Listening for the Crack of Dawn

Audiences at storytelling festivals worldwide are passionate about Donald Davis and his deceptively soft-edged Appalachian stories. Developed in oral performance, Davis's stories resonate in the experiences of his listeners and readers. Donald Davis grew up in the Appalachian oral tradition, hearing traditional and family stories that illuminate human nature through the struggles and antics of unforgettable characters. Davis's stories are funny and true, nostalgic and bittersweet. Their characters surprise and entertain, such as Miss Martha Ann Butler, "the last surviving member of a failed Southern family," whose grocery delivery always included two pints of gin; the Reverend N.N. Upchurch, old Preacher No-No, whose nickname "pretty well summed up his opinion on most subjects"; and Aunt Laura, who knew to listen for the crack of dawn.