Leaving the Mountains > Comments > "Review of Leaving the Mountains"
Piece Comment
Commenter Profile
- Emily Raymond
- Username: emmyray
- Location: Sebastopol, CA
- Joined PRX: Dec 31, 2005
Piece Information
- "Leaving the Mountains"
- Summary: Growing up in rural Appalachia Machlyn Blair didn't think he would have much in common with teenagers from other places. But the current immigration debate has made him realize just how central the experience of economic migration has been for him and his family. In this essay Machlyn shares his personal experiences and family history with economic migration, and talks about what making a choice to leave home really means to him.
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Review of Leaving the Mountains
Emily Raymond
Posted on June 28, 2006 at 11:26 AM
This piece provides an interesting and essential perspective on the immigration issue right now. Instead of joining the endless parade of stories discussing immigrants coming to the US, the narrator puts his own spin on things by discussing emigration from his community, and he does so very effectively.
The piece is structured so as to draw parallels between immigrants leaving other countries and people leaving Appalachian communities, and apparently many of the same motives lie behind each: little work, poor economy, dangerous jobs. The narrator also does a great job examining the conflicting forces behind the decision to stay or go. But what impressed me most was that even such a small editorial could have an effective story arc: the listener is first introduced to the conflict, the scene is set and discussed, and finally we hear the narrator make a choice...
This story is truly a breath of fresh air, and would be an almost necessary addition to any show about immigration and the surrounding issues.