Appalachia has long been stereotyped as a region of feuds, moonshine stills, mine wars, environmental destruction, joblessness, and hopelessness. Robert Schenkkan's 1992 Pulitzer-Prize winning play The Kentucky Cycle once again adopted these stereotypes, recasting the American myth as a story of repeated failure and poverty--the failure of the American spirit and the poverty of the American soul. Dismayed by national critics' lack of attention to the negative depictions of mountain people in the play, a group of Appalachian scholars rallied against the stereotypical representations of the region's people. In Back Talk from Appalachia, these writers talk back to the American mainstream, confronting head-on those who view their home region one-dimensionally. The essays, written by historians, literary scholars, sociologists, creative writers, and activists, provide a variety of responses. Some examine the sources of Appalachian mythology in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literature. Others reveal personal experiences and examples of grassroots activism that confound and contradict accepted images of ""hillbillies."" The volume ends with a series of critiques aimed directly at The Kentucky Cycle and similar contemporary works that highlight the sociological, political, and cultural assumptions about Appalachia fueling today's false stereotypes.
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Editorial Reviews
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"An exciting and provocative new collection." -- Appalachian Journal
"An important book." -- Arkansas Historical Quarterly
"Thought-provoking, admirably accessible to nonspecialist readers, and offers an excellent introduction to Appalachian regional studies. Essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary and historic Appalachia, it is also a model regional study that provides an excellent comparative perspective for scholars and students of other American regions." -- Choice
"A challenge to 'monolithic pejorative, and unquestioned' images of Appalachia." -- Chronicle of Higher Education
"Social theory, history, literature, personal experience, and activism are successfully bound, and issues of race and gender are not neglected.... For scholars of the southern Appalachian region the volume is indispensable." -- Contemporary Sociology
"An interesting and diverse collection." -- Filson Club History Quarterly
"Presents a broad view of a region diverse in population, social issues, and history." -- Florida Historical Quarterly
"Addresses the origins and perpetuation of these disparaging stereotypes, and offers writers' personal experiences growing up or living in Appalachia." -- Goldenseal
"Provides provocative and insightful essays about this much-maligned region of the United States." -- Kentucky Monthly
"One does come away with a better idea of why Appalachians are seen as they are." -- Lexington Herald-Leader
"Every subject is covered from AIDS to rednecks to labor activism to the coalfields to race and gender." -- Library Booknotes
"Addresses the origins of stereotypes of literature from the region, looks at labor and advocacy movements in Appalachia during this century, offers writers' personal glimpses of growing up or living in the region, and ends by highlighting the stereotypes and broad generalizations that characterize 'The Kentucky Cycle.'" -- McCormick (SC) Messenger
"A book that attempts to do a lot, and succeeds on the whole." -- Mountain Eagle
"Now we have this thought-provoking collection of essays of the country we northerners knew so little about." -- Oakland (MI) Press
"The essays, which share the goal of refuting the ongoing stereotyping of the region, are written from a variety of perspectives -- anthropologists, sociologists, fiction writers, historians, health care activists, political scientists, to name a few." -- Ohioana Quarterly
"Poring through the book's pages, readers, Appalachian readers especially, will experience a wide range of reactions -- anger, humor and pride foremost among them." -- Paintsville Herald
"Containing essays written by some of the region's leading scholars, activists, and artists -- the list of contributors itself testifies to the creativity of the people in the region and to the contributions Appalachians have made to the nation." -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
"These important, provocative essays are an outstanding contribution to Appalachian studies scholarship, but they are also quite accessible to non-specialists." -- Tennessee Librarian
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50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trying to Debunk the last "PC" Prejudice,
By "goodyoungboy" (East Kentucky) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Back Talk from Appalachia: Confronting Stereotypes (Paperback)
Having lived in the Northeast and Upper Midwest for most of my adult life, it was with some trepidation that I accepted a position as a doc at a Southern Appalachian hospital. To deal with my cognitive dissonance, I purchased this book and was reassured. Now, after months of working and living in Appalachia, I can only agree: My anecdotal experiences support Backtalk from Appalachia. The region is populated, for the most part, with people with a refreshingly strong sense of home and place, and an appreciation for nature--imagine that! There are professional, blue collar, unemployed, and everything-in-between folks down here. The bell curve of IQs around here is normally distributed: The oft-repeated Deliverance nonsense has no place outside of the book and the film. So, if, like me, you have tired of the big cities with their congestion, pollution, and crime, come on out here for a visit. You might decide to stay.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
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This review is from: Back Talk from Appalachia: Confronting Stereotypes (Paperback)
This book was fine for using for school. Even though it has alot of markings in it, the pages and binding are in pretty good shape. So,the shape was represented correctly by the seller.
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This book began as a series of responses to a play, Robert Schenkkan's The Kentucky Cycle, and to the latest round of stereotyping of Appalachian peoples and their cultures that such works exemplify. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, West Virginia, Clay County, United States, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Press, Harry Caudill, John Fox, Rebecca Harding Davis, Tennessee Press, Robert Schenkkan, Urban Appalachian Council, Press of Kentucky, Li'l Abner, Night Comes, Recycling Kentucky, William Faulkner, New River, Pike County, Temple Univ, Dwight Billings, Mary Anne, The Beverly Hillbillies, Our Mind, African American New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
- Tangled Roots Of Feminism,: Environmentalism & Appalachian Literature (Ethnicity & Gender In Appalach) by Elizabeth S.D. Engelhardt in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
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