ruralcore: proof that rural people are intelligent, complex, and knowledgeable.
Whereas early iterations of student-supported rural literary magazines might denote “plain living,” ruralcore reveals the complexities and challenges of mainstream narratives of rural people and places. Rural is anything but plain.
Rural is complex; it’s hardcore, actually. Rural is an entire culture.
Dear readers,
While studying rural English education for my Ph.D., I worked with rural high school students across diverse parts of the U.S. My middle and high school students were excellent writers, but many of them, especially those who affiliated with rural culture, experienced low confidence in their writing. I found, in my formal research studies, this was mostly the case in other rural high schools in the U.S., too. Despite how they felt about writing, I thought their written words were just beautiful. And they never failed to follow common themes of resilience and the outdoors, demonstrating an incredible knowledge for rural place and their local environments.
It became apparent my students' deep cultural knowledge needed to be shared, and this magazine is one way to do just that. As I began putting ruralcore's two issues together, I realized the need to include folks who are no longer students, but whose rural knowledge is just as valuable and timeless. Ultimately, ruralcore's purpose is to display rural folks' knowledge and connection to place through literature of many genres. It celebrates rural culture through both visual art and written words. It serves as proof that rural people are both intelligent and knowledgeable.
I am so happy you found ruralcore. Because this magazine was funded by a one-time grant from Arizona State University, there remain two issues, and all 100 copies have been happily found homes with students, teachers, and leisurely readers in seventeen U.S. states and three additional countries. But the two issues will always be available here in digital form. Feel free to explore the uploaded PDFs of ruralcore's issues one and two, tail end of winter and spring cleanin.'
Very best, Dr. Layne Ilderton