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by Bruce W. Spangler (Author)
In typical southern Appalachian tradition, storytelling is not entertainment but an act of communication. A good story is better than television. The reason? The pictures are better. Knoxville Girl is a story that is quite ancient in its origin. Based on a small book of the Hebrew Scriptures centered on a rather obscure Moabite woman by the name of Ruth, Knoxville Girl is a "hillbilly" version of the book for her namesake. Through the peripheral world of ancient Israel and in a literary character by the name of Ruth, voices, cultural patterns, and landscapes akin to southern Appalachia appear. A pledge promised becomes more than a pledged kept. It becomes the avenue for God's redeeming action for a land intent on destroying itself. Who would have ever guessed who God would use as an agent for that redemption? From the author of The Gospel According to John Bill Bob Mark: A Smoky Mountain Version of the Gospel of Mark, comes another version of God's good news, hillbilly style!
Author Biography
Bruce W. Spangler is an ordained minister in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Spangler holds degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (BA), Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta (MDiv), Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. (DMin).
