Assistant Professor of Writing and Creative Writing Coordinator;
Editor, Appalachian Review Magazine
At Berea College since 2013
Contact Information
Stephenson Hall, 221
CPO 2166
Email: howardja@berea.edu
Phone: 859-985-3699
Fax: 859-985-3903
Spring 2022
Office Hours
Mon/Wed: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Virtual
Class Schedule
- APS 121 (Mon/Wed: 12:40 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.)
- ENG 124 A (Mon/Wed: 2:40 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.)
Degrees
- B.A. Political Communication, The George Washington University, 2003
- M.A. History, University of Kentucky, 2012
- MFA Creative Writing, Vermont College of Fine Arts, 2014
Courses
- APS 121: Appalachian Cultures
- ENG 124: Introduction to Creative Writing
- ENG 280: Professional Writing Workshop: Feature Writing
- ENG 282N: Creative Nonfiction
- ENG 382: Advanced Creative Writing (capstone)
- GSTR 210: Identity and Diversity in the United States: Exile in American Literature
Special Interests
- Creative Writing
- Appalachian Literature
- Appalachian History
- Music Journalism and Writing
- British Literature
- British History and Monarchy
- Memoir and the Personal Essay
Affiliations
- Appalachian Studies Association
- Association of Writers and Writing Programs
- Graduate Faculty, Spalding University School of Creative & Professional Writing
Papers and Publications
Books
- A Few Honest Words: The Kentucky Roots of Popular Music (University Press of Kentucky, 2012)
- Something’s Rising: Appalachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal (Co-author, University Press of Kentucky, 2009)
- We All Live Downstream: Writings About Mountaintop Removal (Editor, Motes Books, 2009)
Selected Essays, Features and Commentary
- “The Kentucky Governor’s Race Was an Anomaly”, New York Times
- “The Saving Grace of Mary Oliver”, The Millions
- “If God Had a Name”, Oxford American
- “No More Reader-in-Chief”, Salon
- “Appalachia Burning“, New York Times
- “Heart Burial,” The Bellingham Review
- “A Rural Man Grieves Hillary Clinton’s Defeat”, Salon
- “Queer Sexual Bodies Are Despised: An Interview with Garth Greenwell”, Salon
- “The Haunting of Carly Simon”, Salon
- “Appalachia Turns on Itself,“The New York Times
- “Kentucky Rises,” The Nation
- “Appalachian Mountaintopping: An American Tragedy,” Revolve Magazine
- “Dancing Through Life,“an interview and profile of Yoko Ono, LGBTQ Nation
- “Roots Music Connects Contemporary Readers to the Bluegrass State, Kentucky,” Utne Reader
- “Where Her Heart Is,” a profile of Ashley Judd, Sojourners
- “Dear Eastern Kentucky,” National Public Radio
- “Black Lung: In Search of Answers for East Kentucky Miners,” Equal Justice Magazine
Awards
- Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship in Creative Nonfiction, 2013
- Kentucky Literary Award Finalist, 2013
- Roosevelt-Ashe Society Outstanding Journalist in Conservation Finalist, 2011
- University of Kentucky James Still Fellow, 2010-2012
- Berea College Appalachian Sound Archives Fellowship, 2010
Biography
Jason Kyle Howard is the author of A Few Honest Words, an essay collection that explores how the land and culture of Kentucky have shaped American music through the work of musicians including Dwight Yoakam, Naomi Judd, Joan Osborne, Nappy Roots, Matraca Berg, Jim James, and others. He is the author of the acclaimed essay and oral history collection Something’s Rising (co-written with bestselling novelist Silas House), which was hailed by the late Studs Terkel as “a revelatory work” for its unflinching look at mountaintop removal coal mining through the eyes of thirteen environmental activists.
Howard’s essays, features, and commentary have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Oxford American, Salon, The Nation, The Millions, Utne Reader, Paste, and Sojourners, and on C-SPAN’s Book TV and NPR. A widely acclaimed music writer, he has interviewed musicians spanning all genres including Yoko Ono, Carly Simon, Dwight Yoakam, Patty Griffin, Naomi Judd, and the legendary folksinger Jean Ritchie.
Howard is editor of Appalachian Review, a literary quarterly based at Berea College, where he teaches and directs the creative writing program. He serves on the graduate faculty of the Spalding University School of Creative and Professional Writing, and holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and degrees from The George Washington University and the University of Kentucky.