LETTERS Delivering Fine Journalism Since 2015
THINKING AND FEELING
I am a better and more informed person thanks to the Mercury and Metro Pulse before it. And Knoxville is a better, more informed, transformed city due in part to the awareness of the important things these papers have provided. As much as I have enjoyed the whole, I must say it is the stories written by Donna Johnson I have most clipped to save and share [Sacred & Profane, a monthly column]. Her writing is transporting. She is an articulate, thoughtful adventurer, explorer, and warrior who faces, shares, and overcomes circumstances many of us will never know. Thank you for the whole and the ongoing fight. Thank you for the platform which supports your writers and keeps us readers thinking and feeling. Tom McDaniel Knoxville
FOWL TONE POEM
This is the second time in as many months that I have been unexpectedly exposed to cock-fighting. The first time was within a DVD based on a Great Novel. There it was, and you can rent Day of the Locust from the library. The scenes back up “Fowl Fight” by Chris Wohlwend [Restless Native, Nov. 3, 2016]. The people I meet from Union County are pilgrims in that culture.
Pilgrims but not hobos. Animal activists are there, as well as many who will take in a lost dog or a stray cat. And if someone does relate a sad animal thing, they do it with some regret. Like the old-timer who told me how he caught rabbits by the fur with barbed wire, “but I only did that because it was the Depression, and I was hungry.” Anyone who has lived on a farm has stories about fowl. When chicken was on the supper menu, my little Christian Mammow would go out the back door, grab a chicken by the neck and in three seconds it was an ingredient. Papow shot a rooster one time. I don’t remember why, but the event was bloody. Yes, fowl do run around after they are dead. My grandparents were different than the participants mentioned in “Fowl Fight.” Grandparents take roles and do things that they felt had to be done. What’s more important is they did it Stone Cold Sober. Cock fighting isn’t necessary; that’s why the article is really a story of drinking. That’s why the sport finds its real courage in a bottle. Larry Pennington Knoxville
EDITORIAL
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• Letter submissions should include a verifiable name, address, and phone number. We do not print anonymous letters. • We much prefer letters that address issues that pertain specifically to Knoxville or to stories we’ve published. • We don’t publish letters about personal disputes or how you didn’t like your waiter at that restaurant. • Letters are usually published in the order that we receive them. Send your letters to: Our Dear Editor, Knoxville Mercury 618 S. Gay St., Suite L2 Knoxville, TN 37902 Send an email to: editor@knoxmercury.com Or message us at: facebook.com/knoxmercury
PLUS: TAP WATER AND TUNA PARTY!
If you weren’t able to attend our comic-strip artist Matthew Foltz-Gray’s book signing and launch party last month, please do not fret—you can still purchase copies of his Spirit of the Staircase collection, Tap Water and Tuna Party. For a mere $10, you can join Mumford and Matt on their colorful misadventures in Knoxville, printed on much nicer paper stock. (You can see the colors as Matthew intended them!) It’s available at Union Ave Books downtown, or online at: karatepetshop.com thespiritofthestaircase.com beta.gocomics.com/spirit-of-the-staircase 4
KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 1, 2016
EDITOR Coury Turczyn coury@knoxmercury.com SENIOR EDITOR Matthew Everett matthew@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jack Neely jack@knoxhistoryproject.org STAFF WRITERS S. Heather Duncan heather@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTORS
Chris Barrett Ian Blackburn Patrice Cole Eric Dawson George Dodds Thomas Fraser Lee Gardner Mike Gibson Nick Huinker Donna Johnson Tracy Jones Catherine Landis
Dennis Perkins Stephanie Piper Ryan Reed Eleanor Scott Alan Sherrod Nathan Smith April Snellings Joe Sullivan Kim Trevathan Chris Wohlwend Angie Vicars Carol Z. Shane
INTERNS
Hayley Brundige Maria Smith
DESIGN ART DIRECTOR Tricia Bateman tricia@knoxmercury.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Charlie Finch
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
David Luttrell Shawn Poynter Justin Fee Tyler Oxendine CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS
Matthew Foltz-Gray
ADVERTISING PUBLISHER & DIRECTOR OF SALES Charlie Vogel charlie@knoxmercury.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Scott Hamstead scott@knoxmercury.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Michael Tremoulis michael@knoxmercury.com
BUSINESS BUSINESS MANAGER Scott Dickey scott.dickey@knoxmercury.com
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jack Neely Coury Turczyn Joe Sullivan Charlie Vogel The Knoxville Mercury is an independent weekly news magazine devoted to informing and connecting Knoxville’s many different communities. It is a taxable, not-for-profit company governed by the Knoxville History Project, a non-profit organization devoted to exploring, disseminating, and celebrating Knoxville’s unique cultural heritage. It publishes 25,000 copies per week, available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. © 2016 The Knoxville Mercury