Fairmont State literary celebration allows writers to rededicate themselves to the art

Oct. 23—FAIRMONT — In a literary landscape dominated by giants in New York and California, Fairmont State University's Kestrel Literary Journal still provides a place on the literary bookshelf for Appalachian voices.

"The literary culture focuses on a lot of big name universities, big name magazines, these huge things," Ian Williams, poet and Fairmont State Alumnus, said. "I think a lot of people, especially in Appalachia, get overlooked and I really appreciate that we have a magazine. The Kestrel does a really special job highlighting these voices and celebrating the work that Appalachians are doing."

Williams and several others gathered at the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center Friday evening to celebrate the 49th issue of the journal, which is published twice a year. It's also the Kestrel's 30th year. Williams himself was published in this cycle's issue. He has a book of poetry coming out in December, called Every Wreckage published by Fernwood Press.

The celebration included readings from several of the writers published in this edition, including Artist-in-Residence Patricia Foster.

Donna Long, the Kestrel's editor-in-chief, said the journal publishes poetry, fiction, translation, creative nonfiction, visual art and reviews. She's been at the helm of the Kestrel since 2008. The journal receives about 2,000 submissions a year. Between her, the other editors and student interns, the submissions get whittled down to the chosen slate of entries that will appear in the finished book.

"We do the production ourselves as well," Long said. "Our printer is out of Minnesota, it's called Bookmobile. So, we get it all together, send it off and keep our fingers crossed that it will come back beautiful. And it always does."

Long said that selecting what enters the finished product comes down to each editor's subjective taste, which can fluctuate even as much as day by day. One of the things she tells students in the English classes she teaches at the university is to not take rejection personally, because the business as a whole is very subjective.

For her part, Long said she enjoys nonfiction, especially essays that really invite her to engage with the sense of place and character, and with what the writer is learning about themselves as they take their reader along on the same journey.

Keeping the journal in a physical form is important to her too, because a lot of writers see writing as an artform. Keeping that artform alive and accessible to readers is important to her. Providing a venue for the art form is one of the tasks of the journal, which is why Long has worked hard to keep printing costs down so the Kestrel can continue to live in print.

Aside from providing a spot for Appalachian voices on the bookshelf, it also serves as an entryway for the rest of the world to come to West Virginia.

"Bringing those international voices to West Virginia is really cool," she said. "I think it sort of allows us to expand what people think about when they think about West Virginia, right? We are also the only print journal in West Virginia supported by an institution of higher learning."

The celebration also marked another milestone. Suzanne Heagy, the fiction editor, is stepping down after this issue. She read some excerpts from a her book that is coming out soon.

Heagy's own involvement in the literary world didn't begin until she was 31, when she went to a two-year college as a nontraditional student. There, she submitted work to her school's literary journal. From there, she followed a path leading through several literary journals, until she ended up in grad school at the University of Milwaukee, where she was fiction editor for the Cream City Review. She credits that experience for landing her the spot as editor post graduation at The Kestrel.

Small literary journals have a place when it comes to providing new talent a way to boost themselves into the publishing world.

"Often when you're a beginner writer you probably start with small journals and gain experience," she said. "And then, you extend your publishing connections beyond the small journal world."

The celebration itself is almost like a sacred ceremony, Heagy said. Reading their work publicly allows the audience to internalize the writer's words and ideas. She said it always leaves her feeling renewed and refreshed, as if she was rededicating her life to the arts.

Although Heagy departs, the Kestrel will continue providing a place for new voices to gather. She looks forward to what the future will bring.

"It's been really rewarding hard work. Sometimes struggle, but definitely worth it," she said. "I certainly hope I can pass the reigns onto a fiction editor who loves the journal as much as I do."

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com