I recently had the joy and privilege of participating on a panel at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference in Baltimore, along with some of my favorite Appalachian writers: Neema Avashia (Another Appalachia), Robert Lynn (Mothman Prophecies), and Steven Dunn (Potted Meat & others). The writer Sarah Mullens graciously gathered us together as the moderator of “A Strange Land & a Peculiar People: Appalachians Writing Against the Stereotypes”:
Appalachian tropes have persisted since “A Strange Land and a Peculiar People” framed the region with a “poor, helpless old man sitting on a stool,” his lawn “choked with weeds.” In the 150 years since, these images—and their kin—remain, sometimes in real life but always in the expectations of the outside audience. Appalachians across genres ask: How do we write regional complexity when stereotypes loom large? What should we do with Papaw spitting chew out front of the single-wide in our story?
The crowd was generous, supportive, and so big that we sadly had to clear the aisles of attendees because they posed a fire hazard.
