Lou Murrey
  • Home
  • Selected Work
    • Sorghum
    • The Blue Ridge Farm Book
    • Artifacts
    • Commercial >
      • Music
      • Portraits
  • All Gathered Here
  • CV
  • Contact

21/52

5/30/2015

3 Comments

 
Last week my dear friend Riko came back to Boone and helped me start a project that is very dear to me and that I have been thinking about for a long time: Portraits of Queer Appalachia. I met Riko when I was fifteen and all the time I've known him he has been a damn mountain builder, he had to be, it ain't easy to be one of the only openly gay people at Watauga High School. Riko is one of the bravest, most intelligent, and kind humans I have ever known and loved, and I am so happy that he came to visit and gave me that nudge to begin this project. Soon I will be adding his story, in his own words, to go along with the photograph. That is how I would like to format this whole project.


 So this is an open call to anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA and lives/has lived/grew up/ passed through Appalachia, I want to hear your stories. Submissions can include a story (fiction/non-fiction), poetry, a sentence, a drawing... anything that has to do with the queer experience in Appalachia, I am especially interested in themes of home. Submissions can be anonymous, but if you are willing to have your photo taken please tell me. 


Submissions can be made to lnmurrey@gmail.com with the subject line "queer appalachia".     
Picture
Riko on Howard's Knob, Boone, NC. Tuesday May 19th 2015.
3 Comments

20/52

5/22/2015

1 Comment

 
The weeks you work so hard your bones protest and every part of you feels heavier and your spirit is absent from the automaton that is your physical body, come these windows of presence when that automaton body of yours recalls its heart, and your muscles have missed your lightness like a front tooth, and dammit something has got to give! There is warmth in good company, there is stillness in the evening hours of spring, and there are mountains to be climbed with your best friend (because you know your spine is made from the same rocks and dirt that built those ridges)... damn, something has got to give. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
1 Comment

19/52

5/14/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Saturday May 9th: William's 31st Birthday. The stillness of that crepuscular light and celebrating the incredible life he lived and that continues to live on those who knew and loved him.
On the day that I drove the length of North Carolina in one day, William sat in the passenger seat and told me that the term for my favorite time of day was Crepuscular Light. On the evenings when the light falls so gentle and golden, I have am in love with the whole world.
0 Comments

18/52 

5/6/2015

0 Comments

 
Last week I finished the project I have been working on for the past year. I have had the incredible privilege of working with Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture to interview and photograph the farmers in this book. Through working with Suzanne I learned about the determination, knowledge and patience it takes to have a farm in this region, and additionally, what the area gains from having a strong local farming community. Documenting the participating farmers, I bore witness to a love of for the land and the Blue Ridge Mountains that inspires me and gives me confidence in a sustainable future for our community and region. Join us to celebrate the book launch on May 17th at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum.
To view the online portion of the handbook for farming resources please visit http://handbook.brwia.org.
Picture
On a side note, working with local farmers has been an amazing experience, but working with Suzanne Fleishman has been such a delight. She will try to tell you that she was't the driving force behind this project, but she was. She is an incredible woman and I have been so glad to be able to work with her and call her friend.  
Picture
0 Comments

17/52

5/1/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Last week I had the incredible privilege of getting to spend time with three amazing Affrilachian poets: Frank X Walker, who coined the term "Affrilachian"; Crystal Good, Social Media Senator of West Virginia and an unstoppable force for good; and Ricardo Nazario-Colòn who can see numbers and is probably one of the kindest souls I have ever met. Last week the Washington Post featured an article claiming that poetry was going extinct, but last week I watched and listened to Crystal, Frank, and Ricardo read their poetry to 350 people. Obviously poetry is dead...

Please check out the work they are doing in Appalachia and read/listen to their poetry.

www.frankxwalker.com

http://crystalgood.net

www.lalomadelviento.com

Picture
Picture

Picture
Picture
0 Comments

    All 
    Gathered Here 

    Lou Murrey

    Documentary Photographer, feminist, queer,  archivist, and collector of moments. Committed to liberation and their home in Appalachia. 

    Archives

    September 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    August 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    RSS Feed

Lnmurreylogo
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Selected Work
    • Sorghum
    • The Blue Ridge Farm Book
    • Artifacts
    • Commercial >
      • Music
      • Portraits
  • All Gathered Here
  • CV
  • Contact