I am from Louisville, Kentucky--a place surprisingly urban that's constantly working to overcome not-always-insulting Kentucky stereotypes. Throughout my upbringing I spent a good amount of time outside the city visiting my grandfather's farm and hanging out with various uncles in various counties. Later I worked on my BA at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, and the two hour drive from home to school was like driving from the North to the South. Within a block radius of the university, meth-labs, pick-up trucks, and Confederate flags punctuated our otherwise typical college culture. I was a ballet student until my sophomore year, at which point I traded in my ballet shoes for books and became an English major.
Now, in Athens, Ohio I attend a university with a Union army monument--a welcomed contrast to the Confederate memorials dotted around Bowling Green, KY.
You seem to have survived Kentucky in one piece. It is a state I'd like to get to know better. The politics there are indeed frightening. I taught Eric Reese's Lost Mountain last term in my eco-308J. It's a powerful work. He lives in Louisville, but the book focuses mostly on eastern Kentucky.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I'll have to check it out. Thanks for recommending it.
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