Ray Hicks: Master Storyteller of the Blue Ridge [Paperback]

Robert Isbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 3, 2000

Ray Hicks, 78, the famous teller of Appalachian Jack Tales, is one of America's best-loved storytellers. In this book he shares a different kind of story, a chronicle of his family's experiences in the remote section of the North Carolina mountains where they have lived for more than 200 years.

The pioneers who settled Beech Mountain were a God-fearing people who cherished the stories, the songs, and the ways of their ancestors. For generations, the Hickses have preserved tales of family history--the struggles and the celebrations--right alongside tales of giants and magic hens. Now readers will come to know the wisdom, humor, hardships, and dignity of this remarkable clan. Robert Isbell's profile of Ray Hicks and his family also pays tribute to the longstanding Appalachian traditions of music-making and storytelling. First published in 1996 as The Last Chivaree, the book is based on hundreds of hours of conversations and many years of friendship.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It is through a Homeric sensibility, in fact, that Hicks and Isbell work together to convey these stories and sentiments without the least bit of nostalgia. (Blue Ridge Country)

A tender, loving, magical book. (Guy Munger, ""Literary Lantern"")

A book to be savored and to remind us of a quieter and simpler way of life. (North Carolina Libraries)

In this intriguing study of the Hicks family of Beech Mountain, journalist Isbell provides excellent insight into the lives of the people who live in the Appalachian mountains. (Library Journal)

[This book] captures the essence of Ray Hicks's stories and the sound of Stanley Hicks's dulcimer. (Asheville Citizen-Times)

About the Author

Robert Isbell, a former journalist and bank executive, lives on Winyah Bay, near Georgetown, South Carolina, in winter and spends the summers in Beech Mountain, North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (December 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807849626
• ISBN-13: 978-0807849620
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,944,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sparkling National Treasure, May 14, 2002

By 

T. Prizer (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ray Hicks: Master Storyteller of the Blue Ridge (Paperback)

"Ray Hicks", Robert Isbell's beautiful narrative about one of America's favorite Appalachian storytellers, brought me to tears, into uncontrollable guffaws, and sent chills up my spine - a literary high. Isbell recounts his conversations with various members of the Hicks' kinship, painting beautiful images of the proud yet humble life which abounds in the Southern Appalachians.
Most wonderful about this book is that Isbell does not go too far in attempting to present Hicks' vernacular speech in a jumbled, Elizabethan mess. He relies simply on Hicks' eloquent turns-of-phrase to present his fascination and amazement with the man's craft. The author's prose reads like fiction and ethnography simultaneously, resulting in a heartfelt portrayal of the American spirit.
Isbell, no dummy when it comes to mountain life himself, is able to create an honest portrait not only of one man, but an entire family and an entire region. He weaves magic, fantasy, reality, music, Jack tales, religion, and myth-as-truth to create one hell of a literary, folkloric and anthropological accomplishment.
When I finished the book, I closed it softly with a tearful smile. I then ordered a basket of daisies to be delivered to Ray and Rosa Hicks at their Old Mountain Rd. home.

Sadly, Ray Hicks has been diagnosed with advanced cancer since this book was written. A fund has been created for the cause (The Ray and Rosa Hicks Fund), the address of which can be found on various webpages.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tribute to Ray Hicks and Robert Isbell, December 24, 2003

By 

Lyn Isbell (South Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ray Hicks: Master Storyteller of the Blue Ridge (Paperback)

12/24/2003
This exquisite book is a beautiful, fitting tribute to the remarkable national treasure, Ray Hicks, who took stories passed down orally for centuries and magically brought them to life for new generations. Previously published in hardback as "The Last Chivaree," this book is an authentic, moving portrayal of the charismatic Ray Hicks and his family. Working from hundreds of hours of taped interviews, Robert Isbell realistically and poetically evokes the lives of people whose great spirit and joyful participation in the suffering of the world allowed them not only to survive inconceivable poverty and hardship, but to triumph.

Ray Hicks died in April of this year (2003), and Robert Isbell, the author of this book and my father, died two weeks ago. Each had reached his 80th birthday. Both were luminaries to all who knew them.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ray Hicks is a true faith healer, December 24, 2004

By 

Austin (Boone, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ray Hicks: Master Storyteller of the Blue Ridge (Paperback)

I have never read this book, however I have known Ray Hicks for practically my whole life. I live in Boone, near where Ray spent his whole life. I first went to his house when I was 3 years old, but my mother did not take me to the top of that remote mountain to hear Ray's famous Jack tales. Ray Hicks was a faith healer, a seventh son of a seventh son with true powers. I had thirty three warts covering my hands. All Ray had to do was count my warts and perform some mysterious act on a designated tree he had in his backyard. After three weeks every single wart was gone, without the help of a single drop of medicine or even the slightest touch. Ray performed this incredible wart removal on myself, my brother, my mother, our neighbors, and anyone else that was in need of his powers. I am not a religious man and am not one to put faith in things I cannot explain, however Ray Hicks healed me and touched me in a very special way. Please read this book to discover how incredible this simple mountain man truly was.