Stan Madden, Appalachian Poet

(Volume 1 of Stan's poetry is available on Amazon in Kindle eBook or Paperback form)

Stan Madden near his Dizney KY home

Stan Madden, Appalachian Kentucky Poet, was born Sunday, April 7, 1935 deep in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky in Harlan County, in a little coal mining community known as Dizney.  His life ranged from being an awarded author to being bed-bound with a severe handicap for decades but through it all, he wrote, penning poems and short stories which shared accounts of life in Appalachia, love, patriotism, God and general reflections. 

Although the mountains can be beautiful in the springtime and it was only two weeks before Easter when he was born, all was not well. The Depression raged across America. Stan was born during the “Bloody Harlan” years – a time when men died in too frequent coal mine accidents, tuberculosis, influenza, gunfights and violence related to unionization efforts by miners. Stan’s paternal grandparents died in a flu epidemic and left 8 children, ranging from about 3 to 14. His other grandfather died in a gunfight in front of the family home. His grandmother contracted TB and survived but was badly affected by the disease.  

            

Levi Thomas & Lige Madden, Stan's parents

Life was hard in Harlan County and while the coal was making a few men rich, most were barely able to support their families and shortened their lives with black lung from time in the underground mine tunnels with limited ventilation. Yet, there were times of joy with fiddles playing, singing, church services or for some, moonshine made in their own hidden still (distillery).

Stan was the youngest child of eight. he had grey eyes and brown hair and early photos show a slender young man.  Perhaps it was natural that he was considered to be a bit “spoiled” since the two children before him had both died in infancy and he was the final child of the family. Stan was afflicted early in life with severe physical issues. One relative remembered that he was working in the apple orchard during a very hot summer and seemed to suffer a heat stroke. The doctor advised he should go to a Spa for therapy but that didn’t happen. Like many young people of the time, Stan enjoyed riding horses. Cars were a rarity in Harlan County at that time and the only way to get from place to place was your own feet or a horse!  Stan’s physical afflictions may well have contributed to his bigger-than-normal wish to have horses nearby as walking would have been difficult at times.

Stan Madden

His 6’2” frame eventually shrank to about 5’10” with the degenerative effects of disease.  Other family members remember that he was badly handicapped with rheumatoid arthritis (then known as crippling arthritis). He drank a lot to mask the pain but for the last 25 years of his life he was sober and committed to a Christian life.  Much of his life he had very limited mobility and was often unable to leave his bed.

His writing gave him a voice and he earned some recognition which was encouraging for a poor, crippled man from a remote mountain coal camp.  Stan’s short story about a dog won the National Enquirer story of the year.  The National Enquirer ran a story about him, and he had bags and bags of mail delivered from readers who wanted to contact him – it was estimated that he received over 26,000 letters. This was a huge show of love for Stan who led a fairly isolated life due to illness. He was excited to be awarded a 1992 Golden Poet Trophy at The World of Poetry; this award was presented to many amateur poets but he really valued it. In 1995 He won First Prize award at the Legacies contest. These recognitions were among the high points of his life and made him feel he was making a difference through his writing. His poetry resonates with his love for God, country and the mountains. Some writings give voice to his despair over seeing the world mostly through a window but, at the same time, showing much greater insight than you would expect for a handicapped man who rarely left Kentucky and spent most of his life in the deep mountains or confined to a room.

Stan was always fairly dependent on family members who loved and assisted him. For some years he had a wife to whom he devoted many of his poems during that period. His sister Dorothy and her family were his primary caretakers for many years.  He passed away at the age of 67 and was buried in Harlan County in the Dizney Church of God Cemetery by his mom and dad – a wish he had expressed in his poetry.  

Stan’s legacy, his memories, are reflected in his writings. We are publishing them so that his voice remains, and it is our hope that some readers will enjoy a glimpse into the musings of the Appalachian poet in years to come.

(Volume 1 of Stan's poetry is available on Amazon in Kindle eBook or Paperback form)