Murray State’s Appalachian Writers’ series returns this Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Curris Center Theater.
Jennifer Haigh is this year’s recipient of the Clinton and Mary Opal Moore Appalachian Writer’s Residency. Born in a coal town in Pennsylvania and now living in Boston, Massachusetts, Haigh has written seven novels and an array of short fiction works. Her latest book, “Mercy Street” (2022), deals with the divisive issue of abortion.
“Mercy Street” follows Claudia Birch, who works as a counselor at Mercy Street Women’s Clinic. When aggression rises with anti-abortion protestors, Claudia and the book’s other characters must navigate the complicated web of women’s rights, ideology, race, poverty, religion and patriarchy that surrounds abortion.
Among its many accolades, “Mercy Street” received high praise in a New York Times book review from author Richard Russo.
“The book is wonderfully entertaining, boasting a large, varied cast of vividly drawn characters whose company readers will find deeply rewarding, in no small part because lurking in their shadows is the devastatingly wry humor of their creator,” Russo said in his review.
The residency and reading series are made possible by gifts from the Moore family. In the 1950s, Clinton and Mary Opal Moore moved from the edge of eastern Kentucky to Paducah. The Moore’s children started the residency to commemorate their parents’ lifelong love of their Appalachian roots and connect writers across Kentucky.
Kala Dunn, director of development for the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, works with the Moore family to facilitate the program’s funding. She said the Moore family has used this series to make a legacy of good in their parents’ names.
“They really value the connection between Appalachia and this area,” Dunn said. “We have so many excellent students who come to Murray State from (Appalachia), and I think it’s inspiring to hear authors with similar backgrounds to their own. I am so grateful to them for providing the funding for making this happen.”
The residency’s first recipient was Robert Morgan, author of “Gap Creek” (2013) and a large collection of poetry, fiction and nonfiction works. Since then, the program has welcomed influential Appalachians like Robert Gipe, Crystal Wilkinson, Silas House and Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle to share their stories with Murray State students.
Beyond visiting campus for the reading series, these writers have been granted week-long stays in the Moore family’s cabin off Lake Barkley.
“It’s a chance for the writer not only to get to speak to students but also to have some time to work on their own material,” Dunn said. “I think because Jayne Moore Waldrop is an author herself, she knew how important that would be to (the recipients).”
Haigh’s lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Admission is free.
“There is something really special about hearing an author read from her own work, like going to hear a live concert,” Dunn said. “It always is a totally different immersive experience. Anyone who is a reader or an aspiring writer would enjoy an event like this, just to see that it’s possible; it’s not some dream that can never be realized.”
