Foreword

by Dr. Richard Peake

(as it appeared in the 1998 issue)

Now that Jimson Weed is about to undergo still another rebirth, I’ve been asked to recollect (the Wordsworthian term) the beginnings of this magazine. Let me begin with the confession that I was merely a midwife that helped it to birth. A group of Clinch Valley bards or—to use an Elizabethan metaphor—its “singing birds,” gave birth to the first issue of Jimson Weed in 1969. Professor Don Askins was their faculty advisor.

The sixties and early seventies were rife with anti-establishment sentiment, even at Clinch Valley, and the name for the magazine signaled both a bit of clitism and a desire for intellectual rebellion. Just as the plant jimson weed (Datura stra-monium) is poisonous to cattle, the young writers such as Don Blansette, Alan MacMurray, Frank Taylor, and Gary Slemp thought that what they had to offer was not for the common palate. The plant was also appropriate in that, although it is of tropical origin, it is commonly found in “waste places” throughout much of the United States, but especially in the South.

A look at old issues of Jimson Weed reveals, I think that it has been a publi-cation of high literary quality throughout its history. The publication of the magazine was, from the first, dependent on student interest and effort. Faculty advisors gave advice and helped, but Jimson Weed has come out over the years only when there has been sufficient interest to bring it to press—no forced flowers have been brought forth on its pages.

Not that there has ever been a lack of excellent material. Clinch Valley has always had a number of excellent young writers, many of whom were hampered more by their lack of assurance than their lack of ability. However, not all writers will spend the long hours that are necessary to bring their works to the printed page. As fate had it, I became more involved with Jimson Weed after that first issue and continued as faculty advisor for many years thereafter, and Professor Catherine Mahony eventually became faculty advisor. During the last decade there has been insufficient interest to bring out additional issues.

Over the years there have been many students who were willing to put forth the necessary hours and efforts. Student editors and writers such as John M. Clarke, Betty Farmer, Ben Rasnick, and Ron Short have set a high standard for Jimson Weed. With Ben and some of his successors, we went through what one might term our “Appy-beat” period. Ben was very much taken with the Black Mountain poets and their influence on the poetry of the Beat generation, yet the quality of the material that was published in Jimson Weed was not compromised by whatever fads happened to be in ascendancy. Authenticity of voice and craftsmanship remained the guiding principle for choosing works to print. The result was a publication that was both recognizably Appalachian but also quite cosmopolitan.

I feel sure that in its new life Jimson Weed will both prove worthy of its tradition and will break new ground.