Literature Appetizer
Ben Kusserow
A Northern Appalachian's Journey

Recently I just finished Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence. In it, he recounts the complex relationship he still has with the land as a Northern Appalachian. Typically when I finish a book I write a Literature Appetizer to get people a taste of what they will find. Since his book is such a personal journey, I would not do it justice by recounting his life.

Many of his experiences reflect my own experience growing up in Western PA. So instead of condensing his journey, I thought I would condense mine.

The Hero’s Journey is a common literary structure where the hero of the story departs home to do a great act, and then returns victorious. My Northern Appalachian Journey is a bit different, but has a similar structure of three parts; Living in Water, Succeeding by Leaving, and The Mountains are Calling.

A Northern Appalachian's Journey

Pawpaw

The Cult of Pawpaw

The Cult of Pawpaw

In fall of 2021, Serafina came home from a festival out in York, PA with a strange fruit. She called it a Pawpaw, and said it is a native fruit to this region folks are trying to bring back. I had never heard of it before, and she shared some with me to taste. It is a ‘lima bean’ shaped fruit, green skin, with a custard like inside.

Jump to 2023, where we were both standing cold and wet in the freezing rain, to bring back a bounty of Pawpaws to Pittsburgh. Just what is it about this fruit that folks go crazy for?