In this Book
- The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: The University Press of Kentucky
James Still (1906–2001) remains one of the most beloved and important writers of Appalachian literature. Best known for his acclaimed novel River of Earth (1940), the Alabama native and adopted Kentuckian left an enduring legacy of novels, stories, and poems during his nearly seventy-year career. The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still honors the late writer by collecting all of Still's short stories, including those from On Troublesome Creek (1941), Pattern of a Man and Other Stories (1976), and The Run for the Elbertas (1980), as well as twelve prose pieces originally published as short stories and later incorporated into River of Earth. Also included are several lesser-known stories and ten that were previously unpublished. Recognized as significant short fiction in his day—many of his stories initially appeared in The Atlantic and The Saturday Evening Post and were included in The O. Henry Memorial Award Stories and The Best American Short Stories collections—Still's short stories, while often overshadowed in recent years by his novels and poetry, are among his most enduring literary works. Editor Ted Olson's introduction offers a reassessment of Still's short fiction within the contexts of the author's body of work and within Appalachian and American literature. Compiling all of James Still's compelling and varied short stories in one volume, The Hills Remember is a testament to a master writer.
Table of Contents

- Introduction
- pp. 1-8
- Sweet Asylum
- pp. 9-16
- The Hills Remember
- pp. 17-19
- Incident at Pigeon Roost
- pp. 20-22
- Murder on Possum Trot Mountain
- pp. 23-25
- These Goodly Things
- pp. 26-27
- All Their Ways Are Dark
- pp. 28-32
- Horse Doctor
- pp. 33-37
- Bare-Bones
- pp. 38-41
- One Leg Gone to Judgment
- pp. 42-44
- A Bell on Troublesome Creek
- pp. 45-46
- The Scrape
- pp. 47-52
- The Quare Day
- pp. 53-57
- Job's Tears
- pp. 58-65
- The Egg Tree
- pp. 66-74
- Lost Brother
- pp. 75-79
- Brother to Methuselum
- pp. 80-91
- So Large a Thing as Seven
- pp. 92-99
- Journey to the Forks
- pp. 105-108
- Uncle Jolly
- pp. 109-115
- Bat Flight
- pp. 116-126
- Pigeon Pie
- pp. 127-129
- Twelve Pears Hanging High
- pp. 130-138
- Two Eyes, Two Pennies
- pp. 139-150
- On Quicksand Creek
- pp. 151-160
- The Ploughing
- pp. 161-164
- The Force Put
- pp. 165-168
- On Pigeon Roost Creek
- pp. 169-181
- The Straight
- pp. 182-192
- Sunstroke on Clabber Creek
- pp. 193-197
- The Hay Sufferer
- pp. 198-202
- I Love My Rooster
- pp. 203-215
- The Moving
- pp. 222-225
- The Proud Walkers
- pp. 226-238
- The Stir-Off
- pp. 239-249
- Locust Summer
- pp. 250-261
- Hit Like to 'a' Killed Me
- pp. 262-263
- Mrs. Razor
- pp. 264-267
- The Sharp Tack
- pp. 268-274
- Maybird Upshaw
- pp. 275-281
- Pattern of a Man
- pp. 282-291
- School Butter
- pp. 292-301
- A Master Time
- pp. 309-317
- A Ride on the Short Dog
- pp. 318-325
- The Fun Fox
- pp. 326-333
- The Burning of the Waters
- pp. 334-345
- Chicken Roost
- pp. 346-368
- The Run for the Elbertas
- pp. 369-387
- Encounter on Keg Branch
- pp. 388-389
- Plank Town
- pp. 390-394
- From the Morgue
- pp. 395-399
- Acknowledgments
- p. 401
- Publications
- pp. 403-406