Abstract
Robertson explores Appalachia, tracing the region’s gothic strains from the stereotypical notions of the hillbilly to the long history of capitalist exploitation and environmental disasters. Focusing on writers including novelists Ron Rash, Ann Pancake and Glenn Taylor, and poets Judy Jordan and Rose McLarney, the chapter examines the ways in which contemporary authors utilise gothic conventions to expose the devastating effects of strip-mining and the construction of big dams. Robertson offers an engaging discussion of Appalachian gothic as a politicised form of counter-narrative that challenges the culturally dominant myths of the region and demands a re-examination of Appalachia not merely as a victim of capitalist greed but also as a site of resistance.
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- 1.
For more information about the Shelton Laurel massacre, see John C. Inscoe and Gordon B. McKinney’s, The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina in the Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000.
- 2.
Appalachian Outlaws. “About the Series,” n.d. History. Web 28 May 2015.
- 3.
Frank X. Walker home page. “About Frank,” n.d. Web. 28 May 2015.
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Further Reading
Anolik, R. B. (2004). Introduction: The dark unknown. In R. B. Anolik & D. L. Howard (Eds.), The gothic other: Racial and social constructions in the literary imagination (pp. 1–14). Jefferson: McFarland. This is a useful introduction to the wider contexts of gothic writing.
Bell, S. E., & Braun, Y. A. (2010). Coal, identity, and the gendering of environmental justice activism on central Appalachia. Gender and Society, 24(6), 794–813. This study provides key insights into the nature of environmentalism in the region’s coal fields.
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Robertson, S. (2016). Gothic Appalachia. In: Castillo Street, S., Crow, C. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the Southern Gothic. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47774-3_9
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