Tales From The Porch

Tales from the Porch is the first book written by Curtis R. Blanton. Curtis was born and grew up in the most scenic of the North Carolina Mountains, much of which can now be seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Millions who have driven the Parkway, stopping frequently at breathtaking overlooks into Jackson County, have no doubt wondered how mountaineers were able to interact and convey information in those remote valleys below.

The author takes the reader back to a time when communication was primarily by word of mouth, when news was passed from hill to dale and mountain top to mountain top, when storytelling was entertainment and when tellers of tall tales were welcomed entertainers on porches and community store benches.

Many of the stories in Tales from the Porch are told in the third person, having the original teller of the tall tales re-tell them exclusively for his book. The author’s writing style illustrates these stories in authentic detail and brings those who told them vividly back to life. While reading, one can imagine sitting there, on the old mountain porch, listening to tales of yesteryear.