Loving Mountains, Loving Men

by Mann, Jeff

• ISBN13: 9780821416501
• ISBN10: 0821416502
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-31
• Publisher: Ohio Univ Pr

Summary

Loving Mountains, Loving Men is the first book-length treatment of a topic rarely discussed or examined before: gay life in Appalachia. Appalachians are known for their love of place, yet many gays and lesbians from the mountains flee to urban areas. Jeff Mann tells the story of one who left and then returned, who insists on claiming and celebrating both regional and erotic identities. In memoir and poetry, Mann describes his life as an openly gay man who has remained true to his mountain roots. Mann first describes his upbringing in Hinton, a small town in southern West Virginia, as well as his realization of his homosexuality, his early experiences of homophobia, his coterie of supportive lesbian friends, and his initial attempts to escape his native region in hopes of finding a freer life in urban gay communities. Mann depicts his difficult search for a romantic relationship, the family members who have given him the strength to defy convention, his anger against religious intolerance and the violence of homophobia, and his love for the rich folk culture of the Highland South. His character and values shaped by the mountains, Mann has reconciled his homosexuality with both traditional definitions of Appalachian manhood and his own attachment to home and kin. Loving Mountains, Loving Men is the compelling, universal story of making peace with oneself and the wider world. AUTHOR INFORMATION---Jeff Mann is a professor of creative writing at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. He is the author of a collection of poetry, Bones Washed with Wine, and a memoir, Edge. SIDEBAR QUOTE---"The sheer beauty of the prose in the memoir and the language of the poetry is incredible. This is one of the great watershed books of Appalachian literature. Its contribution to the field of Appalachian studies and gay/gender studies is significant." ---Danny L. Miller, coeditor of An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature

Author Biography

Jeff Mann is a professor of creative writing at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. He is the author of a collection of poetry, Bones Washed with Wine, and a memoir, Edge.

Table of Contents

List of Plates	ix
Preface: Constructing Heaven	xi
Acknowledgments	xvii
One	1	(32)
Hinton and Hejira	5	(6)
Emory and Henry	11	(12)
Appalachian Beard Stubble	23	(2)
Beginner's Wine	25	(2)
Emerald Whisperings	27	(3)
Sawdust in Belly Hair	30	(3)
Two	33	(46)
A Red-Gold Mustache	37	(2)
Remember This Healing	39	(2)
Wintry Woods	41	(1)
Two Lovers	42	(3)
Sunset over Hinton	45	(3)
Incandescence	48	(3)
Displaced Seeds	51	(3)
Icefall	54	(3)
Bodies We Have Loved	57	(2)
Rotting Crab Apples	59	(2)
Heart's Famine	61	(2)
Waiting for Crocuses and Silver-Maple Bloom	63	(2)
A Mustache Moist with Manna	65	(4)
Distance the Skeleton	69	(2)
The Symmetries of Happiness	71	(2)
A Feast Together	73	(1)
Not Enough	74	(3)
When All Goes Well	77	(2)
Three	79	(34)
Love Made Solid	83	(5)
Firefly Porches	88	(1)
Fried Chicken and Spoon Bread	89	(11)
Her Kitchen's Square of Sunlight	100	(2)
Dispersed Consanguine Fires	102	(3)
How the Wilderness Feeds Us	105	(1)
Loss and the Daily Biscuit	106	(2)
Closet Dark	108	(5)
Four	113	(20)
Witness	119	(3)
Streaming Fire	122	(5)
Ephemera	127	(6)
Five	133	(38)
Finding Solace	137	(3)
Even in Heaven We Cannot Forget	140	(4)
Regional Oddities	144	(3)
So Many Gifts	147	(2)
They Show Me What I Know	149	(2)
See How Brave the Young Become	151	(2)
The Shaky High Wire between Subcultures	153	(4)
Saving What We Can	157	(5)
New Fathoms of Thirst	162	(1)
How to Live with Peace	163	(1)
God's Bearded Face	164	(2)
The Silver in My Beard	166	(5)
Six: Poems	171