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I Hate It Here, Please Vote for Me

Essays on Rural Political Decay

Matthew Ferrence

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English
West Virginia University Press
01 August 2024
When a progressive college professor runs for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a deeply conservative rural district, he loses. That’s no surprise. But the story of how Ferrence loses and, more importantly, how American political narratives refuse to recognize the existence and value of non-conservative rural Americans offers insight into the political morass of our nation. 

In essays focused on showing goats at the county fair, planting native grasses in the front lawn, the political power of poetry, and getting wiped out in an election, Ferrence offers a counter-narrative to stereotypes of monolithic rural American voters and emphasizes the way stories told about rural America are a source for the bitter divide between Red America and Blue America.
By:  
Imprint:   West Virginia University Press
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 210mm,  Width: 140mm, 
Weight:   454g
ISBN:   9781959000273
ISBN 10:   1959000276
Pages:   228
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Further / Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Acknowledgements 1. Welcome to the Party 2. I Hate It Here, Please Vote for Me 3. The Poetics of Politics 4. Migrations 5. The Political Grammar of the County Fair 6. Spiritual Dangers 7. Violence 8. Crown Vetch 9. This Is Why We Lose 10. Succession 11. Imagination

Matthew Ferrence lives and writes at the confluence of Appalachia and the Rust Belt. With I Hate It Here, Please Vote For Me, he has completed a trilogy (of sorts) focused on rural Appalachian identity and political narrative. He teaches creative writing at Allegheny College.

Reviews for I Hate It Here, Please Vote for Me: Essays on Rural Political Decay

"""A direct look at the media narratives of politics. Ferrence wrestles with how he understands himself as an individual, a demographic, and then as Aristotle's political animal. It is a fascinating look at the making of political and cultural tropes from the inside."" --Edward Karshner, author of Writing the Self: A Phenomenological Approach to the Composition Process ""Existing in the same context of What You're Getting Wrong About Appalachia and Appalachian Reckoning as an attempt to both understand the shifted political sands of place, and to assert a theory as to why, this book is an opportunity for people to deepen their understanding of rural people and politics."" --Neema Avashia, author of Another Appalachia: Growing Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place"


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