Chapter 28 Quiz: Appalachian Literature — Writing the Mountains from Within

Multiple Choice

1. The "burden of representation" described in this chapter refers to:

a) The physical difficulty of carrying books through mountainous terrain b) The pressure on Appalachian writers to have their work read as statements about the entire region, not just individual stories c) The economic burden of publishing books in a poor region d) The requirement that Appalachian writers only write about positive aspects of mountain life

2. James Still's River of Earth (1940) is significant because:

a) It was the first novel ever set in Appalachia b) It depicted a coal mining family in eastern Kentucky with a precision and complexity that refused to reduce its characters to stereotypes c) It was a bestselling romance novel set in the mountains d) It was the first Appalachian novel to be translated into other languages

3. Harriette Arnow's The Dollmaker (1954) tells the story of:

a) A Kentucky mountain woman whose family migrates to wartime Detroit, where she loses the competence, identity, and connection to land that defined her in the mountains b) A Nashville singer who returns to the mountains after a failed career c) A coal miner's daughter who escapes poverty through education d) A Cherokee woman fighting to preserve her community's land during the Trail of Tears

4. The chapter argues that The Dollmaker was neglected by the literary establishment because of biases related to:

a) The novel's excessive length and complex plot structure b) Class, gender, and region — the novel was about working-class people, centered on a woman's experience, and came from an Appalachian writer c) The novel's controversial political content d) The author's refusal to promote the book

5. Breece D'J Pancake is known for:

a) A large body of novels spanning several decades b) Twelve short stories of extraordinary precision set in rural West Virginia, published before his death at twenty-six c) Creating the genre of Appalachian science fiction d) Founding the first creative writing program in Appalachia

6. Denise Giardina's novels Storming Heaven and The Unquiet Earth are notable for:

a) Depicting the history of the Appalachian coalfields through multiple narrators representing different racial and ethnic perspectives b) Being the first Appalachian novels to be adapted into films c) Their focus on Cherokee history before European contact d) Their avoidance of political themes in favor of romantic storylines

7. Lee Smith's Fair and Tender Ladies is structured as:

a) A series of police reports about a mountain crime b) An epistolary novel — a novel told entirely through letters written by a mountain woman named Ivy Rowe across the span of her life c) A series of interviews with coal miners d) A collection of mountain folktales retold for modern audiences

8. The term "Affrilachian" was coined by:

a) Crystal Wilkinson, in her novel The Birds of Opulence b) Frank X Walker, to name the experience of being both Black and Appalachian c) Cecil Sharp, during his folk song collecting trips d) James Still, to describe the diversity of eastern Kentucky

9. Crystal Wilkinson's literary contribution is significant primarily because:

a) She was the first woman to publish fiction about Appalachia b) She centered the lives of Black women in rural Kentucky, insisting that Black Appalachian experience is a legitimate and essential part of the Appalachian literary tradition c) She invented a new form of poetry based on mountain dialects d) She was the first Appalachian writer to win a major national literary prize

10. The chapter describes a tension in Appalachian literature between:

a) Fiction and nonfiction b) Writing for outsiders who need to be educated about the region and writing for one's own people who need to be seen c) Novels and short stories d) Male writers and female writers

Short Answer

11. Explain why the chapter describes the "local color writers" of the nineteenth century as creating a problem that all subsequent Appalachian writers have had to contend with. What stereotypes did the local color writers establish, and how do these stereotypes affect Appalachian writers today?

12. Compare the literary approaches of James Still and Harriette Arnow. Still wrote about life within the mountains; Arnow wrote about leaving them. How do their different subject positions produce different kinds of insight into the Appalachian experience?

13. Describe the Affrilachian Poets movement — its origins, its goals, and its impact on Appalachian literature and Appalachian identity. Why was the creation of a new word ("Affrilachian") important to the movement?

14. The chapter discusses several contemporary Appalachian writers who are expanding the tradition in new directions. Choose one writer mentioned in the chapter (other than those covered in the case studies) and explain how their work extends or challenges the Appalachian literary tradition.

Essay Question

15. This chapter argues that Appalachian literature is "one of the most vital regional literary traditions in America" and that it has been shaped by two persistent tensions: the tension between writing for outsiders and writing for one's own people, and the tension between the dominant narrative of white Appalachia and the multiracial reality of the region.

Write an essay (500-750 words) that evaluates this argument. Address the following: How have specific writers discussed in this chapter navigated the insider/outsider tension? How has the emergence of Black Appalachian writers changed the tradition? Do these tensions weaken or strengthen the literature they produce?

Use evidence from at least three writers discussed in this chapter to support your argument.