‘Exactly what we’re supposed to do.’ Davis Shoulders works to uplift diverse voices in Appalachia

HAZARD, Ky. – Walking up creaky, wooden stairs, Davis Shoulders prepared to partake in a years-long ritual from before their time.

As they sit on their porch, lighting an American Spirit cigarette, Shoulders is reminded how smoking provides a social aspect for people, allowing them to find company in solitude.

“The ritual of smoking in those spaces is . . . you know, it’s like, kind of like going out on a little journey with the self and the boundaries and the veils that are between people,” Shoulders said.

Finding a sense of connection has played a key role in Shoulders’ life, they said, as it now drives them in their work as a writer, business owner and bookseller.

While still owning and helping run Atlas Books in Johnson City, Tenn.,

Shoulders simultaneously works as a bookseller at the Read Spotted Newt in Hazard, Ky.

Shoulders is also a series editor for a literary series, published by the University Press of Kentucky, called “Appalachian Futures: Black, Native, and Queer Voices,” with a mission to uplift underrepresented voices in the region.

“This is exactly what we’re supposed to do,” Shoulders said. “It’s kind of one of those things where . . . it felt like a responsibility.”

Their past has served as a catalyst for their passions, as the intersection between their Queer identity and religious upbringing helped inspire “Queer Communion: Religion in Appalachia,” an anthology piece edited and put together by Shoulders.

Shoulders said they grew up as a preacher’s kid, pushed to be a role model and leader within the Church of Christ.

“They would talk to us all the time about, like, you know, if other people are in the church or behaving this way, or whatever, like, you got to be an example,” Shoulders said.

Their family’s influence seeped into their academic endeavors, as Shoulders said they ended up attending Freed-Hardeman University, a private Church of Christ school.

College was an integral part of Shoulder’s journey of self-discovery, being able to distance
themself from the opinions and narratives they grew up surrounded by.

“My academics were all I focused on,” Shoulders said. “That was my ticket out.”

Now, through the “Appalachian Futures: Black, Native, and Queer Voices” series, Shoulders is dismantling the belief systems and stereotypes that were so prevalent in their upbringing and sharing that sentiment with a larger audience.

Davis said the series wasn’t meant to define Appalachia, but to tell forgotten and ignored stories within the region.

The purpose of the series is to publish pieces from Appalachia, not about
Appalachia.

“It’s not meant to be definitive or delineating or descriptive,” Shoulders said. “It’s of the vapors, from the root.”