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When it is published later this year, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle's debut novel will mark a milestone in American and Appalachian literature. Even As We Breathe, which tells the story of a young Cherokee man struggling with the limitations of his community and the prejudice of the outside world, will be the first novel authored by an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and published by a major press.
The story had been bubbling inside Clapsaddle for some time after her first manuscript was a finalist for the prestigious PEN/Bellwether Prize but ultimately went unpublished. Onstage at Berea College's third biennial Appalachian Symposium in mid-September, she recounted her shock when she received the offer of publication from Fireside Industries, the new literary imprint and joint venture of the University Press of Kentucky and Hindman Settlement School. It took a while for the news to settle in with Clapsaddle, who teaches English and Cherokee Studies at Swain County High School in North Carolina. But when it did, she celebrated with Mexican food and champagne, then immediately set to work on revising the manuscript with her editor, Silas House.
When it came time to give her reading, Clapsaddle's lyrical, image-driven prose, delivered in a steady voice, held the audience of students, professors, community members, and fellow writers captive-no small feat when considering she was featured alongside bestselling novelist Charles Frazier and acclaimed Americana singer-songwriter Dori Freeman. Later, Clapsaddle participated in a public conversation with House that examined the intersections of Cherokee and Appalachian identity, erasure, native and rural bias, and media representation. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
SILAS HOUSE: Great writing, especially [in] novels, must begin with a balance of mystery and emotion. [The opening to Even As We Breathe] is just packed with emotion, packed with mystery, and it makes you want to keep reading the book. What is the book about?
ANNETTE SAUNOOKE CLAPSADDLE: Even As We Breathe is half set at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville and half in Cherokee, North Carolina. During World War II, the Grove Park Inn held access diplomats and foreign nationals as prisoners of war for just a couple of months one summer. And so that's the backdrop for the story when...