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

Around the World in 80 Trees: Literature Appetizer

Around the World in 80 Trees: Literature Appetizer

Charismatic Megafauna is a classification of animals that environmentalists and conservationists use to simplify a complex issue. There is a reason “save the polar bears” or “save the whales” are easier rallying cries for the public than “we need to limit CO2 emission by a certain percentage.” It is easier for the general public to see and understand a problem by describing how it impacts the large animals on our planet.

This is an odd classification because the only thing they have in common is “being big.” You wouldn’t say a lion is more closely related to an elephant than a housecat, but housecats are not in this category. What makes it odd is we classify all ‘charistmatic megaflora’ into one word: trees.

Forest Shuffle

Forest Shuffle

While on a four hour drive along the forested roads of Pennsylvania, I was listening to an episode of Talk Cardboard. Their board game recommendation for that episode was Forest Shuffle. That night, when I finally had time to look more into the game, was when I realized this game was designed specifically for me.

Before diving into the game, come take a stroll along the paths that converged into this experience.

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?

The Mountain Dulcimer

The Mountain Dulcimer

In the summer of 2015, I was sitting on the edge of Diablo Lake. My first assignment of my residency program was to write a poem titled “Where I’m From.” While my cohort talked about this mountain range, or that river valley, mine was completely devoid of any physical place. I mentioned the music I grew up with, my family, and the things I had done. But I didn’t think of myself having a connection to the land.

That poem started my search into what it means to be Appalachian. In trying to reconnect with my heritage, I found the only instrument “born from these hills”: the mountain dulcimer. So in the summer of 2020, while the world was on lockdown, I bought a cheap one and started to play. Worst case scenario I spent $80 on something to hang on my wall. Fast forward to last month where I spent a week playing the dulcimer with others and learning about the deep history of this instrument.

Habitats of the World: Literature Appetizer

Habitats of the World: Literature Appetizer

Burnout is a serious issue among educators. It is also a serious issue among those studying the Climate Crisis. During my time on the Left Coast we had many discussions on how to prevent burnout as Environmental Educators.

While I stand behind everything I have said on this blog, over the past year my tone has become more and more frustrated when talking about the planet. I noticed the signs of burnout, and set about the following courses of action:

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Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan: Literature Appetizer

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Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan: Literature Appetizer

I learned to read much later than than expected. Part “I was good at faking it” and part “teacher about to retire just let me play and not do any work in second grade.” Third grade started my long journey with despising the act of reading. It wasn’t until Grad School that I started to enjoy the books and articles that were assigned to me.

One of the things my mom said to me growing up was “Ben, you don’t hate reading. You just haven’t found the right book.” Non-fiction books discussing nature fascinate me. I’m reading a book at the moment about all the habitats in the world, and that is a more gripping read to me than any classic I read in high school. But just as you shouldn’t stick to one genre of music, I thought I should expand what I was reading when I bought Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan.

The Beast in the Garden by David Baron: Literature Appetizer

The Beast in the Garden by David Baron: Literature Appetizer

On the last day of our ten day hike through the North Cascades, we decided to finish with a sunrise. Our last night on the trail we made sure to set everything up clearly so when we went to pack it in the morning, nothing would be misplaced.

Waking up at 3am, we walked slowly through the forest, up the mountain, and ascended just as the sun was rising. As much as this sounds like a fairy tale, we also could have been in significant danger. Yes, there are the usual risks such as dehydration or twisting an ankle, but we were also in mountain lion territory. As a corpuscular hunter, we were walking at the exact time they love to hunt. To mitigate being a cat’s meal, we made sure to always be within eyesight of one another as well as talk (or sing) loudly.

Dinosaurs by Michael J. Benton: Literature Appetizer

Dinosaurs by Michael J. Benton: Literature Appetizer

My parents have often joked that I grew up backwards. As a child I was quiet, serious, and always followed the rules without question. I often scolded my classmates for not doing what they were supposed to. As I have grown, I have found expressed my passion for certain subjects more and more. One of the most prominent things I get excited about is dinosaurs.

How could you not get excited about dinosaurs?

Nature: The Stories We Tell, and Don't

Nature: The Stories We Tell, and Don't

Recently, my father wrote a book. It is a great dive into questioning how we think about the Gospel. “The Gospel is the story we tell about Jesus and the Good News” is one of the main arguments in his book. Stories change overtime, depending on the teller and listeners. I do not have the authority to speak on the Gospel, but I have studied another topic that is just a story we tell; nature.

When I say nature is a story, I don’t mean that the trees don’t exist. I don’t mean that the mountains formed over millions of years because we needed a good backdrop for a picture. What I mean is the way we describe our relationship to the rest of the living organisms on this planet reflects our values and mindsets as a society.

This isn’t a new idea, and I first heard some of these ideas when I was in school. But this isn’t going to be an academic deep dive. I want to tell you exactly what I said to my co worker when we entered this room earlier this month.