Featured speaker Dr. Allison Carey’s topic will be “LGBTQ Literature in Appalachia.” Carey is an associate professor in the Department of English at Marshall.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Francis-Booth Experimental Theatre on Marshall’s Huntington campus.
“I’ve focused on authors who are drawing on the tradition of Appalachian literature, like love of family, the love of the land and a deep appreciation of food, but they are also dealing with very contemporary themes of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identification,” Carey said. “In some cases, food operates to bring families together, especially across generations, especially family members who might see sexuality differently.”
“It’s key that we look at how these Appalachian authors more recently have been connecting issues of food and sexuality.”
Dr. Cody Lumpkin, visiting assistant professor with Marshall’s Department of English; Jeff Mann, associate professor of creative writing at Virginia Tech; and Julia Watts, author, will be respondents at the event.
Carey said she will speak about themes from Mann’s “Loving Mountains, Loving Men,” Watts’ “The Kind of Girl I Am,” and a number of essays and short stories from author Carter Sickles. Mann will also be presenting a public reading from his works as part of the Department of English’s A.E. Stringer Visiting Writers Series at 7 p.m. in the Shawkey Room Tuesday, April 12.
Carey received her Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She teaches courses including Appalachian literature, English education, film, and children’s and young adult literature.
The Sarah Denman Faces of Appalachia Symposium is cosponsored by the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Gender in Appalachia (CSEGA), Intercultural Affairs, the Marshall University Department of English, the Marshall University Sexuality Studies Program, and University Libraries.
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Photo: Dr. Allison Carey will be the featured speaker at the Sarah Denman Faces of Appalachia Symposium Monday, April 11.