Barbara Kingsolver discusses Appalachia
There is no prettier place on earth than the Southern Appalachian Mountains. They have been glazed by a magic wand. Frances Boyd, August 15, 2023
For several years after I read Hillbilly Elegy, written by J. D. Vance, I felt an urgent need to defend the place my ancestors settled long long ago. Somehow the book just seemed to portray everyone from Appalachia as being poor, uneducated addicts. Of course it is ludricrous to conclude that the above presumption is true, beause one only needs to look around at the rest of our country to know that poor, uneducated addicts are, unfortunately, in lots of places in the United States.
So, to veer from the defensive to the offensive, I considered extolling the culture of the folks from Appalachia–their music, literature, art, crafts and the incredibly beautiful natural habitat–not to mention the food!!
I no longer feel the need to take either of these two paths, but I recently read an article in the August 9, 2023 New York Times entitled “Read Your Way Through Appalachia” by Barbara Kingsolver. Her Pulitzer-winning book Deacon Copperhead is set in Appalachia. Kingsolver’s article assumes that the reader wants to know more about and better understand the true and complex nature of this special part of our country.
Here are a few of the books on her list:
–Writing Appalachia: An Anthology, edited by Katherine Ledford and Theresa Lloyd. Kingsolver says the book weighs nearly three pounds but that reading it will destroy any stereotypes one might have of the region.
–Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia, Steven Stoll This book is a social history of the area.
The Briar Poems, Jim Wayne Miller
Poems by Wendall Berry and George Ella Lyon
–Fair and Tender Ladies, Lee Smith (my favorite book of all time-always will be)
–Clay’s Quilt, Silas House
–Look Homeward Angel, Thomas Wolfe
–Cold Mountain, Charlest Frazier
–Storming Heaven, Denise Giardina
From “Tragic Romance” by Porter Wagoner
Nestled in the heart of the Tennessee Hills, there neath the pines midst the rocks and the rills, there stands my old homestead of long long ago. It brings back sweet memories of the one I loved so.