At Home in the Heart of Appalachia...

Front Porch - Graves Farm. Sharp's Chapel, TN. Spring 2009.

I'm revisiting some shots I took this past spring to try and arrange them into a book featuring the poetry of Mr. Jesse Graves. The shots were taken at his parent's home in Sharp's Chapel, and as I look back over them, it really is dawning on me how Jesse's poetry is seamlessly connected to his home place. At first glance this is a shot of a purple chair on a porch, and I guess one can take it in that context...as just that...but as I think about the pictures, they are obviously much more than shots of objects at someone's home...they are part of the Graves' home, part of their history, and part of their future. Who sits in the purple chair? What kind of dogfood is that, and which dog gets what food? The horse's name? When was that porch painted, and what kind of wood was used for the house? What gets talked about at night on that porch? Or, in the morning over coffee? Decaf or regular? I imagine regular...

These are the kinds of things I think about when I take pictures (or look at others' shots), and I'm glad. It gives my brain someplace to be for a good part of my day. Thinking about everyday stuff, and how that's what is most important. This book of poetry will be the first in line of (hopefully many) books produced by REFUSE! Press...a venture brought on by the need to get the everyday into view. There will be more info on that soon enough, but for now I leave you with a purple chair...at home in the Heart of Appalachia...

Links:
Interview with Jesse Graves via Town Creek Poetry
Title taken from the book "At Home in the Heart of Appalachia" by John O'Brien