A poet inspired by the history of the Appalachian people will be giving a poetry reading in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium tonight.
Poet Diane Gilliam Fisher's poems provide a glimpse into Appalachia's surprising past.
There's a lot of stereotypes and misrepresentations that occur related to Appalachia
said Mike Hess, assistant South Green coordinator who helped to plan Fisher's visit.
Fisher will read selections from her books Kettle Bottom and One of Everything both of which are influenced by her experiences with the mining culture of West Virginia.
Her most recent book, Kettle Bottom was inspired by the mine wars that occurred in West Virginia during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Kettle bottoms are petrified tree trunks that can fall through mine roofs and crush miners.
It's a collection of poems written in the voices of people who were living in the coal camps in the early 1920s during the mine wars
Fisher said.
The mine wars were a series of strikes with violence between miners and the companies that owned the mines.
Fisher's mother grew up in the area where the mine wars took place. I am a second-generation Appalachian
Fisher said.
She said many of her poems are based on stories that have been passed down through generations and recalled by her friends.
One poem, Milk
is about a young child who is dependent on a stranger for milk because the father squanders his money on alcohol. The father redeems himself by saving the stranger's husband from a cave-in.
It's important for us to understand the region we live in
Hess said.
Following the reading, Fisher will be signing autographs and will have copies of her books for sale.
She will not be giving a lecture, but she will offer a brief explanation of the historical context surrounding her poems.
Copies of her books will be on sale: One of Everything for $14; Kettle Bottom for $15; and Recipes for Blackberry Cake for $6.
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Matt Canady
