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]IM WAYNE MILLER Jim Wayne Miller was born in 1936 in Leicester, North Carolina. He earned a B.A. in English at Berea College and a Ph.D. in German at Vanderbilt University. In a distinguished career as a teacher and writer, Miller taught as a professor ofGerman and creative writing at Western Kentucky University from 1963 until his death in 1996. He also served as poet-in-residence at Centre College (1984); as a visiting professor in Berea College's Appalachian Studies Workshop (1973-1980); and as a long-time staff member of the Hindman Settlement School Writers' Workshop. Known primarily as a poet, Miller published seven volumes of poetry: Copperhead Cane (1964), The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same (1971), Dialogue With a DeadMan (1974), The Mountains Have Come Closer (1980), Vein ofWords (1984), Nostalgiafor 70 (1986), and Brier: His Book (1988). He edited nine other volumes of anthologized poetry and criticism and published two novels, Newfound (1989) and His First, Best Country (1993). Although Miller's short stories have not been collected, he produced throughout his career an impressive number ofstories since the appearance of"The Lily'' in 1958. On the whole Miller's short fiction addresses the ongoing conflict between the traditional and the modern worlds and often explores the defining characteristics of one's cultural heritage. "The Taste of Ironwater," which originally appeared in Mountain Life and WOrk in 1969, explores this theme with a poet's eye and the ability to examine the greater whole through one person's struggle with the symptoms of a greater malaise, separation. • "Remember the time old Haskill Bayes made that wagon with bicycle wheels?" L.C. said. "Run us off Stringtown Hill through that bob-war fence, like to killed us? I don't believe kids down home has fun like that anymore. Shoot! there ain't hardly any kids in Wolf Pen anymore, you know, Buddy?" "That's right," Buddy said without looking up from the interlocking wet rings he was making on the bar with his glass. He had been sitting there when somebody behind him had hollered "Buddy!" and slapped him on the back so hard he'd wanted to turn around and coldcock whoever did it. But there'd stood L.C. Buck, old boy THE TASTE OF IRONWATER 155 he'd gone to school with down home, big-mouthed and pop-eyed as ever, sort of frog-faced. Buddy reckoned there wasn't a bar in Columbus he could go into without running into somebody from down home. "Them was the good times we had down home, you know, Buddy?" "That's right." "We didn't know how good we was havin' it, you know?" "I guess not." "It's different, you know, livin' off up here, workin,' practically ever'body a rank stranger. Like Imogene and me, we been livin' in this trailer park goin' on two year and we still don't know hardly anybody, not like people down home knows one another. And you take, lots offolks from WolfPen's up here workin,' but just gettin' up, goin' to work, comin' home, you hardly ever see anybody." Buddy stared into his beer. What was he supposed to say to L.C.? He liked it just that way-not seeing anybody. Buddy's Dad had a room over on Oak, was a night watchman at Detrex, but Buddy hadn't seen him in two-three weeks. Didn't want to-him or anybody else. That way people weren't all the time nosing into your business. Maybe L.C. hardly ever saw anybody from down home, but ... "Somebody said you was drivin' a truck down in Ashland after you got out of the Air Force," L.C. said. "I been quit that." "Where you at up here, Buddy?" ''I'm over at-I'm with Ohio Rubber." "Shippin' that foam?" "Yeah, and fan belts, radiator hoses." "Never figured on you gettin' hitched, though, Buddy. Little time off from the ball and chain, like me, huh?" Buddywould sure-God like to know where L.C. picked up all his news! "Man, I got two weeks off. £vie's visitin' her folks-out in New Mexico." "Yeah, somebody said you was stationed out there. What's she look like, Buddy? You got a picture of her?" Buddy shrugged. "She's blond. That's about it." "Built?" "You better believe it." "You all got a house or apartment?" God! folks from...

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