Appalachia in the Classroom: Teaching the Region

11. Appalachian Poetry: A Field Guide for Teachers

189 Eleven Appalachian Poetry: A Field Guide for Teachers r. parks lanier jr. W h e r e a r e t h e A p p a l ac h i a n p o e t s ? Aglanceatamap of the Appalachian region as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) will provide one answer.The Appalachian poets are,or have been, where the mountains in the eastern United States are. That is an incomplete answer, however, for even an ARC map may not show all the mountains or even the entire length of the Appalachian Trail northward into Maine. Not all the mountain counties of Virginia, for example, are included within the ARC’s domain. Not all poets fit neatly within the ARC’s boundaries. Fred Chappell has spent most of his career at UNC-Greensboro, off the map. Jim Wayne Miller wrote a great deal while professor of German at Western Kentucky University , off the map. David Huddle is at the University of Vermont, off the map. Marilou Awiakta has lived for many years in Memphis, Tennessee, off the map. Jeanne Shannon is way, way off the map in Albuquerque, New Mexico. But no one can challenge their credentials as“Appalachian poets,”though they, unlike Jesse Stuart of Kentucky, who lived, wrote, and died in W-Hollow, are “off the map.” All these poets named were born within the ARC’s domain, but there are many others who were born“off the map” but migrated into the mountains and identified with more than mere geography.The author of this article is one of them. 190 R. Parks Lanier Jr. Where Does One Read the Work of Appalachian Poets and Find Commentary about Them? There are quite a few anthologies that feature their work,and now a growing number of critical volumes aid in their appreciation. For many years, the Higgs and Manning Voices from the Hills (1975) was a classroom fixture. In 1995, Higgs, Manning,and Miller prepared its two-volume sequel,Appalachia Inside Out. Also useful are Edwards, Asbury, and Cox’s A Handbook to Appalachia (2006); Miller, Hatfield, and Norman’s An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature (2005); Ballard and Hudson’s Listen Here: Women Writing in Appalachia (2003); Mitchell’s Her Words: Diverse Voices in Contemporary Appalachian Women’s Poetry (2002); Smith and Judd’s Wild Sweet Notes: Fifty Years of West Virginia Poetry (2000); Dyer’s Bloodroot: Reflections on Place by Appalachian Women Writers (1998); Williamson and Arnold’s Interviewing Appalachia: The “Appalachian Journal” Interviews (1994); Baber, Lyon, and Norman’s Old Wounds, New Words: Poems from the Appalachian Poetry Project (1994); Lyon, Miller, and Norman’s A Gathering at the Forks: Fifteen Years of Hindman Settlement School Writing (1993); Lanier’s Poetics of Appalachian Space (1991); Quillen’s Looking for Native Ground: Contemporary Appalachian Poetry (1989); Thomas’s The Uneven Ground: An Anthology of Appalachian Materials (1985); and Askins and Morris’s New Ground (1977). All teachers of Appalachian literature should consider subscriptions to Appalachian Journal (Appalachian State University) and Appalachian Heritage (Berea College). From the latter, back issues dedicated to specific poets are available. Both journals feature contemporary poetry,critical reviews,and critical analyses. Annual celebrations of individual Appalachian writers at Emory & Henry College have resulted in the annual Iron Mountain Review (edited by John Lang), featuring such poets as Maggie Anderson, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Fred Chappell, David Huddle, George Ella Lyon, Jeff Daniel Marion, Michael Martin, Michael McFee, Jim Wayne Miller, Robert Morgan, Ron Rash, George Scarbrough, James Still, and Charles Wright. See also Lang’s Appalachia and Beyond: Conversations with Writers from the Mountain South (2005), as well as his Six Poets from the Mountain South (2010). What Are Some Distinguishing Characteristics of Appalachian Poetry? Some superficial and uninformed readers might think that Appalachian poets are just Southern poets, and let it go at that, not realizing that 191 Appalachian Poetry: A Field Guide for Teachers Appalachia has both southern and northern extensions (the Appalachian Trail extends from Georgia to Maine). As one looks closely at Appalachian poetry,however,especially that which is represented in anthologies,three clear areas of concern emerge: the political, the pastoral, and the personal. Teachers and students will delight in identifying“pure”examples of each kind and then, as their acquaintance with Appalachian poetry grows, they will delight in identifying the metaphorical mingling of these elements. The way these three elements...