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The Power of the Porch

Author: Trudier Harris

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 9780820318578

In ways that are highly individual, says Harris, yet still within a shared oral tradition, Zora Neale Hurston, Gloria Naylor, and Randall Kenan skillfully use storytelling techniques to define their audiences, reach out and draw them in, and fill them with anticipation. Considering how such dynamics come into play in Hurston's Mules and Men, Naylor's Mama Day, and Kenan's Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, Harris shows how the "power of the porch" resides in readers as well, who, in giving themselves over to a story, confer it on the writer. Against this background of give and take, anticipation and fulfillment, Harris considers Zora Neale Hurston's special challenges as a black woman writer in the thirties, and how her various roles as an anthropologist, folklorist, and novelist intermingle in her work. In Gloria Naylor's writing, Harris finds particularly satisfying themes and characters. A New York native, Naylor came to a knowledge of the South through her parents and during her stay on the Sea Islands she wrote Mama Day. A southerner by birth, Randall Kenan is particularly adept in getting his readers to accept aspects of African American culture that their rational minds might have wanted to reject. Although Kenan is set apart from Hurston and Naylor by his alliances with a new generation of writers intent upon broaching certain taboo subjects (in his case gay life in small southern towns), Kenan's Tims Creek is as rife with the otherworldly and the fantastic as Hurston's New Orleans and Naylor's Willow Springs.

The Boy on the Porch

Author: Sharon Creech

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2013-09-03

Total Pages: 95

ISBN-13: 0062207776

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“This quiet novel sings. A graceful profound story for all ages that speaks well beyond its intended audience.” —Kirkus (starred review) Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech's Ruby Holler will love this tween novel about opening your heart and finding family when you least expect it. When a young couple finds a boy asleep on their porch, their lives take a surprising turn. Unable to speak, the boy, Jacob, can't explain his history. All John and Marta know is that they have been chosen to care for him. And as their connection and friendship with Jacob grow, they embrace his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an unlikely family and begin to see the world in brand-new ways.

The Porch

Author: Charlie Hailey

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2021-04

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 022676995X

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"There is something spooky and resonant about liminal places like docks, shorelines, decks, and perhaps most commonly porches. Here, Charlie Hailey meditates on porches in a way that is appropriately thoughtful, affecting, rich, and resonant. Porches, in his hands, become portals onto an endless array of large metaphysical questions: what is it to be in a place? How does one place teach us about the world and about ourselves, both as individuals and as a species? What are we-and the things we have built-in this world? In a time when questions of what makes society society and what sustains the individual are so paramount, Hailey's meditations are both a tonic and a series of welcome provocations"--

The American Porch

Author: Michael Dolan

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2024-02-13

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 1504090470

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The former American History editor explores the creation and restoration of an essential part of a twentieth-century home’s identity—the American porch. “In this delightful look at an American icon, journalist and documentary scriptwriter . . . Dolan traces the history of the porch, using this history to explore subjects such as architecture, history, slavery, colonialism, trade, anthropology, sociology, consumer behavior, and publishing.” —Library Journal In 1981, Michael Dolan and his wife, Eileen O’Toole, bought a 1926 suburban bungalow in the Palisades area of Washington, DC. It was a fixer-upper and DIY project that consumed their lives for twelve years. As rooms were transformed with updated electrical wiring and plumbing, the house’s porch became a storage area, rotating appliances, furniture, and construction materials as they were used and discarded. After the interior renovation was completed, Michael finally turned his attention to the porch, working with contractors to resurrect it—a reconstruction that inspired him to uncover the history of porches and their significance as a symbolic piece of Americana. “In praise of the porch: Come up and sit a spell.” —USA Today “A wry, well-researched look at the place and the people who rocked, talked and courted on [the American porch] for three centuries.” —Parade “The porch is making a comeback, gradually replacing its humbler rival the deck, which the traditionalist Dolan refers to as the platform shoe or leisure suit of American architecture.” —Time “Dolan amply demonstrates that the porch is primarily a means of escaping the heat and, almost as important, a locus for casual social interaction.” —Publishers Weekly

The Porch Book

Author: Better Homes & Gardens

Publisher: Wiley

Published: 2011-11-22

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9780470948521

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Ideas and instruction for adding a porch to your home The Porch Book is inspiring and broadly instructive, showcasing the beauty and benefits of adding a porch to common home styles. A gallery of inspirational ideas includes porches designed for enhanced outdoor living, with an emphasis on those attached to decks and patios. Plenty of attention is given to structural considerations, such as bolstering framing to add a porch to a deck, adding a roof, footings and foundations, insulation and weatherproofing, and wiring and plumbing basics. From simple covered steps to grand verandas, porches are inviting, comfortable, gracious, and even genteel. They can add warmth to the coldest facade, increase energy efficiency, and offer a sweet sweep of shade outdoors. Turn to The Porch Book and flip through a section of before-and-after photos that demonstrate how front porches can radically improve the look of a home. Then, choose a construction style that complements your home and get ready to bring some added charm to your living space. Features before-and-after photos that inspire you to give your home's exterior a facelift Covers amenities that make porches more attractive, like lighting and fans, kitchen areas, decorative ceiling and wall treatments, flooring options, and much more Offers design construction topics, like using an architect, permit issues, adding entryways, and more Whether you're looking to upgrade an existing porch or build a new one from scratch, The Porch Book inspires and instructs you on everything you need to create a porch that invites you to slow down, sit back, take a big breath, and come together with family and friends.

Porch Lights

Author: Dorothea Benton Frank

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2012-06-12

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0062194860

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New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank is back home in the Carolina lowcountry, spinning a tale that brims with the warmth, charm, heart, and humor that has become her trademark. Porch Lights is a stirring, emotionally rich multigenerational story—a poignant tale of life, love, and transformation—as a nurse, returning to Sullivans Island from the Afghanistan War, finds her life has been irrevocably altered by tragedy…and now must rediscover love and purpose with the help of her son and aging mother. An evocative visit to enchanting Sullivans Island with its unique pluff mud beaches, palmetto trees, and colorful local lore—a novel filled with unforgettable characters, and enlivened by tales of the notorious Blackbeard and his bloodthirsty pirate crew and eerie Edgar Allan Poe stories—Porch Lights stands tall among the very best works of not only Dottie Frank, but Anne Rivers Siddons, Rebecca Wells, Pat Conroy, and other masters of the modern Southern novel as well.

Front Porch Politics

Author: Michael S. Foley

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2013-09-17

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 0809054825

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"An on-the-ground history of ordinary Americans who took to the streets when political issues became personal. It is widely believed that Americans of the 1970s and '80s were exhausted by the upheavals of the '60s and eager to retreat to the private realm. When they did take action, it was mainly to express their disillusionment with government by supporting the right. In fact, as Michael Stewart Foley shows, neither of these assumptions is correct. On the community level, the 1970s and '80s saw vibrant new forms of political activity emerge. Tenants challenged landlords, farmers practiced civil disobedience to protect their land, and laid-off workers asserted a right to own their idled factories. Activists fought to defend the traditional family or to expand the rights of women, while entire towns organized to protest the toxic sludge in their basements. In all these arenas, Americans were propelled by their own experiences into the public sphere. Disregarding conventional ideas of "left" and "right," they turned to political action when they perceived an immediate threat to the safety and security of their families, homes, or dreams. Front Porch Politics is a people's history told through on-the-ground experiences. Recalling crusades famous and forgotten, Foley shows how Americans followed their outrage into the streets. Their distinctive style of visceral, local, and highly personal activism remains a vital resource for the renewal of American democracy"--

A Porch Sofa Almanac

Author: Peter Smith

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13: 1452915563

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For Peter Smith, the assignment from Minnesota Public Radio was simple: try to do something about Minnesota . So he began exploring the simple, everyday Minnesota things he came across and sharing them with listeners each Tuesday morning. The result is a hilarious, often wry, and always remarkable portrait of everyday life in the Land of 10,000 Lakes that will resonate with Minnesotans from the state's biggest cities to its smallest towns. A Porch Sofa Almanac is the first collection of Smith's essays for MPR-stories that keep close to the ground and reflect on the common experiences of being.

From Miss Ida's Porch

Author: Sandra Belton

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13: 0689818025

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In the evening the residents of Church Street gather on Miss Ida's porch to share memories and hear stories about events in the past, events significant to them as black people.

Rebuilding the Front Porch of America

Author: Patrick Overton

Publisher: Revised with Added Material

Published: 2016-12-09

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 9781940025322

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In the twenty years since this book was first published, our nation's communities - from urban centers to rural and small communities dotting our landscape - have had their foundations rocked to the core. Yet, despite the economic, social, and cultural challenges they have experienced, communities all across our country are showing their resilience by reinventing themselves. This is especially true for many of rural and small communities whose persistence and self-determination show the same creativity, the same grit, the same shared values that brought them into existence. One of the ways these communities are doing this is by engaging in community making through the arts. The arts invite us to tell our story and listen to the story of others. As we work together and celebrate our community creativity, the arts bring people of all ages, genders, races, religions, and economic backgrounds together for the common good of reconnecting with each other and celebrating who we are as individuals and communities. Community arts provide a new gathering place, a cultural and spiritual touchstone that is a source of community revitalization and neighborhood revival. I believe our rural and small communities are creating the map our nation is searching for that will help us navigate the challenges awaiting all of us as we work together rebuilding the front porch of America.