author of “Clay’s Quilt,” “A Parchment of Leaves,” “The Coal Tattoo,” “Eli the Good,” “Same Sun Here,” (co-authored with Neela Vaswani) and “Southernmost.”

House is a former commentator for NPR’s “All Things Considered.” His writing has appeared recently in Time, the Atlantic, Ecotone, Garden and Gun, and Oxford American. House serves as the NEH Chair at Berea College and is on the fiction faculty at the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Creative Writing at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

House is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and has won an Appalachian Book of the Year award. He was the executive producer and one of the subjects of the documentary, “Hillbilly,” which is available on Hulu. In 2021 he was the recipient of the Governor’s Award from Kentucky governor Andy Brashear for his service to the arts in his home state of Kentucky.

There will be book sales, signings and a reception following House’s presentation.

For more information on the event, call 276-492-2013.

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