Readin’, Writin’, and Rt 23 Appalachia in the Classroom.ppt

Readin’, Writin’, and Rt. 23: Appalachia in the Classroom Barbara L. Kunkle, Ph.D. February 3, 2005 Appalachia—What is it? Where is it? Geographical Definitions Cultural Definitions Political Definitions Literary Definitions Appalachian Literature--Myths Only minor writers are Appalachian Regional writing is merely “local color” Any masterful writer becomes “southern” or “American” Appalachian Literature—What Qualifies? Lee Pennington (Greenup County poet): Appalachia is not what it is but what it was, and it never was.” Appalachian Literature—What Qualifies? James Still (Kentucky poet): Appalachia is a “sort of myth, an imaginary place.” Appalachian Literature—What Qualifies? Anne Shelby (teacher and critic): The literature “represents neither the expression of a distinct regional subculture nor the bringing together of an incoherent patchwork of second-rate writing; it represents the literary expression of an American myth” Appalachian Literature—What Qualifies? Henry D. Shapiro From Appalachia on Our Mind: The Southern Mountains and Mountaineers in the American Consciousness, 1870–1920 (1978) “This is not a history of Appalachia. It is a history of the idea of Appalachia, and therefore the invention of Appalachia.” Appalachian Literature—What Qualifies? Gurney Norman (writer, teacher, central figure in flowering of Appalachian literature since the 1980s) Norman sees region in terms of shared cultural or historical experience. His vision is inclusive. Appalachian Literature—What Qualifies? Frank X. Walker (African-American poet) If you think makin’ shine from corn is hard as Kentucky coal Imagine being an Affrilachian poet Appalachian Literature—Not a field until the 1970s Contribution of Cratis Williams, Father of Appalachian Studies History of Appalachian Literature: 1870-1910 Popular magazines of late 19th century Will Wallace Harney, “A Strange Land and Peculiar People,” Lippincott’s Magazine 12 (1873), pp. 4229-4438. William Fro