Links to Information for Dismal

OCTC's Common Reading

Links to Information related to Dismal Rock by Davis McCombs - Fall 2008 Common Reading

tobacco farm clip art

This page may be updated throughout the semester - check back here for more links!

See the bottom of the page for a gallery of tobacco photographs and images!

Information about the book, Dismal Rock:

Information/ review: http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/538180/

NEA Writer's Corner, poem samples and author comment: http://www.nea.gov/features/Writers/mccombs.html

Synopsis, selected poems and reviews: http://www.tupelopress.org/dismal.shtml

Review: http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v7n1/nonfiction/beaven_c/rock.htm

Two poems by McCombs, featured as PoetryDaily selection: http://www.poems.com/poem.php?date=13853

Information about the author, Davis McCombs:

Faculty page at the University of Arkansas: http://www.uark.edu/depts/english/faculty/mccombs.php

Interview with McCombs: http://dislocatemagazine.blogspot.com/2006/11/interview-project-3-davis-mccombs.html

Information about Dismal Rock, Mammoth Cave, and the surrounding area:

Mist Netting: Statistics from surveys of bat populations at Mammoth Cave: http://www.batcon.org/workshopData/KY07CapRep.pdf

Mist Netting: Website "Bat Conservation and Management Kentucky" - includes videos and info.: http://www.batmanagement.com/movies/BCIKY/bciKY.html

NEW! Basic information about Mammoth Cave, its history (Floyd Collins and the Cave Wars), and surrounding landmarks: http://www.epinions.com/content_66432241284

NEW! Photos of Mammoth Cave mummies and opinion about paranormal activity in Mammoth Cave: http://www.burlingtonnews.net/hanion.html

NEW! The poem "Spider Crystal Ascension" by Charles Wright (related to McCombs' "Spider Crystal Descent": http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=177321

Map of Mammoth Cave area (click button on banner "view map") & "Age of Exploration" video: http://www.nps.gov/maca/photosmultimedia/ageofexploration.htm

Map of Dismal Rock area: http://kentucky.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,1,fid,490907,n,Dismal%20Rock.cfm

Rock climbing, photos of Dismal Rock: http://www.trailsrus.com/rockclimbing/gallery/dismalrock/index.html

GoogleBook text of Rock Art of Kentucky: http://books.google.com/books?id=AeF7pqEVkikC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=dismal+rock&source=web&ots=qPalc8882N&sig=7mgwVqCQXaDY8sr0pfh-ZaBN8mE&hl=en#PPP1,M1

Mammoth Cave, virtual tours: http://www.bubbleworld.com/mammoth/rotunda_java.html

Article - "Mammoth Cave and the Making of Place" by Katie Algeo (includes an area map): http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/southeastern_geographer/v044/44.1algeo.pdf

Excerpt from book about slavery and Mammoth Cave by Joy Medley Lyons: http://www.nps.gov/maca/historyculture/black-history.htm

"Below the Surface" website about slaves in Mammoth Cave: http://www.npca.org/magazine/2007/winter/hh_below_the_surface.html

Information about KY tobacco farming and smoking:

Native American feelings about tobacco as a sacred plant: http://www.keeptobaccosacred.org/

UK College of Agriculture "Overview of Kentucky's Tobacco Economy": http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/aec/aec83/aec83.htm

UK College of Agriculture Kentucky Tobacco Research & Development Center: http://www.uky.edu/KTRDC/

UK Extension Services information about Dark Tobacco (various links): http://ces.ca.uky.edu/darktobacco/

UK College of Nursing Tobacco Policy Research Program: http://www.mc.uky.edu/TobaccoPolicy/

Info. about U.S. tobacco history and tobacco photographs: http://calvert-county.com/tobacco.htm

Encarta Online photographs/media related to tobacco: http://ca.encarta.msn.com/medias_761562287/Tobacco.html

Article, with historic pictures via links, about child labor in tobacco farming: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~arubin/HIST402_SP2007/47E6228D9C7CC64F22F56845C44EB552.html

KY Long-Term Policy Center report from Foresight (1998): http://www.kltprc.net/foresight/Chpt_13.htm

Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, KY smoking information (with various links): http://chfs.ky.gov/dph/ach/cd/tobaccodata.htm

KY State Tobacco Settlement information: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements/state.php?StateID=KY

KY Department of Revenue, information about tobacco-related taxes: http://revenue.ky.gov/business/Tobaccotax.htm

KY Tobacco and Candy Association: http://www.kentuckytobaccocandyassoc.com/

KY Adolescent Tobacco Prevention Project: http://guide.helpingamericasyouth.gov/programdetail.cfm?id=622

Tobacco research at Lombardi Cancer Center: http://lombardi.georgetown.edu/research/tobacco/index.htm

Tobacco Farm Quarterly magazine: http://www.tobaccofarmquarterly.com/home.php?id=1

Quit Tobacco website: http://www.ucanquit2.org/facts/QuitGain.aspx

NPR story about tobacco barns: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6536351

NPR audio story about tobacco farming: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1036573

Alternative Crops/Farming Methods & Conservation:

Kentucky Hemp Museum (articles about): http://www.kentuckyhemp.com/library/museum.html

Rodale Institute article about post-tobacco Kentucky agriculture: http://www.newfarm.org/features/0504/ky_tobacco.shtml

Rodale article about farmer who went from tobacco to grapes: http://www.newfarm.org/features/2006/0806/kywine/mudd.shtml

Article about KY writer (and former Common Reading author) Wendell Berry and his methods of farming: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=4&sid=94aa4317-5b58-4877-8452-d2fe95f4af40%40sessionmgr8&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=18632100

Article by Wendell Berry about conservation and politics: http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/147/

*PLEASE NOTE: ANY STUDENTS USING INFORMATION FROM THE LINKS BELOW IN THEIR WRITTEN WORK SHOULD PROPERLY CITE THE INFORMATION THEY ARE USING. (FOR MLA STYLE CITING TIPS: http://www.mla.org/style).

Please note: The inclusion of these links is not in any way an endorsement of these websites. The intention is to provide information from different points of view on a variety of subjects related to the Common Reading.