of my returning accent

I was born in the place of the
Chattanooga ChooChoo
near where you can stand on Lookout Mountain
& see seven states at once!

Later, I was raised up in the land of Jo Carson
& Dolly Parton
Eastman Kodak Chemical & the Meade Paper Companies
I grew up distrusting the heritage of Country music
but secretly loved Funfest
& wanted desperately for the KKK to have been spawned
in some other state

When I went to college
& I was trying to become a citizen of the world
I tried very hard to tell witty jokes with dry humor
to speak intelligently
& write poetry in French
French was sometimes hard because of the accent marks

Somewhere during that time, I lost my accent

When I was ready to fly on my own
at the age of 23
I landed in the place of
Nikki Giovanni & the Kind
The same mountains cut ever so slightly
different from my home
I fell in love with coffee shops & knick knacks
I discovered couscous & pine nuts
& tried very hard not to think about the fact that
I was falling in love with a place that once had itself
drawn out of Appalachia

For ten weeks this summer
I've been living in the place of
the UMW (which no longer means United Methodist Women to me)
of Mother Jones
of Wendell Berry & Bob Edwards & Ralph Stanley
of my returning accent & & &

& I realize now that I've learned how to draw myself back into Appalachia

Next spring, a new adventure's on the horizon
I'll pack up my tiny car again
and strike out for the land of
Bob Dylan & Garrison Keillor
Dr. Seuss & Mary Tyler Moore

I wonder what impact this new place will have on me...
Will it leave accent marks on my sentences?
Will I be as inclined to write poetry across my skin?
Will I find that I am yet again able to call this strange, new place
home?

all good things must come to an end

I know, I know, it's been a while. I've been remiss in my duties as a travelloguer (?). I've been busy. I made my way back to that other 'burg for one thing. Too surreal.

My last few weeks at Appalshop have contained a lot of ups and downs. I helped to write the Kentucky Arts Council final report, took a crack at the first draft of an annual campaign letter, and made great strides to replace myself. I have to admit that I felt kind of proud that the organization claimed that I'd accomplished so much work in a position that never existed before that I should find someone else to keep doing it.

I watched some amazing struggle happen over whether or not Appalshop should continue this festival they have every year called Seedtime. It was tough to be in this place of having virtually one foot out the door but watching a conversation about the future of a place that I really love and having a lot of opinions about that matter but feeling like I probably shouldn't say too much about it and silently hoping that what I wanted would be what the group decided. It was. The festival will continue. Hooray!

My last weekend in Whitesburg was spent with a gentle, restful, sad, tired, and celebratory spirit. My ears are feeling congested again, so I didn't go swimming for a week in the cement pond. But I did enjoy lots of hang time with friends. We went up to the lake on top of Pine Mountain and hung out like beach bunnies. One friend accidentally caught a 3 pound bass while she was messing around with a fishing pole. I had to laugh because of all the people who would fish all day trying to catch one and not accomplish their goal. It was also funny because even though we had 2 camera phones and a digital camera there, we forgot to take a picture.

I also spent some "alone time" and some cleaning/packing time. It was hard to believe I was boxing up food that it seemed only yesterday I had put in the cupboard. It's amazing how quickly this two months has flown by. Even as I write this, I realize that these are words are spoken by anyone, everywhere, all the time. They're ubiquitous words. We all have this odd relationship with time. Sometimes I feel as if I fall in and out of time...

Anyway, I don't know if I'll feel compelled to write on this again before it will be more like "from Blacksburg to Whitesburg and back to Blacksburg again." I do have some pictures to post when I have time. Thanks for keeping up with my summer adventures. Perhaps it's time for you to write to me and tell me about your journeys.

All good things.

Shannon