Ray Hicks: Master Storyteller of the Blue Ridge

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.

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.