Matthew Ferrence is the author of the books I Hate it Here, Please Vote For Me: Essays on Rural Political Abandonment; Appalachia North: A Memoir; and All-American Redneck. His essays and stories have appeared widely in North American literary journals, as well as Best American Travel Writing. He lives and writes at the confluence of Appalachia and the Rust Belt, where he is a Professor of Creative Writing at Allegheny College.