Elyssa East

About

Elyssa East is the author of Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town, which won the PEN/L. L. Winship Award for Best Work of Nonfiction of 2010. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, and elsewhere.

Articles

Issue 91, Winter 2015

Nudie and the Cosmic American

Gram Parsons may have been going for an authentic country look, but his suit was equally tongue-in-cheek, like some of his songs.

By Elyssa East

Issue 93, Summer 2016

The Ballad of Harlan County

“No one ever gets Harlan right,” is a lament I have heard from my Harlan relatives all my life.

By Elyssa East

Issue 99, Winter 2017

“I'm Going to Organize, Baby Mine“

In contrast to the music of her siblings, there’s a tenderness and vulnerability to Gunning’s songs, which are drawn from her life in the way of gospel testimonies.

By Elyssa East