All of my family are from Appalachia. The 18th century origins on both sides seem to have been in Eastern Kentucky (Pike/Prestonburg) and then to have migrated North into Southern WV and Western VA to work in the coal mines and railroads. We are just now beginning to understand Appalachian Literature, just as we also begin to reframe our identity and ourselves after centuries of industrial oppression and propaganda. I remember Marita Garin (Author of Southern Appalachian Poetry 2008) saying in her book; “I strongly believe regional literature is possible for Appalachia because it exists in the mind, memory, imagination, and even the life of its writers in very powerful ways. We should try to comprehend the richness of the southern Appalachian region, past and present, raising the question of how the culture of that region, as presented in art and other forms, differs from the larger, more familiar, mainstream American culture. In the process, we should learn something of the power of oral tradition, of regional folklore, of community, isolation, and the human spirit. ” Can the “Appalachian Renaissance” begin to help in reclaiming lost identity for the region?
If the Poet is “the bearer of human longing” as Hesse wrote, then poetry should be an exploration of that Solitary fact. If we think about the need for a deliverance from the “limited ways” of our emotion and perception as Jim Morrison considered, there is a necessity to the removal of the “mind forged manacles” that Blake discovered. Poetry should contain the liberation of the ordinary, should also be transformational of heart consciousness and aspire to convey divine mystery. I think that CS Lewis was also right when he said “The books or music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them.” We also need to have discernment in these days, and that begins with understanding what (and who) the truth is. Creating an ersatz divinity (as Simone Weil noticed) out of literature and art will never become a real replacement for Heaven.
If we are to “resolve to begin” as Rilke would say and keep beginning then in that spirit let us move ahead as we struggle to reclaim our lost identity in Appalachia and recast ourselves out of our own insight and understanding about who we are at this time (and not as those outside this region have defined us).
The Writers and Editors at the Watershed Journal have helped with this new recasting process and set a fine example for the rest of us in terms of the possibilities for vibrant literary community growth in any Appalachian town. The Watershed Journal also continues to consistently provide Appalachian Writers with an inclusive place to share their voices, and this is something impossible to find within the often rigid structures of academic publication. I remember Gerald Stern said; “The whole issue for an artist (and Poet) is free time-he buys time, essentially that is what an artist does, he buys space and time.” The Watershed community in Western Pennsylvania continues to give local writers a consistent platform and the time to understand their own voices in a world that most often does not have the inclination to care or time to give.
-T. Byron Kelly Western Virginia
Cover Photo by Allison Schanbacher