I originally wrote this as part of my curriculum course at the North Cascades Institute. It is also my paper describing in detail why the poem is my entire teaching philosophy.
Literature Appetizer
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.
