Elizabeth Catte

Catte speaks in Abingdon

The final speaker in this year’s “Sunday with Friends” literary series is public historian Elizabeth Catte who has written the most talked-about book in Appalachian studies this year, “What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia.” The event is Sunday, May 19, at 3 p.m. in the conference room of the Washington County Public Library in Abingdon, Virginia.

Her book is an insider’s frank assessment of America’s recent fascination with Appalachia (especially from “Hillbilly Elegy”) which sees the area as a backwards, white working-class caricature. She has written an essential guide on how to talk about race, class, gender and the cultural geographies that shape Appalachian lives.

She recently published, as a co-editor, “55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike” and is completing a new book, “Pure America,” about the legacy of Virginia’s eugenics movement set against the backdrop of the state’s recent controversies over Confederate monuments.

Catte’s work has been featured in or on many outlets, including All Things Considered, the Guardian, the Nation, the New Yorker, Bookforum, On the Media, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Review of Books.

The Friends of the Washington County Public Library sponsors the “Sunday with Friends” series. All events are free and open to the public. They include receptions, book sales and signings. Credit cards are accepted. For more information, call 276-676-6298 or visit www.wcpl.net.