As an Appalachian author, teacher, and lover of culture and literature, it is always very important to recognize the proper way to celebrate that culture. All too often, there are representations of Appalachian culture and life that play ridiculously deep into harmful stereotypes like ignorance, incest, violence, and more. Portraying an entire group of people as less than because of where they are from is simply asinine. It is honestly one of the things that is wrong with the world, and always has been. But how do we change it?

It isn’t easy, to say the least. To do my part I have always tried to represent Appalachian culture in a positive way through both my writing and my instruction. This year, I am getting a real chance to help prepare others to do the same.

The Book Cellar in Abingdon, Va has allowed and encouraged me to utilize my writing workshops to facilitate positive Appalachian writing and research in a 5-part series of workshops entitled “Building an Appalachian Narrative” (get your tickets here) that will give us a chance to discuss the importance of making a real effort to positively and properly represent Appalachia in writing. With workshops that exemplify things like doing proper research, avoiding cliche and misrepresentation, and using imagery to capture the beauty and culture of the region, my hope is that this series will offer everyone who attends the tools to be a strong positive voice for an under and misrepresented area.

Granted, some literature does require a harsher hand to get a proper message across – I am actually working on a few stories that do offer a rough view of the negative side of the area – for the most part, positive representation is very achievable. That is the core responsibility of writing about a specific location, people, culture, or religion. Accountability must be held in the utmost importance. For anyone interested in jumping in on those workshops, just follow the link above for more info. You can also check my social media and/or The Book Cellar, Va for the details on each workshop. The first one is this Thursday (3/26). I hope to see you there!