Special guest speaker Denise Giardina, author of Storming Heaven and The Unquiet Earth, portrays country entertainment legend Minnie Pearl during the Friends of the Cabell County Public Library’s annual luncheon at Cabell County Public Library, May 5, 2016.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Charleston-based writer Denise Giardina knows more than a little bit about small towns and country humor.
The famed author whose early years were spent in Black Wolf, a coal mining town in McDowell County, helped launch the Mountain Party in West Virginia in a 2000 run for governor, and has spent her career writing best sellers that serve up slices of life in small mountain towns.
So like putting butter on sweet corn, Giardina has made the natural move to living history – putting on the garments, wit and persona of the late, ground-breaking comedian Minnie Pearl as one of the latest characters that is part of the West Virginia Humanities Council’s History Alive! program.
Giardina, who is best known for national award-winning novels such as “Storming Heaven” and “The Unquiet Earth,” was the guest presenter at the annual Friends of the Cabell County Public Library annual luncheon at noon Thursday.
Giardina told the crowd that she decided to tell the unique story of Pearl – the comedic creation of Sarah Ophelia Colley – because most people now do not know about the star of the Grand Ole Opry, who set the stage for female comics as well as male storytellers and comedians…
