Call and Response

Call and Response: Greg Banks and Misty Skaggs

Greg Banks. August 15, 2015. 46 Years, printed in platinum and palladium. The photographer's mother at her childhood home. Harlan, Harlan County, Kentucky.

Greg Banks. August 15, 2015. 46 Years, printed in platinum and palladium. The photographer's mother at her childhood home. Harlan, Harlan County, Kentucky.

Mamaw shakes her head 
and says things change. 
but she stands just the same way 
she always did. 
firm against the years blowing past
with that one leg cocked 
and a bare foot pointing the way
out of frame, out of Harlan. 
she looks past the camera 
and Mamaw says 

them steps seem steeper,
she stands there, the way she always did
surveying what's left of the mountains 
and staring down decades. 
the only difference is
her fists have migrated 
up to her hips 
and clenched in defiance of time. 


Misty Skaggs. Stark, Kentucky.


Call and Response is a photo-literary exploration devoted to the relationship between photographs and words. Using photographs from the Looking at Appalachia project, writers are encouraged to respond narratively to a single image in 1,000 words or less. We hope to use this platform to expand our community and encourage collaboration between photographers and writers. Learn more about how to submit here.