Electric Dirt Zine and the Queer Appalachia Collective: An Interview with Mamone

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To be queer in the American south is to live in a place where authority denies your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.  

They live where many still celebrate the Confederate flag.  Local preachers threaten them with eternal hellfire, justifying rejection by family and community.  The internet doesn’t reach all of them, and if it did many can’t afford it.  Using a public bathroom can be a matter of life and death.  Hillbilly jokes and shocking images of poverty are the stereotypes the world reflects back on them.  They’re thrown in with the “those hicks” who elected Trump.  But they have to survive at NRA ground zero amid an epidemic of opiate use and overdoses.  They must try to find themselves, to find work, and love, under such adverse conditions few of them are able to flourish, and too many don’t survive. 

As the world frets over America’s new president, we’re all wondering about the alchemy of culture.  Some are moving to red states hoping to help change the demographic and people’s minds.  Some are moving to other countries.  Everyone is wondering how do we rise above the split personality that is America today.  The answer as always is in the hands of writers, artists, filmmakers, musicians and craftspeople whose creations are key to reflecting society and the future.  To change culture change consciousness.  Arguably the greatest social catalyst of the mid 20th century hailed from Tupelo, Mississippi.

One of the failures of today’s American culture is how little encouragement there is for obscure talents.  If you don’t rise through academia, or become a self promoting social media personality, it’s nearly impossible for people to find out you’re there.  That problem is compounded if you live somewhere that rejects not only your creativity, but your very identity.  The zine Electric Dirt and the Queer Appalachia collective that created it open a way to allow us all to discover a new generation of artists, writers and filmmakers from the south and Appalachia.  Living in the jaws of the monster, they will share creations that could not be more timely.  

Electric Dirt zine was inspired by the deaths of two prominent gay artists from the south: Bryn Kelly from Appalachia and Amanda Harris from Arkansas.  In the wake of their loss, reeling from the election, friends of the two writers formed a collective dedicated to helping queer folk in Appalachia and the south find their voices, each other, and an audience.  The zine will be published green and ethically, using local businesses and artisans so as to support promising efforts by gay southerners as well as people of color.

I’m honored to interview Mamone of Electric Dirt and Queer Appalachia.  Mamone is a Grammy Award winning audio engineer and producer.  

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You can contribute to help pay for the creation of the first issue of Electric Dirt zine here: https://www.gofundme.com/publishing-electric-dirt

Find out more, including how to submit your work, here: http://www.queerappalachia.com/

Queer Appalachia on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueersnAppalachia/

Bryn and Amanda
The zine and collective were created in memory of Bryn Kelly and Amanda Harris.

 

Tamra Lucid: Tell us about Queer Appalachia. 

Mamone: Everyone needs to see positive images of themselves represented in media, everyone. Especially after this election cycle, people have been whittled down to stereotypes by the masses. Queer people from these regions are desperate for positive images of themselves that are grounded in truth and reality not stereotypes aimed at selling headlines. The concept of Queer Appalachia grew and evolved over the past year, a new name for the project materialized. As the group of contributors to this work expanded, we found ourselves no longer contained to just Appalachia, but the region of the South as well. These two areas, while having so many distinct differences, also contain many socio-cultural similarities, especially in regards to queer community. Whether in the coalfields of West Virginia or the forests of the long-leaf pine, the earth beneath us queers committed to collective liberation buzzes. We find ourselves both energized and grounded by that electric dirt.

QA started as a zine project, so often the rural parts of Appalachia & the south are depicted through “poverty porn” or by some gate keepers. With under-documented cultures and communities, there is often a gatekeeper. An archivist, sociologist, anthropologist, or historian decides who and what is documented and who or what is omitted from history. Someone with access to higher education and resources that many folks, especially in our impoverished region, do not have. This was an opportunity for misrepresented and under represented people to represent themselves. Shortly after we launched our social media, it became clear that we were going to be more than a zine. There were so many submissions the first few weeks, we had enough for a dozen zines. That’s when the social media became a IRT / IRL zine in and of itself. 

Tell us about Bryn Kelly and how her vision informs Electric Dirt. 

Bryn Kelly was an HIV-positive trans woman that grew up on the West Virginia and Ohio border, she was very accomplished artistically. She was a lambda literary fellow, published author, she had shows at the Whitney Museum & Visual AIDS . Her sense of home place was deeply rooted in her, she made quilts, baked goods from scratch and played the auto-harp in the Brooklyn queer country music scene. When she was introduced to zines when she was 16 years old, she was always coming up with ideas for zines. Electric Dirt in its first incarnations came about when she was 17, it was something that there was always going to be time for, that we would get to. After Bryn’s death in 2016 several of her friends came together to make this zine and honor her memory. 

Please tell us what a Granny Witch is. 

Granny Witches are a blending of Appalachian folklore and a modern day witch. Medicine women, bee charmers, midwives etc. can be traced back to this tradition from the Appalachian Hills to the swamps of the south. There are hard-core practitioners, some that dabble on even some of the traditions have bled through to customs . I grew up with my grandmother putting buckeyes in her pocket & my own for good luck on walks in the woods. I didn’t understand that it traced back to the Granny Witch Tradition until she was dead. The geography of Appalachia is very isolating, and it was even more so 100 or 200 years ago. People in the hollers were so isolated, they relied on midwives and medicine women instead of doctors. These people were very self-reliant they didn’t have a choice, if they didn’t grow it, hunt it and can it, they didn’t eat. Spirituality, folklore, superstition melted into a way of life that lead to customs and traditions like that Buckeye. Bryn Kelly identified as a granny witch. One of the many things that this project has shown me is that there’s so many incarnations of this, dirt witches , swamp witches, bayou witches etc 

What inspired the collaborators who created Electric Dirt to realize Bryn’s vision? 

Luckily Bryn was never short on opinions or expressing them. At the beginning, the people involved grew up with Bryn or were close friends of her. At first our primary goal was to make something that Bryn would love but you could also see her in if you knew her. Bryn was very verbal that she felt “burned by academia”. She felt there needed to be some balance with the academic elitism that often is the loudest voices within marginalize subcultures. She saw academia as an accessibility issue, that was a big part of her identity. All of that gave us a place to start, a foundation if you will. Once we went public and we started to get feedback from the community about what they needed and wanted, it started to grow from there. 

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Amanda Harris

Tell us about Amanda Arkansassy Harris. 

Amanda was southern! She was a brilliant photographer, activist and artist. Her identity politics where the foundation for a lot of her work. Amanda died less than a year after Bryn. Amanda co-curated the national queer arts festival, was a lambda literary award winning author and one of the few people making national work around rural/country queer identities. Everything about her was sparkly, literally and metaphorically. Amanda, like Bryn had a huge heart for her community. The two were good friends. 

How does isolation impact queer community in Appalachia and the South? 

The geography is isolating, sometimes people have to drive a few hours round-trip just to be able to have dinner with friends or go on a date. As we become more dependent on technology the region(s) encounters new types of isolation. Most of the places that we’re talking about are blue-collar working class communities where people might not always have the disposable income for the latest technology and gadgets. Age is also a factor to consider in isolation, not just geographically but with technology also. As we become more dependent on dating / hook up apps, there are less gay bars and meeting spots. Older people that might not feel comfortable with or have access to this technology, folks in the regions can be impacted severely by this type of isolation. 

What are some of the other location specific problems faced by queer folk in Appalachia and in the South in areas such as employment and education but also drug addiction and violence? 

I think most folks are familiar with the broad strokes of this question, Trump built the foundation of his campaign on it. One thing we don’t often hear about are the politicians from this region. One of the main reasons why things have gotten so bad decade after decade have been the long line of politicians who’s own interest outweighed that of the people that voted them in. If any of them were truly different we would see changes in the states from these region(s). My home state: West Virginia, is known as an extraction state, that it’s technical name because of it’s rich minerals in the earth. It’s the last colonial state, the people that own the coal mines, they don’t live there. There are reasons that other economic opportunities don’t come into the state, why coal is the only game in town. Elected officials make a lot of promises to get elected, in the end nothing changes though. If you were to drive through my hometown you would see that coal sponsors everything from the local Little League games to the cities official holiday party.

I have a hope that what has happened in the past year will inspire more people to run for public office. We need less legacies and more people with experience living paycheck to paycheck in those positions of power. Mother Jones (kick ass feminist, workers rights, activist) said “West Virginia has never known piece because it’s never known justice” whenever I read that I think about the political climate in the state.

How has the election of Trump impacted queer people in the South? 

All of these bathroom laws do not just impact the trans people of these communities. When the government, whether it be national or state start policing gender presentation it impacts everyone who doesn’t fit into a cookie-cutter definition. This isn’t just trans gender / gender queer / non-binary folks. Any person entering a woman’s bathroom with short hair that is not dripping in femininity is going to get a double take, hopefully that’s all they’re going to get. Prior to the election over 500 religious freedom/bathroom bills had been filed in the region(s). Folks were on edge before hand, scared to go to the bathroom at places where they were patrons etc. incidences of bullying, harassment and hate crimes were off the charts prior to the election, now they’re through the stratosphere. This has led to people organizing, getting connected and defending their rights. This project has shined a light on a demographic that I wasn’t aware of before that is impacted by Trump’s presidency in the regions in ways that I can’t even fathom. I was always so focused on myself, my reaction to the bumper stickers, my reaction to the signs in the yards as I drove past making me feel not welcome in my own community. I never thought about the kids that were in those cars, that were living in those houses until they started writing in to QA. There’s a whole generation of queer people in these region(s) that think it’s not OK to come out to their family because of this election. I was so concerned about not feeling welcome in my own community I never thought about the people that weren’t even welcome in their own homes & families. The impact of Trump’s presidency on rural queer folks is unfathomable, but especially on children who are in the process of coming out to themselves. 

How has the response to your call for content gone? 

The responses has been overwhelming, it was clear within the first two weeks that we had more content that we knew what to do with. We just started posting it, turning our social media feeds into a constant in real time zine. 

You are crowd sourcing twice what you need for the green ethical first printing of Electric Dirt so that Queer Appalachia can give microgrants to QTBIPOC led projects in the South. Do you have any specific ones in mind? 

We feel the most responsible thing we can do is to get artists in organizations that have already been doing similar work and are far more established then we are to help us put it where it’s most needed. At this time we’re letting folks submit names of organizations and projects for the funds to go to, the collective will vote on it. We feel it’s time that people start having conversations and dialogs around social equity. We believe Whatever access we have, through our work, our projects, our social circles, our community, our bank accounts ~ we need to be able to share those resources and be open to restructuring oppressive systems, especially the ones in our own lives. If we can’t do the very things we are asking the rest of the country to do, how do we expect to change their hearts & minds? If we want the world to change, we have to be willing to change our own world. 

With some queer folk embracing the term hillbilly and others rejecting it how does Electric Dirt navigate that boundary? 

It’s safe to say if you get called that, more than likely it’s an insult. Hillbilly is definitely one of those hot button terms, especially with JD Vance’s best-selling New York Times book Hillbilly Elegy newly out. It’s also one of those terms that you can call yourself but it’s really not OK if someone else does. Our goal is to create a platform and a safe space for the community to be themselves and explore their truth. At the same time we hope to redefine what the word is, away from those negative cultural stereotypes. With the election of President Trump I see more journalism, meme’s and social media fodder that equates his supporters as uneducated, rural, hate mongering, intolerant sheeple. The word hillbilly has become shorthand for so much more than it ever was before.

A priority of the project is to not just show but highlight the social justice based resistance happening in the region. Through feedback I’ve learned this project is important to combat those stereotypes, not just to the rest of the world but also for the folks that live here, to know they’re not alone. As we discussed it to be pretty isolating. It’s hard to have different political views than your family, community and employer. The first week after the election I got dozens of emails from people who were horrified that their family and community had voted their rights and safety away.

Our targeted region(s) have the highest documented conservative Christian population in the country, a dependence on fossil fuels, the highest addiction and fatality from addiction rates in the country, it’s home for the majority of NRA members, confederate history… the people from these regions are in the trenches of the culture war. Perhaps even more so now that a president has gotten himself elected to office under the premise of their best interest. Rural queers have a very unique perspective, they’re able to have a foot in each world. They understand fossil fuels like coal and fracking do a immeasurable damage to the environment. Simultaneously, they know what it’s like to live in poverty, how lucky it is to have that job in the coal mines, how hard you work to keep it etc.

These people understand how much help legalized hemp and legal medical marijuana could be to impoverished regions of Kentucky and West Virginia all the while knowing these regions also have the highest addiction and fatality rates from opioids in the country. They know there are all types of educations, not just the kind that give you diploma. They know how much their home place and region would benefit from high-speed Internet that is a standard everywhere else all while knowing so much of the population can’t afford devices to even use it. Rural queers know how to live with & navigate these hard truths with integrity and style. Now with President Trump in office they have to do it better than before and like their life depends on it because it kind of does.

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Cannabis and Ayahuasca: most people believe they shouldn’t be mixed. Read this personal experience peppered with thoughts from a pro cannabis Peruvian Shaman.

 

Ayahuasca Retreat 101: Everything You Need to Know to Brave the Brew
Ayahuasca has been known to be a powerful medicinal substance for millennia. However, until recently, it was only found in the jungle. Word of its deeply healing and cleansing properties has begun to spread across the world as many modern, Western individuals are seeking spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. More ayahuasca retreat centers are emerging in the Amazon and worldwide to meet the demand.

 

Ayahuasca Helps with Grief
A new study published in psychopharmacology found that ayahuasca helped those suffering from the loss of a loved one up to a year after treatment.

 

Ayahuasca Benefits: Clinical Improvements for Six Months
Ayahuasca benefits can last six months according to studies. Read here to learn about the clinical improvements from drinking the brew.

 

Ayahuasca Culture: Indigenous, Western, And The Future
Ayahuasca has been use for generations in the Amazon. With the rise of retreats and the brew leaving the rainforest how is ayahuasca culture changing?

 

Ayahuasca Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
The Amazonian brew, Ayahuasca has a long history and wide use. Read our guide to learn all about the tea from its beginnings up to modern-day interest.

 

Ayahuasca and the Godhead: An Interview with Wahid Azal of the Fatimiya Sufi Order
Wahid Azal, a Sufi mystic of The Fatimiya Sufi Order and an Islamic scholar, talks about entheogens, Sufism, mythology, and metaphysics.

 

Ayahuasca and the Feminine: Women’s Roles, Healing, Retreats, and More
Ayahuasca is lovingly called “grandmother” or “mother” by many. Just how feminine is the brew? Read to learn all about women and ayahuasca.

What Is the Standard of Care for Ketamine Treatments?
Ketamine therapy is on the rise in light of its powerful results for treatment-resistant depression. But, what is the current standard of care for ketamine? Read to find out.

What Is Dissociation and How Does Ketamine Create It?
Dissociation can take on multiple forms. So, what is dissociation like and how does ketamine create it? Read to find out.

Having Sex on Ketamine: Getting Physical on a Dissociative
Curious about what it could feel like to have sex on a dissociate? Find out all the answers in our guide to sex on ketamine.

Special K: The Party Drug
Special K refers to Ketamine when used recreationally. Learn the trends as well as safety information around this substance.

Kitty Flipping: When Ketamine and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Read to explore the mechanics of kitty flipping.

Ketamine vs. Esketamine: 3 Important Differences Explained
Ketamine and esketamine are used to treat depression. But what’s the difference between them? Read to learn which one is right for you: ketamine vs. esketamine.

Guide to Ketamine Treatments: Understanding the New Approach
Ketamine is becoming more popular as more people are seeing its benefits. Is ketamine a fit? Read our guide for all you need to know about ketamine treatments.

Ketamine Treatment for Eating Disorders
Ketamine is becoming a promising treatment for various mental health conditions. Read to learn how individuals can use ketamine treatment for eating disorders.

Ketamine Resources, Studies, and Trusted Information
Curious to learn more about ketamine? This guide includes comprehensive ketamine resources containing books, studies and more.

Ketamine Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to ketamine has everything you need to know about this “dissociative anesthetic” and how it is being studied for depression treatment.

Ketamine for Depression: A Mental Health Breakthrough
While antidepressants work for some, many others find no relief. Read to learn about the therapeutic uses of ketamine for depression.

Ketamine for Addiction: Treatments Offering Hope
New treatments are offering hope to individuals suffering from addiction diseases. Read to learn how ketamine for addiction is providing breakthrough results.

Microdosing Ketamine & Common Dosages Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing ketamine.

How to Ease a Ketamine Comedown
Knowing what to expect when you come down from ketamine can help integrate the experience to gain as much value as possible.

How to Store Ketamine: Best Practices
Learn the best ways how to store ketamine, including the proper temperature and conditions to maximize how long ketamine lasts when stored.

How To Buy Ketamine: Is There Legal Ketamine Online?
Learn exactly where it’s legal to buy ketamine, and if it’s possible to purchase legal ketamine on the internet.

How Long Does Ketamine Stay in Your System?
How long does ketamine stay in your system? Are there lasting effects on your body? Read to discover the answers!

How Ketamine is Made: Everything You Need to Know
Ever wonder how to make Ketamine? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how Ketamine is made.

Colorado on Ketamine: First Responders Waiver Programs
Fallout continues after Elijah McClain. Despite opposing recommendations from some city council, Colorado State Health panel recommends the continued use of ketamine by medics for those demonstrating “excited delirium” or “extreme agitation”.

Types of Ketamine: Learn the Differences & Uses for Each
Learn about the different types of ketamine and what they are used for—and what type might be right for you. Read now to find out!

Kitty Flipping: When Ketamine and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Read to explore the mechanics of kitty flipping.

MDMA & Ecstasy Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to MDMA has everything you want to know about Ecstasy from how it was developed in 1912 to why it’s being studied today.

How To Get the Most out of Taking MDMA as a Couple
Taking MDMA as a couple can lead to exciting experiences. Read here to learn how to get the most of of this love drug in your relationship.

Common MDMA Dosage & Microdosing Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing MDMA.

Having Sex on MDMA: What You Need to Know
MDMA is known as the love drug… Read our guide to learn all about sex on MDMA and why it is beginning to makes its way into couple’s therapy.

How MDMA is Made: Common Procedures Explained
Ever wonder how to make MDMA? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how MDMA is made.

Hippie Flipping: When Shrooms and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Explore the mechanics of hippie flipping and how to safely experiment.

How Cocaine is Made: Common Procedures Explained
Ever wonder how to make cocaine? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how cocaine is made.

A Christmas Sweater with Santa and Cocaine
This week, Walmart came under fire for a “Let it Snow” Christmas sweater depicting Santa with lines of cocaine. Columbia is not merry about it.

Ultimate Cocaine Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
This guide covers what you need to know about Cocaine, including common effects and uses, legality, safety precautions and top trends today.

NEWS: An FDA-Approved Cocaine Nasal Spray
The FDA approved a cocaine nasal spray called Numbrino, which has raised suspicions that the pharmaceutical company, Lannett Company Inc., paid off the FDA..

The Ultimate Guide to Cannabis Bioavailability
What is bioavailability and how can it affect the overall efficacy of a psychedelic substance? Read to learn more.

Cannabis Research Explains Sociability Behaviors
New research by Dr. Giovanni Marsicano shows social behavioral changes occur as a result of less energy available to the neurons. Read here to learn more.

The Cannabis Shaman
If recreational and medical use of marijuana is becoming accepted, can the spiritual use as well? Experiential journalist Rak Razam interviews Hamilton Souther, founder of the 420 Cannabis Shamanism movement…

Cannabis Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to Cannabis has everything you want to know about this popular substances that has psychedelic properties.

Cannabis and Ayahuasca: Mixing Entheogenic Plants
Cannabis and Ayahuasca: most people believe they shouldn’t be mixed. Read this personal experience peppered with thoughts from a procannabis Peruvian Shaman.

CBD-Rich Cannabis Versus Single-Molecule CBD
A ground-breaking study has documented the superior therapeutic properties of whole plant Cannabis extract as compared to synthetic cannabidiol (CBD), challenging the medical-industrial complex’s notion that “crude” botanical preparations are less effective than single-molecule compounds.

Cannabis Has Always Been a Medicine
Modern science has already confirmed the efficacy of cannabis for most uses described in the ancient medical texts, but prohibitionists still claim that medical cannabis is “just a ruse.”

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