Rurality, Gender, and Creative Writing

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session Three
  In Roundtable Session: Representation and Resources in Rural Places (Table 8)

Abstract

This narrative portraiture study examines the writing life of a woman, Summer, who writes creatively in a rural context. Two questions guide this inquiry: What are her critical purposes as a creative writer? How do gender and place intersect in her writing life? Findings indicate that Summer used authorial craft to create aesthetic spaces of resistance as a means of highlighting the commodification of rural spaces and women’s bodies. Creative writing took on the act of witnessing, resisting, and lyrically shaping trauma inflicted on rural lands and women’s bodies. Findings extend previous research that documents the use of creative writing for critical purposes to resist societally imposed identities, labels, and stereotypes based on race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity.

Author

• Honor McElroy, Salisbury University
  Presenting Author