Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
The Other in an Othered Culture: LGBTQ Writers in Appalachia
Session Abstract or Summary
Four of the region's most widely published LGBTQ writers will come together to discuss the current state of LGBTQ affairs in Appalachia and will particularly hone in on the challenges of being a LGBTQ person in the region and in the United States. This panel will look at the ways being The Other in a culture that is othered by the rest of the nation brings new layers of complexity to their writing and their ways of dealing with people throughout the country as they tour the country. They will discuss their different experiences of coming out and existing in Appalachia, pushing its boundaries of what is accepted in the culture, and how this has nourished them as creative writers. Each panelist will offer a short reading then the group will discuss these issues before closing with a question and answer period of conversation with the audience.
Presentation #1 Title
Into the Hazel Wood: Being Gay in Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
House will read the New York Times editorial in which he came out and talk about the impact of that on his writing life, in ways that were both freeing and hindering. He will also discuss the way the particular complexities of Appalachian culture held up his own coming out process and the way he continues to see those factors have an impact on the lives of the young people in his life.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Silas House is the nationally bestselling author of five novels and serves as the NEH Chair of Appalachian Studies at Berea College and on the fiction faculty at the Spalding University MFA in Writing.
Presentation #2 Title
Relic: A Transgender Man Returns to Appalachia
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
Carter Sickels will read and discuss his short story "Relic," in which a transgender man returns home to his family in Kentucky.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Carter Sickels is the author of the novel The Evening Hour, and the editor of Untangling the Knot: Queer Voices on Marriage, Relationships & Identity. Carter is Assistant Professor of English at Eastern Kentucky University, where he teaches in the Bluegrass Writers Studio Low-Residency MFA program.
Presentation #3 Title
The Fog Walker: Searching for Home Inside and Outside Appalachia
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
Howard will read and discuss his essay "The Fog Walker," a meditation on his search for home both inside and outside Appalachia and ways his British heritage inform his own understanding of this region.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Jason Howard is the author of A Few Honest Words: The Roots of Kentucky Music and co-author of Something's Rising: Appalachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal. A graduate of The George Washington University, he serves as the editor of Appalachian Heritage at Berea College, where he also teaches.
Presentation #4 Title
WWJD: Coming Out in Appalachia
Presentation #4 Abstract or Summary
Sipple will read poems from her book WWJD & Other Poems, which capture her experiences of misogyny, domestic abuse, and coming out in Appalachia, and will discuss all of these topics and more.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Savannah Sipple's poems and short stories have recently been published in The Offing, The Louisville Review and many others. She is a 2017 recipient of a grant from the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund/Money for Women, Inc. Her first book of poems, WWJD & Other Poems, is forthcoming from Sibling Rivalry Press in 2019.
Conference Subthemes
Diversity and Inclusion, Education, Health
Into the Hazel Wood: Being Gay in Appalachia
House will read the New York Times editorial in which he came out and talk about the impact of that on his writing life, in ways that were both freeing and hindering. He will also discuss the way the particular complexities of Appalachian culture held up his own coming out process and the way he continues to see those factors have an impact on the lives of the young people in his life.
