News
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Coming Soon To A Tree Near You: Spring Fireflies!
By Will Kuhn, Director of Science and Research at Discover Life in America
Over the past week, there has been a veritable explosion of green in my small Knoxville backyard. Trees are flowering, bees are buzzing around them, birds have begun singing their melodies, and leafy greenness suddenly abounds. Spring is officially here, and yet something
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Video: Riverside stroll
Enjoy another favorite from our video collection, this riverside stroll among wildflowers captured by GSMA's Valerie Polk in 2012.
Praise for Smokies LIVE
Since we sent out Wednesday’s Eblast of the week’s Smokies LIVE articles, messages like the ones below have been pouring in about how much people are enjoying—and
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Smoky Bob, or The Way to a President’s Heart is through his Menagerie
Note from Frances Figart, editor of Smokies LIVE and Smokies Life:
A new GSMA title slated for publication in 2021 is Letters from the Smokies, written by Mike Aday and edited by his wife Denise Aday. The power couple has agreed to share a taste of what’s to come here on Smokies LIVE!
By Mike Aday, Archivist/Librarian at the
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Behind Back of Beyond: How Kephart brought his co-biographers together
Note from Frances Figart, editor of Smokies LIVE and Back of Beyond:
This essay just arrived in my inbox from my friend and the co-author with George Ellison of Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography, winner in 2019 of the coveted Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Since today is the anniversary of Kephart’s death in 1931—
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Smokies Image for the Asking
Note from Frances Figart, editor of Smokies LIVE and Smokies Life:
A long-time Smokies fan and photographer of the park, my friend Don writes a weekly column, which I think of as a mini-sermon, that he sends out via email every Sunday to a group of photographers and others interested in a mindful approach to art. I asked him to share some of his
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Permanent Camp: Tale of the Mourning Cloak
Note from Frances Figart, editor of Smokies LIVE and Smokies Life:
In the spirit of their collaboration, Permanent Camp: Poems, Narratives and Renderings from the Smokies, George and Elizabeth Ellison are contributing a weekly column to Smokies LIVE. Living on the edge of the Smokies, this power couple was named “Blue Ridge Naturalists of
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Taking A Little Time For Fun
By Valerie Polk, GSMA Videographer and Publications Associate
Doing our part to try to flatten the curve means changes for everyone. With school systems closing, many of us who are parents are schooling our children at home. These are days that our children will remember as they grow up, and I hope that my daughter Emily will look back on this
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Looking Forward to 2021
By Karen Key
As the senior publications specialist (fancy for graphic designer) here at GSMA, one of the projects I am working on right now is the 2021 wall calendar.
The subject matter for next year’s GSMA wall calendar will be butterflies and moths. I got a head start on this beautiful subject matter when I designed our newest
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Celebrate Spring with a Video
By Valerie Polk, GSMA Videographer and Publications Associate
Is this the hundredth day of March? Well, the good news is that tomorrow is the first day of April finally. What a tough time of year to stay put. It's the time of year when nature awakens, but most of us are probably experiencing cabin fever right about now.
Take heart! We'
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Decision to close the Smokies builds on legacy of paradox
By Frances Figart, creative director
A week ago, the solemn headline atop a Smokies’ press release read: Park Closes to Support Regional Coronavirus (COVID-19) Prevention Efforts. The same day, Grand Teton and Yellowstone made the same choice, following the decisions of dozens of other national parks to close to the public.
Why? The
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