Posted in Tar Heelia on August 2, 2006 | 3 Comments »
Reading Charles Chesnutt’s “The Goophered Grapevine” recently, I was admiring, among other things, the word “goopher” itself. In the story, and in African American folk tales, a goopher is a spell or curse put on a person or thing. You often see references to “goopher dust,” which the conjurer would sprinkle upon whatever it was [...]
Posted in History on August 2, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
One hundred and twenty years ago this month, the Atlantic Monthly published Charles Chesnutt’s short story “The Goophered Grapevine.” This was the first story written by an African American to run in the magazine. Read more about it in the August This Month in North Carolina History, or read the story itself on Documenting the [...]
