More Than Hillbilly Elegy: The Vast Wealth of Appalachian Literature

This past spring, I walked onto Shawnee State University’s field to spot the premier of Peerless City, a documentary astir my hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio. The documentary follows the past of Portsmouth during its large manufacture roar successful the archetypal fractional of the 20th period and done its diminution successful much caller decades. In the contiguous day, with its galore addiction betterment programs, Portsmouth is present a beacon of anticipation arsenic the portion struggles to retrieve aft being deed truthful hard by the opioid crisis.

This is the communicative of my town, and that night, Portsmouth residents saw themselves and their communities connected the large screen. We watched our town’s communicative beryllium told, not conscionable by 1 person, but by dozens of antithetic people, each with varying perspectives. No singular dependable could person told Portsmouth’s analyzable history, to genuinely amusement the bigger representation that embodies the town. Representation for america sounds much similar a chorus than a solo.

Like my hometown, Appalachia can’t beryllium encapsulated by a singular communicative oregon perspective. It’s a divers portion with implicit 25 cardinal residents, not including the members of the extended diaspora (affectionately known arsenic “expatalachians”) who unrecorded each implicit the world. But erstwhile I notation wherever I’m from, I person a wide array of facial expressions from funny to confusion. “What?” they ask, “You mean similar Hillbilly Elegy?”

No publication has haunted maine similar Hillbilly Elegy. At dinners, parties, oregon holidays, I gird my loins for questions astir this book. I’ve prepared my database of recommended speechmaking (What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia and Appalachian Reckoning), recommended listening (Black successful Appalachia and Appodlachia), and publications to travel (Black by God: The West Virginian and 100 Days successful Appalachia). But astatine immoderate constituent I person to wonder, erstwhile tin I get backmost to recommending large Appalachian books alternatively of conscionable responding to questions astir this 1 memoir? I would overmuch alternatively beryllium gushing implicit Bernard Clay’s poesy oregon crying implicit 1 of Carter Sickels novels than answering — for possibly the thousandth clip — “But what astir THAT book?!”

I don’t person the answer, and with predetermination time for Vance’s legislature contention successful Ohio truthful close, I uncertainty radical from extracurricular the portion volition discontinue asking maine astir Hillbilly Elegy anytime soon. While it’s truthful important to maine to advocator for Appalachia and explicate wherefore I deliberation Hillbilly Elegy is specified a blistery mess, I besides can’t assistance but wonderment however overmuch much beneficial it would beryllium if our corporate vigor could beryllium spent advocating for Appalachian Literature arsenic a full alternatively of defending the portion from a memoir written by 1 Midwestern Yale Law School grad turned politician.

Long earlier anyone had adjacent heard of Vance, radical from the mountains person been telling our stories. From historians similar William H. Turner and Elizabeth Catte to poets laureate Crystal Wilkinson (Kentucky) and Kari Gunter-Seymour (Ohio), Appalachian writers person firmly established themselves arsenic masters of American Letters. Not to notation that immoderate radical don’t adjacent cognize that incredibly celebrated authors similar doorbell hooks and Nikki Giovanni are Appalachian.

But adjacent without large names oregon extended sum successful the press, Appalachian authors are penning astir beingness arsenic they spot it from their small country of the mountains. In 2020, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle’s debut Even As We Breathe was the archetypal known published caller by an enrolled subordinate of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. And conscionable this year, Neema Avashia’s Another Appalachia, a memoir astir her beingness increasing up arsenic a queer Indian American successful West Virginia, deed shelves to overmuch acclaim.

Ultimately, nary singular dependable from Appalachia tin basal arsenic “the” dependable for the region, nor should it. So careless of however a idiosyncratic views Vance’s memoir, it shouldn’t beryllium held to specified precocious acclaim arsenic the 1 publication to “explain” Appalachia to the remainder of the country. People from Appalachia don’t request assistance explaining who we are. We’ve been telling the wider satellite astir the galore antithetic Appalachian cultures successful these mountains for decades. Just not capable radical extracurricular of the portion cared capable to listen. 

That nighttime successful Portsmouth erstwhile the lights went up and manager Amanda Page came connected signifier to thunderous applause, I felt specified an aggravated consciousness of joyousness successful the air. For the archetypal time, I saw the astir implicit representation of my hometown, some the bully and the bad. So galore radical came unneurotic to enactment connected this documentary and amusement the community’s struggles and joys each successful 1 place. It was a solemnisation of Portsmouth that I didn’t recognize I desperately needed. And that’s what I privation to spot for Appalachia. I privation the region, and its unthinkable literature, to beryllium understood and appreciated for each of its unthinkable diverseness and complexity. I privation different radical from Appalachia to consciousness what I felt that nighttime successful that theater: the powerfulness of being seen.

For much Appalachian literature, cheque retired 15 Books About Appalachia to Read Instead of Hillbilly Elegy and past 15 more.