This performance honors the storytelling legacy of the late Phyllis Marks (1927–2019), one of West Virginia’s last traditional ballad singers, through the retelling of stories and songs I learned directly from her in Glenville, WV. Her storytelling and wit—alongside the lives of the characters in her ballads—reflect a vital strain of Appalachian storytelling: one rooted in memory, humor, and place.

By incorporating my own hand-crafted crankies (scrolling visual narratives) and songs, I aim to bring these traditions into conversation with contemporary storytelling methods, offering new visual and emotional entry points for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Performed with the support of two collaborators who turn the crankies, the set becomes a collaborative, multi-sensory storytelling experience.

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This work reflects a personal and artistic lineage: a younger artist carrying forward an oral tradition, not through preservation alone, but through adaptation. The performance invites audiences to consider how Appalachian storytelling survives—by being shared, reshaped, and re-voiced across generations. It is also a quiet challenge to those who assume this tradition is static or homogenous. My own perspective as a Belgian-American performer born and raised in Morgantown, WV but recently returned to the USA after 6 years abroad underscores the breadth and multiplicity of Appalachian identity.

 

BIO- Annick Odom is a Belgian-American performer-composer, ballad singer, and crankie artist based in Morgantown, WV. Drawing from Appalachian oral traditions and interdisciplinary performance, Annick studied traditional ballads under the late Phyllis Marks and continues to honor her legacy through story-song performances across the region. Annick’s work has been supported by the West Virginia Humanities Council and other folklife programs. She brings a focus on creating intimate, portable performances rooted in Appalachian storytelling and visual art.