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Q&A: Poetry as an Act of Rural Resistance [1]
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Date: 2025-02-21
Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.
Belle Townsend is a writer, poet, and publisher who recently released Discarded: A Rural Anthology, a collection of poetry from rural writers from around the country. Townsend founded Backwaters Literary Press, a nonprofit press, to publish the anthology and uplift diverse rural voices. Belle is also a reporter for Queer Kentucky.
In the opening essay of Discarded, Townsend writes: “This anthology documents folk storytelling, odes to nature, political commentary about home, the rural role in global politics and history, understandings of how we got where we are, and visions for where we go from here. This collection is a talisman on the altar of rurality, a devotion to lineages of people who were and continue to be discarded. There is no group of people who are expendable, no matter who tries to erase their nuance and rewrite them into an undeserving monolith.”
I cried as I read some of the poetry included in Discarded and recommend this collection to anyone who is invested in rural America as more than just a monolith. Townsend curated a beautiful compilation of nuanced voices and we talk about some of the inspiration behind the collection as well as their personal connection to rurality.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Ilana Newman, The Daily Yonder: Your work so sweetly captures the nuance of the joys and challenges of being from a rural community. Can you tell me where you are from and a little about yourself?
Belle Townsend: I’m from Robards, Kentucky, a small town in Henderson County. Growing up Southern Baptist and attending Christian schools, I experienced both community and isolation – especially as a closeted queer person. Reading and writing were my escape, and political organizing became my way of embracing, challenging, and holding the nuance of where I came from.
Belle Townsend is the founder of Backwoods Literary Press, the publisher of “Discarded: A Rural Anthology.” (Photo courtesy of Belle Townsend.)
Despite contradictions in my upbringing, I was raised by loving, godly people who supported me in living the life I wanted, even if it wasn’t what they envisioned. After leaving home to study political science at Boston University, I quickly saw how others perceive me differently because of my accent or origin. The shame that had driven me to leave transformed into pride as I began to understand the power and beauty of rural life, where neighbors show up with casseroles when someone passes, and tractors can make you late for school. These realizations shaped my path. The week after I graduated, I moved back to Kentucky to contribute to the community that made me who I am. Over time, I have blended the political organizing and writing that I kept siphoned for so long.
DY: You organized the collection of stories for Discarded: A Rural Anthology. Can you share about the process of creating this anthology?
BT: The idea for an anthology had been on my mind for years, but I had no idea where to start. After a few of my TikTok videos on LGBTQIA+ politics in Kentucky and rural identity went viral, people from all over the U.S. – Appalachia, the Midwest, and beyond – began reaching out. Their stories showed me just how underrepresented rural communities, especially LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC voices, are in media. While there are great organizations covering, highlighting, and organizing rural areas, I still saw a specific gap to fill.
With that momentum, I launched a nonprofit press project, secured a fiscal sponsor, and received two grants. We opened submissions, and within a month, 180 writers responded. The final anthology included 63 artists from 27 states, capturing the diverse yet interconnected experiences of rural life.
Drawing on my experience self-publishing poetry chapbooks, I designed the book with a friend I met in the process, Trish Gibson, who helped bring it to life. Together, we created something that reflects the rich complexity of rural identities.
DY: Why is it so important to have spaces for rural creative writing, specifically from LGBTQIA+ writers?
BT: Corporate media and outside interests often distort rural narratives, leading to stereotypes that rural people internalize and others in urban and suburban areas misunderstand. Rural communities, however, are far more complex and rooted in values of solidarity, freedom, and care for neighbors. LGBTQIA+ people in these communities experience these nuances firsthand, giving us an ability to untangle the knots tied by divide-and-conquer politics.
Spaces for rural LGBTQIA+ writers are essential to counter narratives that erase us and to document our existence in places where people assume we don’t belong. In a time of rising book bans and censorship, these stories are acts of resistance, challenging perceptions and offering future generations a sense of belonging.
DY: Did you always feel a fondness for your rural roots, or did that emerge over time? How does your relationship to your rural identity feel complicated?
BT: Scholar Surabhi Balachander’s term “rural expatriate writers” resonates with me: leaving gave me the perspective to truly understand my rural identity. It reminds me of David Foster Wallace’s famous metaphor in “This is Water,” where fish, surrounded by water, don’t even realize it exists until they’re outside of it. Growing up in Kentucky was like that — rural life was my “water,” and I didn’t recognize it for what it was until I moved away and found myself missing the turbulent, yet beautiful waves.
I was eager to move back after college, but I don’t live in my hometown now, and I’m not sure I could any time soon. Growing up in a place tied to old money, big names, and lingering judgment stifled me in ways I’m still unpacking. My queerness adds another layer to this complexity: one of safety. I dream of raising a family, but I’m unsure if I could put my kids through the challenges I faced. At the same time, I can’t imagine raising them anywhere other than between cornfields and truck stops.
My relationship with my rural identity is a constant push and pull: one of gratitude, growth, and grappling.
DY: You founded Backwoods Literary Press to publish Discarded. What are your future plans for the press?
BT: Backwoods Literary Press is committed to amplifying diverse rural voices, and we plan to release at least one anthology every year. We’re also exploring the possibility of publishing books by individual authors to further elevate underrepresented perspectives.
Beyond publishing, we aim to continue creating spaces for storytelling and connection. This includes hosting open mics, workshops, and panels across Kentucky and beyond, offering rural writers and artists opportunities to share their work and build community.
At the heart of our mission is the desire to tell nuanced and diverse rural stories—now more than ever. With the rise of book bans and censorship targeting marginalized voices, we see it as our responsibility to fight back and ensure these stories are preserved and shared. Backwoods Literary Press isn’t just a publisher; it’s a space where rural creativity and resistance can thrive.
DY: How is poetry an act of resistance for rural residents, especially entering this second Trump administration?
BT: These are undeniably frightening times, but fear also fuels action. When people are pushed into a corner, they realize they can’t cower – they have to fight. This fight transcends just who is in office; it’s about continually resisting powerful interests that prioritize profit over people.
Poetry is resistance because it lets us reclaim our narratives, challenging the stereotypes imposed on us. Writing and sharing our stories not only documents who we are but also helps us to find one another. In times like these, connection is vital. We take care of each other.
Art has always been a source of defiance and truth-telling. As poets and artists, it’s our responsibility to speak unflinchingly – for those before us, for ourselves, and for those who will come after us.
Learn more about Belle Townsend and purchase copies of Discarded: A Rural Anthology, here.
This interview first appeared in Path Finders, a weekly email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each Monday, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Join the mailing list today, to have these illuminating conversations delivered straight to your inbox.
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