The Story Of Paducah

Thirty-six major contemporary writers examine life in a deeply divided America—including Anthony Doerr, Ann Patchett, Roxane Gay, Rebecca Solnit, Hector Tobar, Joyce Carol Oates, Edwidge Danticat, Richard Russo, Eula Bliss, Karen Russell, and many more America is broken. You don’t need a fistful of statistics to know this. Visit any city, and evidence of our shattered social compact will present itself. From Appalachia to the Rust Belt and down to rural Texas, the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest stretches to unimaginable chasms. Whether the cause of this inequality is systemic injustice, the entrenchment of racism in our culture, the long war on drugs, or immigration policies, it endangers not only the American Dream but our very lives. In Tales of Two Americas, some of the literary world’s most exciting writers look beyond numbers and wages to convey what it feels like to live in this divided nation. Their extraordinarily powerful stories, essays, and poems demonstrate how boundaries break down when experiences are shared, and that in sharing our stories we can help to alleviate a suffering that touches so many people.

Since its annexation to Paducah in 1836, Lower Town has been reinvented by determined residents, visionary elected officials, a locally owned bank, and the Lower Town Neighborhood Association. Today a vibrant community of businesses and preservationists is joined by artists in the national award-winning Artist Relocation Program. Then & Now: Lower Town, Paducah compares historic images with modern photographs to document the spirit of the citizens and the renaissance of the neighborhood.

Harold "Hotsy" Hargan worked for the Atomic Energy Commission at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant where he encountered many problems that could possibly be a hazard to the public. Hotsy battled with supervisors over the neglect. The supervising contractor just moved Hotsy from site to site exposing him time and time again to radiation. Hotsy contracted cancer and finally decided to blow the whistle working with the Justice Department and the FBI which he soon found was just a whitewash for the government.

"In 1937, torrential rains caused historical flooding in the Ohio Valley ... uprooting thousands of families from their homes. Among them, the family of H.B. and Louise Hargrove of Paducah, Kentucky. Pat Taylor tells [her] family's story in Rivergees"--Website, accessed April 26, 2011, www.rivergees.com.