Slate Graffiti

Abstract

Although sometimes the subject of scholarly and artistic publication, the complexity of vanishing cultures in Appalachia often defies exposition. The elusive identities of the inhabitants are articulated within this collection of poems which embody the worldview with themes of religion, labor, and nature (environment). The poems create a nexus of meaning, particularly when the theme of nature is tied to labor (mining and logging) and when the Christian faith plays a role in the lives of the residents. There is a mythical theme that resurfaces, with references to Theseus and Sisyphus, to reflect the antiquity of the mountain range itself and the way that many of the residents are lost in labor and time, byproducts of previous American epochs. In addition to more objective depictions, there is a personal voice that embodies the author's two decades spent in Appalachia, with particular focus on nature.