The 25th Appalachian Literary Festival at Emory & Henry College

For 25 years a confab of Appalachian writers has convened at Emory & Henry in an intimate setting of writing workshops, set amid farm land and rolling hills near Abingdon, Virginia. I’d never attended, but when I read about the 25^th anniversary, I thought perhaps it was time to discover what I’d been missing.

Seventeen authors formed panel sessions and were featured readers. Lots of star power and a chance for me to meet and hear authors, many whose names I’d only seen on the covers of books.

The 170-year-old campus of Emory & Henry is lovely: old trees, vast lawns, students ambling from building to building. The panel sessions were held in the sanctuary of the Memorial Chapel and at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon. In the Chapel, we convened in its huge sanctuary. 

“History, Politics, Social Conscience and the Appalachian Writer.” Panelists: Lisa Alther, Jo Carson, John Ehle, and Meredith Sue Willis.

The authors confirmed that Appalachian writers by virtue of being “other” set the stage for attention to and writing about injustices, whether in the region or at the personal level. Writers use injustices as a platform to speak to outsiders who label Appalachian’s negatively. The writers said we should answer with: “We reserve the right to tell the world who and what we are.”

“Nature, Place, and the Appalachian Writer.” Panelists Maggie Anderson, Jeff Daniel Marion, Robert Morgan, and Ron Rash.

Appalachia is about place, the residents’ relationship to it, and it remains a strong shaping element. Panelists expressed dismay that the mountains in Appalachia are covered with million dollar homes and wondered who could afford them. The politics of MTR arose, but wasn’t discussed at length. The panelists lamented the increasing homogenization in our region and none considered that a good thing.

“The Perils of Regionalism: Labels and Their Limitations.” Panelists: Lee Smith, Sharyn McCrumb, David Huddle, and Gurney Norman

Nothing’s easy, is it? You fight to determine your character, without buying into absolutism, and Appalachians remain labeled, and therefore restricted and confined. If anyone can kick that off, it’d be Appalachians. The trouble is being heard. Some authors reject the label as “Appalachian writer” and prefer no affiliation with any region. If they write about Appalachia as the land they know, where their values were formed and shaped, they get labeled. Lee Smith: “An editor commented to me not too long ago in response to my saying “Appalachian literature,” ‘Isn’t that an oxymoron?’” Smith was a guest lecturer at Columbia University 30 years ago when the students heard her soft southern accent, a third of them left. Denise Giardina and Smith shared the same experience with copy editors who asked “Double-wide what?”

McCrumb said when she wrote St. Dale and offered it to a publisher the editor said, “Okay. What’s the next book? After we sell the 3 copies to the 3 NASCAR fans who can read, we’ll need to come out with something else right away.” She said that as to stereotyping, use it to outsmart them. Dolly Parton joke: when asked how she felt about dumb blonde jokes, she replied, “That’s okay. I know I’m not dumb and I ain’t blonde, either.”

“Humor and the Oral Tradition in Appalachian Literature.” Panelists: Lisa Alther, Jo Carson, Fred Chappell, John Ehle, and Lee Smith. Um, this was in the afternoon and I sorta fell asleep, which isn’t easy on those hard pews. Sorry :) But I’m sure it was really good.

“Religion, the Sacred, and the Appalachian Writer.” Panelists: Kathryn Stipling Byer (North Carolina ’s current poet laureate), Fred Chappell, Denise Giardina, and Robert Morgan.

Held at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon (a little town with lovely restaurants and historical buildings and sites. I recommend visiting). Denise said she considers herself a theological writer, a remark I first heard her say in 1997 when I was interviewing her to write my master’s thesis on her work. She feels we’ve grown polemic in this country, but especially in religion where there seems no room to explore, to ask questions, but to follow dogma. She said rigid attitudes are in opposition to the early fathers of the church, where the freedom to explore was natural and expected. She said that she is a Hardshell Baptist, also known as the “No Hellers.” They believe only in Heaven, not Hell.

One of my favorite quotes heard sometime during the festival: “The mountains have many voices.”

The readings:

I had a difficult time hearing John Ehle. He is soft-spoken and age is taking a toll. Fred Chappell’s reading from I am One of You Forever was fabulous. He read a chapter about a telegram that arrives to tell the family of a soldier’s death. Denise Giardina read from her novel-in-progress about the Bronte sisters. From what we heard, it should be a great book. She read from Storming Heaven a particularly funny section about Vista volunteers and how America wanted to help poor ol Appalachia.” George Ella Lyon’s reading was spell-binding. She has written a memoir, Don’t You Remember?” George Ella is apparently a reincarnation of a school teacher from a previous generation. Scribner Publishers turned it down, citing, “It’s too reflective and too self-aware. It also has two voices, George Ella’s and the teacher’s.” Lee Smith read a touching essay written to a fellow writer who recently passed away.

The word Appalachia came up for discussion and everyone agreed that the pronunciation "Appa-layshuh" is incorrect. It is pronounced "Appa-latcha," named for a tribe of Indians who pronounced their name that way.

To me, attending the festival was like attending a huge family reunion (about 125 were present). I felt like a second cousin twice removed, who showed up for the BBQ and potato salad, but it was a friendly, enthused, gathering. The family of Appalachian authors is bonded as from the same tribe, but there was a sense that when they write from their world, they are saying, “This is who we are. Respect is all we ask.”

Maybe a little awe—that wouldn’t hurt.

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[Phyllis Wilson Moore]

George Ella Lyon's Don't Your Remember? A Memoir is now available.

It is a departure from her previous work but also a reflection of it.