Huntington Times

Dr. Allison Carey, a professor and chair of the Department of English at Marshall University, will present her recent book "Doubly Erased: LGBTQ Literature in Appalachia" on October 30. The event is part of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Quality Initiative at Marshall University and will take place at 4 p.m. in the Drinko Library Atrium.

Carey's book explores poetry and prose by LGBTQ authors from Appalachia, focusing on themes such as place, family, sexuality, gender, and religion. She aims to highlight the diversity within the Appalachian region. “Appalachia is a rich and complex region that has been all too often portrayed as monolithic and homogenous," Carey stated. She hopes attendees will leave with an interest in reading works by LGBTQ Appalachian authors.

The inspiration for Carey's book stemmed from a lack of scholarly work on this subject. While writing a conference paper about an award-winning young adult novel featuring a lesbian protagonist from Kentucky, she discovered minimal research had been done on LGBTQ literature in Appalachia. “I found that very little had been published on this topic," she said.

The presentation is free to attend and will be livestreamed online at https://www.marshall.edu/livestream/. It is sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs as part of Marshall University's HLC Quality Initiative.