Where Moral Authority Begins: Part II: Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina
This essay originally appeared in Openings: Moral Authority on Substack. Triggers. Spoilers. In “Where Moral Authority Begins: Part II,” I am curious about what truth costs a child and her family in Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina. I have obsessed over this novel for years, not only the story but also the ... Read More
Where Moral Authority Begins: Part I: Toni Morrison’s Beloved
This essay originally appeared in Openings: Moral Authority on Substack. Triggers. Spoilers. I am curious about moral authority in stories and how moral authority presents within openings. Morality is a central function of stories that I find most engaging, in particular, the moral implications surrounding gender-violence and abuse. I prefer stories ... Read More
Appalachian Literary Fiction
Appalachian literary fiction draws me to it, the language and texture, the attention to place, gender, socioeconomics and the complicated relationships it forms—family, land, labor, religion and survival. Having grown up as a young girl in northern Appalachia, I return particularly to writers who resist flattening the region or its ... Read More