Appalachian author Silas House becomes Kentucky's first openly gay poet laureate, but he dislikes being categorized

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, center, with state poets
laureate Crystal Wilkinson (outgoing) and Silas House
(incoming), both with rural roots. (Photo by Al Cross)  

Author and activist Silas House, who has become a leading voice of Appalachia, is the new poet laureate of his home state of Kentucky. As he got the honor from Gov. Andy Beshear Monday, House highlighted his regional roots and his status as the state's first openly gay poet laureate.

"I am also a person of faith who has always refused to allow that to be taken away from me by a culture that insists on narrow definitions of Christianity," House told a crowd in the state Capitol rotunda. "I am a teacher, I'm a father; like most people, I have many identities. . . . But all too often the world tries to reduce us all to one neat and tidy label. This troubles me, the way we so often operate in absolutes. It has become too easy to categorize people as wholly good or wholly bad. I believe we can offer both grace and defiance. We can give people grace while also knowing there is a line we won't allow to be crossed. Art, and especially writing, can help to build empathy. I believe this is one of our most important roles as artists. Literature gives us the opportunity to see differing points of view more easily and more clearly."

Earlier, House recounted the working lives of his ancestors and said, "For the first eight years of my life, we lived in a trailer, just like almost everyone else in my family, and I can tell you this for shore, the rain sounds loveliest on a trailer roof. While most of the world often told us that we were no good because of where we lived, my family taught me to always be proud of being country, being Appalachian and being a Kentuckian. When you are from a place, or culture, or way of being that is constantly negated, belittled or erased, you love it harder. But I have learned this: The more people try to erase us, the more pride we have. The more they try to dull us the brighter we will shine."

House is the author of several best-sellers, including Clay's Quilt, A Parchment of Leaves, The Coal Tattoo, Southernmost and Eli the Good. His latest novel, Lark Ascending, was published last year.

As poet laureate, House said, "I want to celebrate the rich literary tradition of the commonwealth in ways that can help build our tourism. Most of all, I want to always show others how to shine their own lights more brightly, to celebrate books, to make clear that our similarities far outweigh our differences."