A Statement About Our Name

A Statement About Our Name

When Appalachian Heritage was founded in 1973 by the poet Albert Stewart, it offered a haven for regional writers whose work had often been overlooked and dismissed by literary gatekeepers. Twelve years later, the publication found a permanent home at Berea College in a partnership that fused Stewart’s welcoming vision with the mission of abolitionist John G. Fee, who founded the institution in 1855 as the first integrated, coeducational college in the South on the principle that “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.”

Over the past few years we have increasingly noticed that our name has sparked confusion for some who assume that as a publication containing the word “heritage,” we somehow stand for, at best, a simplistic view of Appalachia as a place frozen in a quaint, bucolic, homogenous past or, at worst, a particular ultra-conservative brand of politics and identity. In response to our social media posts, including some promoting work we have published by writers of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community, we have seen an alarming increase in comments that are derogatory, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic, and misogynist in nature.

While we have been having conversations about a new name over the last couple of years, now seems like a good time to make this statement. In recent weeks, from coast to coast and across the Appalachian region, we have witnessed extraordinary, moving, and necessary demonstrations of protest and outrage directed at police brutality and systemic racism. We as a publication stand on the side of justice and in solidarity with our parent institution’s founding principle of equality and support for marginalized communities.

Assumptions about our name are in stark contrast not only to our core values as a publication, but also to the diverse identities and complexities of Appalachia we strive to highlight. It has raised the question of how we might honor our publication’s history and founding while remaining true to the progressive principles we have long held dear.

Following a year of consultations with Berea College administration and informal conversations with some of the region’s writers, we are announcing that from our upcoming issue forward we will be known as Appalachian Review. This transition will allow us to maintain our Appalachian orientation as intended by our founding editor while also making clear our vision as a contemporary literary magazine: to “showcase the work of emerging and established writers throughout Appalachia and beyond, offering readers literature that is thoughtful, innovative, and revelatory.”

We will always honor our magazine’s founder, Albert Stewart, and teach others about his important contributions to the study and literature of our region. In moving forward we also plan to adopt the motto of the Berea College Loyal Jones Appalachian Center: Tradition. Diversity. Change. This addition will serve as a reminder of our history and the values reflected in our mission, as well as linking us more closely to the LJAC itself.

We want to be crystal clear in our values. We celebrate an Appalachia that is inclusive and welcoming—where Black lives matter, where the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and immigrants have a place at the literary table. We want to publish even more work reflecting those voices and experiences, which have always been integral to Appalachia, and to remember that we are, indeed, one blood.

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