{"product_id":"i-hate-it-here-please-vote-for-me-essays-on-rural-political-decay-9781959000273","title":"I Hate It Here, Please Vote for Me: Essays on Rural Political Decay","description":"\u003cb\u003e2025 WCoNA Book of the Year Finalist \u003cbr\u003e The Best Narrative \u0026amp; Biography Books of 2024, Selected by Porchlight\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e When a progressive college professor runs for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a deeply conservative rural district, he loses. That's no surprise. But the story of how Ferrence loses and, more importantly, how American political narratives refuse to recognize the existence and value of nonconservative rural Americans offers insight into the political morass of our nation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In essays focused on showing goats at the county fair, planting native grasses in the front lawn, the political power of poetry, and getting wiped out in an election, Ferrence offers a counter-narrative to stereotypes of monolithic rural American voters and emphasizes the way stories told about rural America are a source for the bitter divide between Red America and Blue America.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMatthew Ferrence lives and writes at the confluence of Appalachia and the Rust Belt. With \u003ci\u003eI Hate It Here, Please Vote For Me\u003c\/i\u003e, he has completed a trilogy (of sorts) focused on rural Appalachian identity and political narrative. He teaches creative writing at Allegheny College.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"West Virginia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50878105518354,"sku":"9781959000273","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c370d7d7-871c-44de-b677-b33bcc09cb94.jpg?v=1738162901","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/i-hate-it-here-please-vote-for-me-essays-on-rural-political-decay-9781959000273","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}