The Goose and the Common: An Unexpected nod to (New) England in Sunrise on the Reaping

Posted on April 8, 2025 by

Leave a Comment

Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Sunrise on the Reaping

As early as page 5 in Sunrise, we learn that Collins seems to maintain some kind of fascination with geese. Haymitch’s “girl,” Lenore Dove, treats about a dozen of them (lots of “dozens” show up in this novel) as pets, leading them around the famed Meadow and thereabouts. They only trust Lenore Dove, as they tend to hiss at Haymitch much like Prim’s cat, Buttercup, who hissed at Katniss — that is, until she fed him. In this case the parallel continues as Haymitch regularly brings some cracked corn from Hattie to appease Lenore Dove’s waddling friends. Of course, this new novel finally explains the bizarre reference to Haymitch raising geese in the Epilogue of Mockingjay. He is remembering his one true love who was stolen from his life much too soon.

Chapter one has barely opened when Collins offers her first song of the novel, which goes unnamed within the narrative. Haymitch arrives at the Meadow to find Lenore Dove “serenading a dozen geese grazing on the grass, her voice as soft and haunting as moonlight” (8). The first verse of the poem-turned-ballad reads:

  • They hang the man and flog the woman / Who steals the goose from off the common, / Yet let the greater villain loose / That steals the common from the Goose

With this first verse alone we can see clearly where Collins is headed. As Lenore Dove sings additional verses in between Haymitch’s reflections on family relationships, he tells us that this is “not a song her uncles let her play at the mayor’s house,” or even when the three of them perform around District 12 (9). “Too rebellious,” he explains bluntly, and we can see why. Perhaps the clearest reference with this first verse is its symbolism with the oppressive Capitol which continues to punish the districts for a war ended long ago. The verse implies — quite accurately — that the Capitol maintains the authority to strip all rights and humanity away from its district subjects, while they are the ones who are punished for breaking the Capitol’s draconian rules. What we have here, it turns out, is another protest song, the likes of which we saw with “The Hanging Tree,” featured in both the original series and more recently in Ballad. In one sense, Lenore Dove’s protest song is even more direct than that of Lucy Gray. The last two lines of this one say prophetically, “And geese will still a common lack / Till they go and steal it back.”

It turns out this is not one of Collins’ original poems or songs, but a well-placed throwback to teach us some relevant history once again. She explains in the book’s Acknowledgements that “The Goose and the Common was written by an unknown author in the 17th or 18th century.” This is all she says about it, though this single sentence provides plenty of clues to further chase down its backstory.

Funny thing, those not from New England (or old England for that matter) may be puzzled over the strange use of the word “common” in both the poem and its title. Is “common” an adjective or a noun? Those with some knowledge of colonial town settlement in New England, from Maine to Connecticut and Rhode Island, will likely pick up this reference right away. Town settlements that followed the lead of the Massachusetts Bay Colony often included a shared public space at or near the center of the village. Known simply as a “common,” this local quirk of regional geography was designed into their otherwise medieval-era town plans as a place on which all farmers could share for the grazing of their cattle or for related uses. The most famous of these, of course, is Boston Common, now one of the city’s cherished public parks. Lenore Dove is nice enough to explain this to our protagonist, once telling him that “the common was land anyone could use.” It is more than fitting that she grazes her geese in the Meadow which, for purposes of this novel, is now re-interpreted as a District 12 public space in the form of an English-style common. And true to the poem, the local Peacekeepers occasionally chase off her geese for no apparent reason other than that they could do so.

By the end of the colonial era, most commons in New England towns were gradually transitioned to public parks, sometimes now referred to bucolically as the “town green” with picturesque gazebos and bandstands and all. Their original agricultural intent was rendered obsolete when New Englanders rebelled en masse — not from an oppressive imperialist nation, but rather from the unforgiving rocky soil that prevented decent farming. Many farm families picked up and moved westward into today’s upper Midwest during the 19th century, not long after that region’s indigenous peoples had been driven off. But I digress…

Despite the excitement some readers like myself enjoyed when finding this New England tidbit in Collins’ novel (I myself am from a colonial-era town in CT), the story behind this opening poem can be traced even further back to England itself. “The Goose and the Common” is largely associated with the English enclosure movement, which involved the intentional closing off of public spaces to convert them into private property. As Oleg Komlik (2018, citing Boyle 2003) writes in the article linked above, “Like most of the criticisms of the enclosure movement, the poem depicts a world of rapacious, state-aided privatization, a conversion into private property of something that had formerly been common property or, perhaps, had been outside of the property system altogether.”

Collins therefore creatively appropriates the poem for her own use as a blatant metaphor for the Capitol’s treatment of the districts, at the same time cleverly tying in this historical protest movement to her novel’s theme of Lenore Dove’s geese. We further learn that even Haymitch is concerned about his girlfriend’s rebellious ways. When mentioning how the Peacekeepers chase her and the geese out of the Meadow for no apparent reason, Lenore Dove tells Haymitch “that’s just a teaspoon of trouble in a river of wrong” (10). He adds, “She worries me, and I’m an Abernathy.” He explains elsewhere that the Abernathys were notorious for their rebellious ways. This foreshadowing sets up Lenore Dove’s character as an outward protester herself against the “river of wrong” that the Capitol imposes on the districts. The rest of this latest prequel continues to feature Haymitch’s own character’s journey from “implicit submission” to “rascally rebel” (my words). He is encouraged in no small part by the courageous Lenore Dove, determined as she is to see that one day the sun will no longer rise on the reaping.

Image Sources: Conspiracy-of-kindness.com (poem graphic above), visitingnewengland.com (feature image of Hopkinton town common, starting place of the Boston Marathon)

A District 12 (and Mockingjay Pin) Family Tree: What We Learn from Sunrise on the Reaping

Posted on March 31, 2025 by

2 Comments

District 12 Family Tree (Paradis 2025)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD (and above) For Sunrise on the Reaping

With the release of Sunrise in March 2025, those of us hoping to fill in some gaps to Katniss’ family tree were treated to incredible new information. At the same time, it is arguably becoming more of a challenge to keep track of our favorite characters in Twelve and how they are all connected. I have seen requests on fan sites for a family tree of the three-plus generations now featured through Collins’ five novels. To that end, I embraced that challenge and created what I believe to be the most accurate possible representation of a District 12 Family Tree, along with the new knowledge we have about the route of the storied mockingjay pin.

While not going into excruciating detail here with all the evidence (or lack of same), I recently added this post about why it seems likely that Maude Ivory is Lenore Dove’s mother, who died in childbirth. Further, this family tree graphic indicates the characters that remain inconclusive with their roles. These include Maude Ivory as Lenore’s probable mother, Haymitch’s friend Blair — who could all too easily be Gale’s future father (or not) — and the mysterious Otho Mellark, the Baker’s son we meet briefly during the reaping in SOTR (see this post for more on the bumbling Otho as a “loose end”).

Further, the route of the mockingjay pin is now filled in quite a bit more, though we still do not know how it eventually travels from Maysilee’s drawer to her niece, Madge, by the time of the original series (see this more recent post about the Donner family connections, including the canary that Asterid inherits from Maysilee!). For now I am presuming that her sister, Merrilee, acquired the pin at some point and gifted it to Madge. But we just don’t know that yet from Sunrise. What we do know is that the pin was originally given to Mr. Donner’s mother (Maysilee’s grandmother), and he handed it down to an unimpressed Maysilee, along with a hummingbird pin to Merrilee (see related post on Maysilee Donner and grandmother). Humorously, Haymitch tells us the story of how Maysilee simply stuck it in a drawer at home, while Merrilee wore hers for probably five minutes before losing it down a well. Lenore Dove, who was irritated with their lack of appreciation, had planned at one point to break into the Donners’ home to steal back Maysilee’s pin. Haymitch and Blair managed to discourage her from doing so.

Perhaps the biggest surprise comes with the continued mystery around Katniss’ father, Burdock Everdeen. How exactly is he related to the Covey? With all the information Collins provides, we still cannot pin down his origins. I and untold others have repeatedly made the case that Maude Ivory is Katniss’ grandmother, as I explain within this post. But that very strong theory has not played out in SOTR, as we learn that Burdock (Katniss’ future father) is some sort of cousin to Lenore Dove (at one point he calls to her, “Hey, cuz”). We are further informed that Haymitch and Burdock had learned many of the Covey songs and music through “private performances” from Lenore Dove. This seems to be how the Covey’s music legacy is handed down to Katniss. Beyond this, there are further clues from Haymitch that Lenore Dove’s father is from the Chance family, and Lenore Dove’s uncles are pretty cagey about it. What this means is that the biggest remaining gap in the District family tree is the familial connection between Burdock Everdeen, Lenore Dove, and the Covey. Right now I can only connect them on this graphic as “cousins.”

Beyond these caveats (perhaps gaps to close within a future prequel?), I hope the following graphic is helpful to sort out the various relationships among our principal District 12 characters.

(PERMISSION FOR SHARING: Feel free to share the graphic (GIF embedded below) with proper credit, as it is meant to be educational for discussion purposes. My name and affiliation are on it already. Ever in your favor!)

(WHILE YOU’RE HERE: You may wish to check out my most recent companion book, Behind the Ballads: A Tribute to the People, Places and Music of Songbirds and Snakes (2024). A future companion guide for the Sunrise prequel and film is also in the works!)

Who is Lenore Dove’s Mother? Unlocking some Important “Grave” Clues in Sunrise

Posted on March 29, 2025 by

2 Comments

Maude Ivory in Ballad

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR Sunrise on the Reaping.

For those of us hoping to learn more about the Covey, it is safe to say that we got much more than many of us expected in Collins’ latest Sunrise prequel. As Haymitch’s true love, we learn as early as page 7 that Lenore Dove is Covey, confirming earlier predictions that Collins is using “dove” as a color to indicate the second part of her Covey name. We are even given a dictionary definition of this ambiguous color, as “warm gray with a slight purlish or pinkish tint” (SOTR 7). And cutting to the chase for now, Collins further confirms (more like hits us on the head with a Maysilee slap) that Lenore Dove’s name song is owed to Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven.” That’s another story to unpack later. For now, let’s consider what some clues at the beginning and end of the novel may indicate about the Covey family tree (accompanying post), as an answer to Lenore Dove’s lineage may provide further insights into Katniss’ own family.

Some readers already believe — quite logically, as Lenore Dove would have it — that her mother was Lucy Gray. Fans have pointed to clues found in Lenore Dove’s outfit near the beginning of the story to support this idea. Haymitch tells us how “her faded overalls and shirts concealed snips of color, a bright blue handkerchief peeking from her pocket, a raspberry ribbon stitched inside her cuff” (SOTR 7). The particular reference to raspberries seems to be serving as the leading evidence for this notion, which admittedly still may be true.

In the spirit of Collins’ intricate storytelling, however, there is more to consider that points us away from Lucy Gray. First, in Collins’ exclusive 13-page interview (not likely a coincidence) at the end of the Barnes & Noble special edition of Sunrise, she explains that Lenore Dove “romanticizes the Covey’s prewar days as itinerant musicians on the open road. She knows the losses that followed, the murdered parents and orphaned Covey children. And in particular, she’s haunted by the fate of Lucy Gray. She wears bright bits of Lucy Gray’s dress about her person and keeps her forbidden lyrics alive in private performances for Haymitch and Burdock.” In short, this explains the color references to Lucy Gray. Lenore is wearing surviving patches from Lucy Gray’s outfits.

And why would she be “haunted by the fate of Lucy Gray” if her uncles (Tam Amber and Clerk Carmine, as indicated in my District 12 Family Tree post) had likely told her by now that her real mother died in childbirth? (SOTR 8) This tells us (likely) that Lenore Dove is either in the dark about what happened to Lucy Gray, or — more likely — she is keeping it as a Covey secret. Just one instance of several has Haymitch telling us, “I brought our victor up with Lenore Dove a few times, but she never wanted to discuss her.” (45).

Adding another piece to the puzzle, Collins provides what I would interpret as more reliable clues to this mystery. First, Haymitch explains that they (Covey) “worked out a deal with the mayor, whose house boasts the only real piano in District 12.” Lenore Dove is a piano player (or on her own simplified “tune box,” an aging accordion likely handed down from the late Billy Taupe), which further sheds light on why Haymitch saw her fingers moving earlier, “pressing down imaginary keys” (8). This is likely a reference to ivory-colored piano keys and Maude Ivory. The second clue is even more overt, as Haymitch describes her as wearing a “faded green dress, an ivory ribbon tying back her hair” (9). Why ivory, of all colors?

These are classic Collins-style clues which are likely pointing us to Maude Ivory as the mother, who (sadly) died in childbirth. We do not know the father yet, as Lenore’s “pa’s always been something of a mystery” (8). Haymitch does insinuate that her father likely derived from the Chance family, as rumors abound. Incidentally this is a fun callback to the Covey song, “Nothing You Can Take From Me,” with the line, “You can take my pa, but his name’s a mystery.” This may remain the case for quite some time.

Beyond all this, additional clues are found closer to the end of Sunrise, as we make a solemn visit with Haymitch to the Covey’s small forest graveyard. There are three headstones, each carved with snippets of the poems for which the deceased were named. Maude Ivory’s grave is mentioned first, its inscription starting with “Lady…” (This is likely the originating connection to Prim’s goat Lady.) Here Collins confirms that Maude Ivory’s first name is indeed owed to the ballad “Maude Clare,” as several writers had presumed. More to the point, it is easier to miss another clue, found in the description of the gravestones themselves. Maude Ivory’s grave is marked by a “creamy white stone,” indicating her own color (371). Notably, there is no mention of its age or the condition of the marker. While “creamy white” may indicate the color ivory, it could further indicate the relative newness of the grave itself, perhaps only some 16 years ago (upon Lenore Dove’s birth).

But Maude Ivory’s grave is only part of this final clue. The puzzle seems to come together with Haymitch’s description of Lucy Gray’s marker, “On a mossy slab of slate” (371). This seems to indicate that her grave is older and has been subject to natural wear and weathering (although slate itself is a metamorphic rock which is one of the more durable stones out there, perhaps just as Lucy Gray’s ongoing mystery will be). We should further keep in mind that Lucy Gray might not actually be interred there, as the stone may have been simply placed as a memorial (see this insightful article from Screenrant for more on this topic). Taken together, we basically have a choice between two former Covey members who could be the mother of Lenore Dove, keeping in mind that Collins coded Barb Azure as LGBTQ+. (Sure, there are a myriad of ways that Barb Azure could be related, but I don’t like her odds…) While each clue on its own holds little weight, the collection of them together provides a reasonably clear path to Maude Ivory.

A slate marker covered in moss and lichen (source: Creative Commons)

Predictions for Sunrise on the Reaping: Why This May be a “Parent” Story We Don’t Expect

Posted on March 11, 2025 by

Leave a Comment

With less than a week before the release of Suzanne Collins’ second prequel, I can’t help but provide my own small contribution to the countless predictions and theories that have emerged thus far. Given my re-read of the original series, an interpretation of the chapter 1 excerpt, some earlier Scholastic news, and some basic math, these are my (possibly ill-fated) attempts to decode Collins and see if I end up on the right track with a few things (or not, which will make it all good fun to see how far off base this is). Here we go, for the record. I begin with a more trivial, possibly more obvious prediction, then move onto bigger matters.

  • Who is the “most uppity girl in town?” Early media reported that the three District 12 tributes joining Haymitch would consist of “a young friend who’s like a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker and the most uppity girl in town.” As many keen fans have done, one can return to the dialogue between Katniss and Peeta in Catching Fire as they watch the highlights of Haymitch’s Games in the 50th Quarter Quell. Katniss tells us that a predecessor to Effie “calls out the name of a girl who’s from the Seam, you can tell by the look of her…” Given our choices, this tribute is not likely the “most uppity,” as she is from one of the most oppressed populations in all of Panem. But how about Maysilee Donner, who is Merchant Class? To recall, we know she is the twin sister to Madge’s mother, who eventually marries Mayor Undersee. Maysilee is therefore Madge’s aunt, to clarify the family tree there. In true Collins fashion, she may have dropped a hint about yet another family connection like those we learned from TBOSAS. In this case, on page 12 of THG (paperback if it matters), Katniss tells us that Madge is “in my year at school. Being the mayor’s daughter, you’d expect her to be a snob, but she’s all right. She just keeps to herself.” It is not unreasonable, then, to have the other female tribute joining Haymitch (i.e. Maysilee) to be considered the “most uppity.” Even if this is only based on perception from their respective D-12 counterparts (for either Madge, Maysilee, or both), this theme runs through both characters here. It will be interesting to learn more about Maysilee’s actual vs. perceived personality in the upcoming book. And circling back to the tribute who is “like a sister” to Haymitch, it’s probably tempting to think this is Maysilee at first, but rather this “sister” figure is more likely the other tribute from the Seam. Haymitch is most likely to know and confide in fellow Seam residents just as Katniss and Gale did. And a final, gut-wrenching prediction here: If Haymitch and the other Seam girl are good friends (like siblings), then Haymitch is likely to experience some Katniss-like devastation when she dies. It would not be surprising to have yet another heart-wrenching death of a younger friend in the arena.
  • What’s up with butterflies and ladybugs? Recently a fan posted this promotional image below (apparently from the Sunrise Amazon page) with what seems to be a butterfly and ladybug separated by a solid line. Fans are speculating (quite correctly, I would think) that these have something to do with the temptingly friendly forest friends in the 50th Games that turn out to be all sorts of deadly. However, I discovered this quote upon a re-read of The Hunger Games. On page 78, Katniss and Peeta are trying to cover for Katniss’ recognition of an Avox she once saw trying to escape through the woods. Peeta covers for her by suggesting the Avox looked like Delly Cartwright. Still confused by this comparison, Katniss tells us that “Delly Cartwright is a pasty-faced, lumpy girl with yellowish hair who looks about as much like our server as a beetle does a butterfly. She may also be the friendliest person on the planet…” Upon a quick internet search, it is clear that a ladybug is just one type of beetle (they are called “ladybirds” in Britain). And fans are not clear on which is portrayed here in the image. Is it a coincidence that these specific two insects were chosen here? Katniss uses these very insects in her analogy to indicate a huge difference between Delly and the Avox, just as the solid line here suggests a wide disparity between the butterfly and beetle. If there is indeed a connection here, what a subtle quote to choose from! We’ll see if this leads anywhere.
  • Is Sunrise going to feature the backstory to Katniss’ parents? This has been my own unwavering thought since even before Scholastic informed the world that a second prequel was coming. This “middle generation” had not yet been written about by our favorite Panem author, so it made good sense that we still had a lot to learn about Katniss’ parents, how they met, and especially more of the backstory to Katniss’ mysterious father. However, some simple math is leading me down a somewhat altered path with my prediction. Cutting to the chase, Collins might feature Katniss’ mother’s story (and Peeta’s father!) while leaving her father quite out of the picture. If she does virtually ignore Katniss’ father–and I’m going out on a limb here–then I suspect there is a distinct possibility that her father could become a principal character in Collins’ third prequel. On the flip side (of the coin), if Sunrise does somehow feature the backstory of how Katniss’ parents meet, giving more or less equal “air time” to both, then all bets are off about whether another book is coming. But if Katniss’ father goes conveniently “missing” from Sunrise? I think a third book is in the works. Let’s look at why this may be the case:
    • Katniss’ mother is at the reaping. How old is Katniss’ mother during the 50th Games, and what is her relationship with Maysilee? Collins (through Katniss) gives us some reliable information on both counts in Catching Fire when Katniss and Peeta are covertly watching Haymitch’s Games. While watching the video, the narrative reads: “Oh, I say. “She was my mother’s friend.” The camera finds her in the crowd, clinging to two other girls. All blond. All definitely merchants’ kids. [P] “I think that’s your mother hugging her,” says Peeta quietly. And he’s right. As Maysilee Donner bravely disengages herself and heads for the stage, I catch a glimpse of my mother at my age, and no one has exaggerated her beauty (CF Ch 14). We thus learn here that Katniss’ future mother is generally Katniss’ age (so let’s go with 17), and that she was good friends with Maysilee. First, that means that Katniss’ mother has to appear prominently during the 50th reaping, as she is right there to console Maysilee, as is Maysilee’s twin. They are all there, standing together. For this reason alone, it would be reasonable to infer that Sunrise will at least feature some backstory of Katniss’ mother, along with more of the history of the mockingjay pin(!), her relationship with Maysilee and her twin, and perhaps even how Maysilee’s sister meets the future Mayor Undersee. (I would not be surprised to see the future mayor showing up in Sunrise, though probably “coded” by Collins to make us all figure it out.)
    • Is it too early for Katniss’ father? Let’s look at some math (hooray), to explain why I am revising my earlier prediction that both of Katniss’ parents might be featured in Sunrise. We know that Katniss’ mother is around 17 during the 50th Games. Working backwards, this means she was born around the 33rd Games. And working ahead, Katniss was born around the 58th Games (17 years prior to the 75th Games). This means her Mom was 25 when she had Katniss. That’s about right for this “middle generation” as I call it — the time of Katniss’ parents, in between TBOSAS and THG. But this also means that there are still eight years between the time of the 50th Reaping (mother is 17) and the time she has Katniss (mother is 25). It’s very possible that Katniss’ mother has not even met her future husband yet. For starters, Katniss tells us (THG, p.8) that her “mother’s parents were part of the small merchant class…” They also “ran an apothecary shop in the nicer part of District 12… My father got to know my mother because on his hunts he would sometimes collect medicinal herbs and sell them to her shop to be brewed into remedies.” It makes sense, therefore, that Katniss’ mother has probably(?) not yet run into her future father, who is from the Seam. And we also know that both Katniss’ and Gales’ fathers died in the same mine explosion, and that they were both expert hunters before teaching their own kids how to survive in the woods. Is this potentially amazing backstory likely to show up in Sunrise as well? I am betting not. But who might show up during the 50th Games instead? How about Peeta’s father?
    • The Underdog: Peeta’s father as major character? All of the above leads me to believe that the time is too early for Katniss’ father here. But there is a good amount of information about Peeta’s father scattered throughout the original series, especially within The Hunger Games. The big surprise to both Katniss and Peeta alike is that Peeta’s dad showed up to say goodbye to Katniss (and to give her some cookies) just before she is whisked away to the Capitol. This ends up being news to Peeta as well, though while watching Haymitch’s Games in Catching Fire, Peeta says that “My dad mentioned it once,” referring to the apparent fact that Maysilee had a twin sister (Madge’s mother). We also learn later that Peeta’s dad seemed to hold romantic feelings for Katniss’ future mother. And that may be an understatement. During the famous “cave scene” in the first book, Peeta tells Katniss that when they were five years old, “My father pointed you out when we were waiting to line up… He said, ‘See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner'” (THG 300). Peeta’s father was therefore in some version of “love” with Katniss’ mother, just as Peeta falls in love with Katniss. This backstory probably explains why Peeta’s dad stayed in touch with Katniss and Prim and offered to take care of the “little girl” during Katniss’ last visit with him. He is still watching over the family from the background, while still perhaps regretting that a young man from the Seam had swept Katniss’ mother off her feet with his wonderful singing. In any case, Peeta’s dad has been involved somehow with Katniss’ mother and her orbit of friends since at least the 50th Games. Does it not make sense that Sunrise might feature Peeta’s dad more so than the future Mr. Everdeen?
  • A possible catch to all of this: This notion that Sunrise might feature Maysilee’s social orbit including Katniss’ mother has one potentially serious drawback. That is, the story is told in Haymitch’s first-person perspective, just as the original series was told through Katniss. Is he likely to know much about the teenage social networks of the merchant class? Of the most “uppity girl” in town? Not likely, until the tributes suffer through Reaping Day. Anything he learns or knows about Maysilee’s circle will likely need to come from dialogue with Maysilee herself — which is entirely possible. But still, it’s also possible that we learn more of Haymitch’s life and community network within the Seam because, well, he is Seam. And certain individuals within that network of his could indeed include Katniss’ future father. Either way, soon we will know!

Announcing a New Book on All Things “Ballad!”

Posted on April 14, 2024 by

2 Comments

I’m thrilled to announce my second book interpreting the Hunger Games saga, this one focused especially on the “Ballad” film and its connections to the prequel and original series! Titled Behind the Ballads: A Tribute to the People, Places, and Music of Songbirds and Snakes, this book takes readers on a tour of the numerous layers of meaning and backstories that underlie both the film and prequel. Now available on Amazon (with a sample) and numerous global retailers. Thank you for your consideration, and enjoy the show!

From the Back Cover: The 2023 premier of Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes introduced global audiences to the songster Lucy Gray Baird and her breathtaking performances. Based on Suzanne Collins’ prequel, the dystopian saga’s fifth film merges two unlikely worlds—namely Appalachia’s distinctive musical traditions with Germany’s postwar reconstruction era. These worlds collide in the Capitol’s Tenth Hunger Games and the dubious relationship between Lucy Gray and villain-to-be, Coriolanus Snow. This book explores the film as a period piece, including real-world geography, history, and meanings behind Appalachia’s District 12 and an emerging fascist Panem. We further delve into the principal filming locations, music production, casting decisions, character philosophies, comparisons with the novel, and of course the intricate backstories to those unforgettable ballads.  

Year of Ballad! A Guide to Media Articles and News

Posted on March 8, 2023 by

Leave a Comment

Production, Filming, and Casting for Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Release Date: Nov. 17, 2023)

The following select collection of online sources provides a go-to place for “all things Ballad,” including production, filming locations, casting, and related information from a variety of news, media, and fan sites. This collection was screened and recommended by students within our First-Year Seminar Class, titled Unpacking the Hunger Games at Butler University, Indianapolis. We hope you find these sources enlightening about the highly anticipated feature film! (More will be added as available.)

Official Trailers and Reveals

Overviews and Collections

ON SET: Filming Locations and Images

News Releases and Articles

(Most recent at the top)

Film Analysis and Speculation

Recent Published Books Interpreting The Ballad:

A Place Called District 12: Appalachian Geography and Music in the Hunger Games (by Thomas Paradis, McFarland & Co., 2022)

Songbirds, Snakes & Sacrifice: Collins’ Prequel References and Philosophies Explained (by Valerie E. Frankel, LitCrit Press, 2020)

Visiting the “Seam” at Henry River Mill Village

Posted on September 19, 2021 by

Leave a Comment

It would be a shame to find oneself only an hour away from a famous Hunger Games filming site without paying a visit to this hallowed ground. Some friends and I thus took an opportunity to check out the current scene on a beautiful May afternoon of 2021.

The real history of Henry River Mill Village began around 1905 with the establishment of a textile mill by the Henry River Manufacturing Company. The nearest town of Hildebran is located only one mile north of the mill and is just off of Interstate 40 in western North Carolina. As of 2019 the remaining structures at the site included the original company store building and 20 nearly identical wood-frame homes of former textile workers–many of them in serious disrepair. The original village had included 35 houses, and the mill itself had been closed in 1970 before being consumed by fire in 1977. Since then the village’s boarding house has also been destroyed, which once sat just to the left of the company store. Fans will recognize the village in various scenes within “The Hunger Games” film to represent Katniss’ own coal-patch town, the Seam. The old company store, for instance, served as the Mellark bakery, and one of the dilapidated houses featured as the Everdeen residence (interior and exterior pictured below).

What may be less familiar is the site’s more recent developments well after the filming. Following the Village’s abandonment since the 1990s, the place is now being transformed as a visitor attraction. The entire village property was purchased in 2017 by Calvin Reyes and his parents. In the spirit of transforming historic structures to more contemporary purposes—defined as adaptive re-use—Reyes has restored one of the houses and has converted the entire village property into a visitor destination. Due in part to its fame as a popular filming location, the outdoor site is also monitored more thoroughly with video surveillance. The previous owner had less control over trespassing and the vandalism that occasionally came with it. Likewise, activities for visitors are now more organized and prescribed in the form of scheduled tours.

Not knowing what to expect upon arrival, we found a simple metal shipping container in the small parking lot next to the company store, and we wondered where everybody was. After milling around a bit (pun intended), an enthusiastic fellow emerged from the trailer to greet us, confirming that he would be our tour guide of the site as well (I had purchased tickets online, if I recall). With no one else around, the three of us enjoyed our own private tour and some wonderful tidbits about both the filming and the site’s history. Perhaps the most explosive (pun intended) bit of information was his revelation that the filming crew blew up one of the remaining derelict houses to film the flashback scene of the mine explosion. Upon later browsing in the budding gift shop, he further revealed the true control the company held over its employees and families, right down to the separate currency the company distributed for use in its own company store (pictured below). Not to neglect, of course, that true moment of fandom when you stand in the very Everdeen residence where Katniss, Prim, and their Mother kicked off the movie.

Fans will also recall the scene by the old dam within “The Hunger Games” film, which Katniss scoots across during her early hunting foray. This scene was filmed here as well. After concluding our guided tour, we ventured downhill to see if we had visual access to the reservoir and dam. No luck. Any access was completely overgrown by thick vegetation, and we risked venturing onto private property. Thus, we did not succeed with the “dam tour” on this visit. Our guide explained that the filming crew had gained permission from the owners. But no matter, we enjoyed complete freedom to stroll around the remainder of the village after our tour. We even discovered that the property is now popular for weddings, with an old church window serving as a makeshift altar in the village’s own meadow (photo below).

Although certainly not a realistic coal-town landscape as portrayed within the saga by author Suzanne Collins, I believe the decision to portray the Seam here in Henry River was as good as any, especially given the educational opportunities provided by an actual company town. With no running water and scant electricity even during the mill’s heyday, this provided for a much more realistic filming location than the back lot of a Hollywood studio.

Here’s the web site for Henry River Mill Village.

Guided tours are now available at Henry River Mill Village, a former textile mill town now listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The site has gained popular attention for its role in the filming of “The Hunger Games”. Images of the “Katniss House,” other remaining derelict housing, the original company store (which doubled as the Mellark Bakery in the film), and some original company store coins for use by employees and their families through the early 20th century. The current owners have renovated one cottage as overnight lodging for visitors, appropriately labeled as House # 12. (Photos: Tom Paradis, May 2021)

Announcing a New Book on the Hunger Games Saga (Including the Prequel)

Posted on September 17, 2021 by

Leave a Comment

A Place Called District 12: Appalachian Geography and Music in the Hunger Games, by Thomas Paradis

Now Available in print, eBook on Amazon and many global retailers

For highlights and background, please see an Interview with author Tom Paradis about his new book, A Place Called District 12. Provided by Religious Studies Professor, James McGrath, Butler University (June 2022)

Overview of the Book (Click image or title above for McFarland Release Announcement)

In creating her post-apocalyptic world of the Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins pulls from a wide array of real-world history and geography lurking just beneath her captivating story line. Now within her recent prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Collins pulls us ever deeper into Appalachia’s extraordinary cultural diversity and its storied musical traditions. Here geographer Thomas W. Paradis invites you on his own tour of human geography, history, and culture that collectively provide the foundation for the saga’s novels and films.

Written for fans, educators, and students of any age, A Place Called District 12 provides insightful background on scenes from the novels and films from the original series and recent prequel. Some highlights include the following topics:

  • A geographical revision of District 12’s location within the Appalachian Mountains.
  • Historical geography, architecture, and urban design of District 12, the Capitol, the Corso, the president’s mansion, the Victors Village, and the Cornucopias, including segments about major filming locations. 
  • The historical development of Appalachian balladry, mountain string bands, early country music, and bluegrass, all of which are represented throughout the saga and District 12’s own bluegrass band, the Covey.
  • Interpretations and meanings behind numerous key songs within the saga, including the “Valley Song,” “The Hanging Tree,” and “Keep on the Sunny Side”.
  • The social history and working conditions of coal-mining communities on which Katniss’ home town is largely inspired.
  • Katniss’ attachment to home, and how her personal identity is shaped by her multiple definitions of the home place.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

PART 1: Setting the Geographic Stage

  1. District 12 of Central Appalachia
  2. Places and Spaces of District 12
  3. Katniss at Home
  4. An Appalachian Melting Pot
  5. Small Town in Panem
  6. Portraying the Seam
  7. Designing a Capital City
  8. Panem as World System

PART 2: The Music of District 12

  1. The Ballads of Appalachia
  2.  Mountain String Bands
  3.  District 12 Goes Country
  4.  Bluegrass and the Covey
  5.  Building the Bluegrass Sound
  6.  A National Audience
  7.  Maude Ivory the Songbird

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

The Case for Maude Ivory as a Future Grandmother

Posted on November 27, 2020 by

1 Comment

(SPOILER ALERT for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes)

Perhaps one of the more light-hearted debates among fans has been whether we have indeed met one of Katniss’ ancestors within the prequel. After reading a variety of perspectives on this issue, I began to notice potential clues myself. Not all of Collins’ possible clues are found in her recent prequel, however, but they also spill over to the original series. Suggestions regarding who is or is not related to Katniss have been wide ranging. In my limited perusal of fan sights, it seems the number one candidate for a Katniss ancestor is Lucy Gray Baird herself. A close second might be Maude Ivory, followed then by a litany of other possibilities—any of which are potentially valid until Suzanne Collins decides to just tell us in some way what she was thinking. Some believe there is no family connection at all. Like Lucy Gray in the woods—and the ballad for which she is named—the answer may be blowing in the wind.

That said, in this post I provide a collection of potential clues, or breadcrumbs, that appear to indicate a family connection between Maude Ivory and Katniss. When taken separately, they may each be meaningless. But when considered together, it is difficult to dismiss their consistent message. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite “breadcrumbs”.

Confirming a Musical Connection

Starting from a baseline of what Collins has already admitted, it is vital to begin with this excerpt taken from a recent interview between the author and a Vice President of Scholastic, David Levithan, released on the same day as the prequel. During this interview, Collins introduces us to her new character of Lucy Gray Baird:

Focusing on the 10th Hunger Games also gave me the opportunity to tell Lucy Gray’s story. In the first chapter of The Hunger Games, I make reference to a fourth District 12 victor. Katniss doesn’t seem to know anything about the person worth mentioning. While her story isn’t well-known, Lucy Gray lives on in a significant way through her music, helping to bring down Snow in the trilogy. Imagine his reaction when Katniss starts singing “Deep in the Meadow” to Rue in the arena. Beyond that, Lucy Gray’s legacy is that she introduced entertainment to the Hunger Games. (Scholastic Releases New Interview)

In my mind there is a treasure-trove of information packed in here. Collins admits to a planned musical connection between Lucy Gray and Katniss, though she stops just short of suggesting a family relationship. She even imagines out loud what Snow must be thinking when he hears Katniss singing the very songs he had heard decades earlier. Further, Collins all but puts to rest the popular notion that Lucy Gray is a direct ancestor of Katniss, claiming only that Lucy Gray “lives on in a significant way through her music”. This seems to imply that Lucy Gray either did not survive long after the prequel, or she did not remain long in District 12 to raise a family herself. Another post of mine provides the perspective that Lucy Gray likely survived her incident with Coriolanus in the woods, despite the Wordsworth poem serving as a clear metaphor (and foreshadowing) for her own life. Still, that does not mean that she necessarily hung out in District 12 for a long time, let alone raised a family.

This supports the belief of a portion of readers that Lucy Gray could not be related to Katniss or her father because Katniss would have naturally mentioned his grandmother or grandparents within all of her reminiscing about family throughout the original series. She seems to know nothing about her grandparents, about where her father learned all that music or why he knew so much about the woods and the lake. And, if that weren’t enough, why had Katniss never heard any details about how her grandmother had won the tenth annual Games? Some of these points provide relevant mysteries even if we believe Maude Ivory becomes the carrier of this knowledge and passes it down to Katniss’ father—a mystery I admittedly have yet to reconcile. However, let’s look at the following clues that seem to indicate a Maude Ivory connection. There are many more than this, which other readers can help to uncover. In the interest of keeping this post relatively brief, here are some of my favorites.

Doing the Math: Maude Ivory as Grandmother

In terms of “doing the math,” it does make sense that Maude Ivory could realistically be Katniss’ paternal grandmother. First, Collins makes a point to inform readers of Maude’s age. Near the beginning of the Covey’s first performance at the Hob, Coriolanus observes Maude Ivory and estimates that she “couldn’t be more than eight or nine” (p. 361). In this way, Collins is likely instructing us that Maude Ivory is, well, eight or nine. Why else would she mention this in her narrative?

Beyond such speculation, it allows us to calculate the timeline of possible future generations and births. As just one of numerous possibilities, let’s assume that Maude is nine years old during the tenth games. Then she could be around 29 when giving birth to Katniss’ father (the year of the 30th annual games). This would make Katniss’ father a reasonable 28 years old when his own wife gives birth to Katniss (year of the 58th games). Katniss would then be the correct 16 years old when she is reaped for the 74th games. Thus, both Maude and her son—Katniss’ father—would be in their late 20s when they start, or continue, their own families. Even considering that average lifespans are likely shorter within the Seam, due largely to impoverished living conditions and mining hazards, this generational timeline would be realistic for Collins’ contemporary readership.

Mockingjays, Singing, and the Woods

Despite this oddity, it is difficult to simply ignore numerous clues that may point to connections between Maude Ivory, Katniss, and her father. Those connections largely involve their shared knowledge of Appalachian music, their similar singing styles and musical abilities, and their collective familiarity with the woods and the lake. Let’s focus first on Katniss’ father and his own musical legacy that was variously passed down to his daughters. Here is Katniss expounding upon her father’s musical skill and his love for singing—and for mockingjays in particular:

My father was particularly fond of mockingjays. When we went hunting, he would whistle or sing complicated songs to them and, after a polite pause, they’d always sing back. Not everyone is treated with such respect. But whenever my father sang, all the birds in the area would fall silent and listen. His voice was that beautiful, high and clear and so filled with life it made you want to laugh and cry at the same time. I could never bring myself to continue the practice after he was gone. (THG, Ch. 3)

Katniss’ father clearly commanded the attention of mockingjays, apparently more successfully than most people. One clue here is that the birds would “fall silent and listen” because his voice was “that beautiful”. Members of the Covey enjoyed similar influence over the melodic birds, singing along with them during their hikes in the woods.

Memorizing Music

Another song replete with generational connections is none other than “The Hanging Tree”. Just before Katniss sings it for the “propo team” in Mockingjay, she admits to remembering its “every word” despite not having sung it since she was around seven years old. Maude Ivory had similarly learned the ballad at a young age, claiming it had “real authority”. And she was most likely the one who quietly passed it on to others. This is due to the song’s having been banned in District 12, after which Lucy Gray promised not to sing it. Somehow, then, Katniss’ father learns it, thus allowing Katniss to sing it much later in Mockingjay. In part, Katniss reflects back on the time she practically knew it as a household song:

In the stillness I remember the scene. I was home from a day in the woods with my father. Sitting on the floor with Prim, who was just a toddler, singing “The Hanging Tree.” Making us necklaces out of scraps of old rope like it said in the song, not knowing the real meaning of the words. The tune was simple and easy to harmonize to, though, and back then I could memorize almost anything set to music after a round or two. (MJ, Ch. 9)

This passage provides perhaps the most significant reference to a potential connection between Maude Ivory and Katniss. Here Katniss admits that she could “memorize almost anything set to music” after only a little practice. In the more recent prequel, Lucy Gray explains why she chose to sing her own ballad as a way to communicate with the Covey back in District 12 (Note: “P” = new paragraph):

“The song, it was payback of a kind. Most people won’t know that, but the Covey will get the message, loud and clear. And they’re all I really care about.” (P) “Just on one hearing?” asked Coriolanus. “It went by pretty fast.” (P) “One hearing’s all my cousin Maude Ivory needs. That child never forgets anything with a tune,” said Lucy Gray. (BSS p.173)

In this case, Collins uses Coriolanus to lead into a discussion about Maude Ivory, by having him express doubt that the Covey would pick up a song on television with only “one hearing”. In response, Lucy Gray praises Maude Ivory’s memory by claiming that the child “never forgets anything with a tune”. Why would Collins insert this information if it wasn’t coded for some larger meaning? It is highly improbable that both Maude Ivory and Katniss Everdeen coincidentally enjoy the same ability, and at roughly the same young age. This does not imply, of course, that the special music skill they share is passed down genetically. Rather, this may be another literary approach to suggest a family connection between them.

To conclude here for now, this question of a potential family connection is just one “loose end” within the prequel that makes me believe more books are on the way. I invite readers to see my earlier post about Maude Ivory and Butter where I provide a litany of loose ends that may indicate that Collins intends to continue writing beyond the prequel (or at least we can hope that the odds are indeed in our favor). Until that happens of course, all of this is little more than fun speculation. So, in the meantime, fun we will have!

The Butter Enigma: Why Future Books May Be Coming

Posted on September 5, 2020 by

Leave a Comment

(NOTE: Spoiler Alert for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes)

(Feature Image: An old crank-type butter churn. Source: Creative Commons, the Mallala Museum.)

There are admittedly some compelling arguments as to why Suzanne Collins’ Prequel may be her last in the series. Indicators include the unique formatting and voice of this story compared to the original series, its overall length, and the way she seems to close out the story quickly with an Epilogue that some feel is rushed. It is certainly reasonable for someone to conclude, “well, that about wraps it up for Snow”. Others wisely point to Collins’ own stated purpose for writing the Prequel, as she is quoted within a Scholastic News Room piece: “With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival. The reconstruction period ten years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days—as the country of Panem struggles back to its feet—provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity.” Having presumably accomplished her education goal with the book, some say, there may be little interest on her part—or sense of obligation— to continue the story beyond the Prequel. If this is indeed the case, then we might say to Collins and her world of Panem—in the timeless words of author Douglas Adams, “So long, and thanks for all the fish”. Or, thanks for the intriguing and thought-provoking stories, in any case.

Despite all of this, there is equally—if not more—compelling reason to suggest that the Prequel is likely just the beginning of another three-part series. Given my own, nearly-unwavering belief this is the case, the remainder of this post will attempt to make that argument. For purposes here, my entire argument is based solely on canon, the actual narrative as Collins has written it. In my mind, there are simply too many loose ends, possible clues, and strategic dialogue segments to easily suggest the series has come to a sudden crash with the Prequel. Let’s explore some of these aspects that I have identified. There are likely even more that my own literal mind has not absorbed or recognized yet. These points below are in no particular order of importance or sequence within the narrative. Although the first one is definitely in my “top five” list.

The Butter Enigma: What’s up with Maude Ivory’s fascination with butter? Readers spend quite some time at the Covey household enjoying a rather curious conversation around Maude Ivory’s love of butter, and none of this seems to connect in obvious ways to the rest of the story. In short, it is not necessary, and Collins could have provided any other conversational direction here. As Lucy Gray explains: “We promised Maude Ivory we’d try. She’s crazy for butter. Tam Amber fashioned the churn for her birthday. Guess we’ll see,” said Lucy Gray (BSS 394). It would not be unreasonable to interpret this conversation as a “sign post,” or foreshadowing, for additional connections and meanings to appear in a future book. If nothing else, the conversation may indeed point to yet another commonality that Maude Ivory seems to have with the future Katniss Everdeen: that of nightmares and thus possible symptoms of PTSD. It is likely no accident that Lucy Gray explains to Coriolanus that the butter churning exercise gives Maude Ivory something constructive to do. As she states, “But it’ll be worth it if it works. Maude Ivory doesn’t sleep well since they took me away. Seems fine during the day, then wakes up screaming at night,” confided Lucy Gray. “Trying to get some happy in her head.” (BSS 394).

Perhaps the connection between Maude Ivory and butter churning is solely meant to set up this latter conversation about her nightmares. In which case Suzanne Collins is almost certainly pointing to more similarities between Maude Ivory and Katniss. The “screaming at night” phrase simply “screams” a major connection between the two characters. Regardless of where this “butter enigma” (as I call it) actually leads, is this really the end of the story? It is difficult to believe that Collins would include such dialogue without any intention to foreshadow or provide future hints of character connections.

One final thought is difficult to dismiss outright—that of a cat named Buttercup. This seems to be the only tangible connection with butter between the original series and the Prequel. Should it turn out (as I and others suspect) that Maude Ivory is Katniss’ grandmother, then she may have passed down her love of butter to Katniss’ parents, after which Prim indirectly picks it up (or after her father’s death). Although Katniss explains on page one of The Hunger Games that Prim named him Buttercup after the “bright flower,” it is possible to imagine a connection here. Beyond that is the more direct comparison between Maude Ivory’s goat and that of Prim—first, the undeniable fact that they both have one. In a larger context, both families are attempting to survive on some form of subsistence agriculture and farm life, producing for their own consumption. This ties even more broadly into the traditional, small-farm agricultural traditions of rural Appalachia (I will stop for now with this line of discussion.)

In the interest of brevity for this post, let’s just touch on a few additional “loose ends” that seem to be pointing to future books:

  • How and when does Coriolanus learn about District 13? None of that has been discussed yet, but the district is the primary reason why his family lost its fortune. They presumed that D-13 had been eliminated, and their fortune along with it. Wouldn’t he be upset if he knew the leadership of Panem had jilted his family and their fortune by not telling them the truth?
  • Just who bombed the Capitol stadium? There is a good case to make that the crazy Dr. Gaul was responsible for the bombings and merely blamed it on the rebels. It was likely her first attempt to make the Games more intriguing. This is only speculation, but the mystery about the bombing in the arena remains hanging in the air.
  • Perhaps most asked by readers: What happens to Tigris, and her relationship with Coriolanus? When do they experience their presumed “falling out,” and for what reasons and circumstances?
  • Sejanus’ bread ritual in the Arena. His mother says it’s what they do in District 2, but we don’t learn much more than this. (Perhaps this one could be closed off here without further notice, though it seems to play a serious role in the culture of District 2 and the lives of the Plinths).
  • At what point does Panem go on lockdown? There is still a lot of free movement and capitalist investment between and among the districts and the Capitol. In one respect, the Panem of the Prequel is a much more integrated, dynamic nation than what we see in the original series. The Covey may have been rounded up during the war, but people can still move around the nation, which this geographer found intriguing. Mail still moves nationally (likely delivered by train as in our own nation’s past), and the country acts more realistic with regular connections and communication. At some point the leadership clamps down on national freedom of movement and communications, but when and why? This is likely coming in a future book.
  • Heavensbee Hall: This is an obvious connection to Plutarch Heavensbee, but there is no further explanation in the Prequel. Why would Collins include this tip if there was not more coming? The same could be said for Livia Cardew and her connection with Plutarch’s future assistant. Livia is prone to gloating, as we discover, and we further learn that her mother runs the largest bank in the Capitol. But the story and connections end here with her last name. What’s her future story?
  • The Katniss plant: Clerk Carmine pulls up the Katniss roots by the lake and is praised by Lucy Gray for doing so. This incident could spawn a whole separate discussion over the likelihood that some serious foreshadowing is going on here (along with the entire existence of the Covey and their familiarity with the lake). Is it not unreasonable to suspect that more of this story will appear in future books?
  • Why the attention on the Covey? And the specific, likely calculated dialogue written to teach readers about their physical appearances and family relations. This all likely points to a future continuation of their story and their ties to the home of Katniss.
  • Arlo Chance and Lil. What was his rationale for blowing up the mine—allegedly— without any chance of starting another rebellion? And who is Lil, and why does she specifically have “olive skin and long black hair” like Katniss? This is not likely included merely to describe yet another resident of the Seam. A larger meaning and connection is likely forthcoming in a future book or books.  
  • Building a herd: “Only one up when I left was Tam Amber. I told him I was going to find out about a goat. We’ve been talking about building a herd. Sell the milk as a sideline,” she said. Sounds like some subsistence farming experience building here. How might this connect to Katniss’ parents and their own experience with raising animals, hunting, and gathering plants?
  • Last but not Least: What happens to the Covey? Why does Collins include the dialogue about their travels north and east (but not as far west as the Capitol)? And why did Collins insert a comment regarding the Covey’s strange mannerisms and physical appearances (Seam or otherwise)? Why bother mentioning any of this if more of their story isn’t coming? Consider, if you will, the following excerpt as just one example: “Thank you kindly. I’ll sing you a special song tonight!” . . . “I came with no other hope,” said Coriolanus. It was funny how the society talk of the Capitol seemed natural with the Covey. (BSS Ch. 26) This exchange could be interpreted as a signpost hinting that future information about the Covey is forthcoming down the road (or, in the least, this is what some of us might hope).

This list could likely be expanded through the keen observations of others. With all of this left “blowing in the wind” (perhaps like Lucy Gray), it is seriously difficult to believe that future books are not on the way.

Happy Hunger Games!

Welcome to a virtual place to share perspectives on the full set of Hunger Games books and films, including the Ballad prequel and Sunrise on the Reaping. Future posts may include guest authors, student contributors, and my own topics of interest. Comments on posts are welcome and are reviewed prior to approval.

Meet the Author
Watch Episode 56 of Into The Arena (Feb, 2023), with Tom Paradis chatting about his university class and recent book, A Place Called District 12: Appalachian Geography and Music in the Hunger Games (and Ballad).
This site inspired by a first-year seminar on the Hunger Games at Butler University.
Butler University Logo