BluestoneReview

Mostly I remember creative writing, the classes through which I became who and what I am today. I always wanted to be a poet, but I don’t think that was in the cards for me then. I could never squeeze anything too meaningful out of a few words and line breaks. But when you pulled up the site Brevity and showed us essay after essay of per- fectly chosen words and paragraphs that worked together to bring one idea to the forefront of your mind and made you feel whatever the writer was feeling so precisely, with just a couple of paragraphs, I knew. I knew that essays were going to be it for me, that language could still hold vast meanings without the label of “Poem.” In Creative nonfiction, we read about a marmot and Pompeii and learned about braided essays, and, honestly, I still can’t get over it. When I came to visit Bluefield two years after I graduated, and described the essay just like that: There’s a marmot and Pompeii? You smiled and immediately said, “Pliny and the Mountain Mouse,” and reached for the book that contained the essay. You gave the book to me, and when I feel stuck in writing or in life, I still return to that essay. I wrote the date you gave it to me on the inside cover, From Dr. Merritt’s Office, March 16, 2019.

In Regards to Dr. Merritt By Marland Campbell

Dear Co-Editors,

I had the pleasure of studying under Dr. Merritt for four years; for two of those years, I served as a co-editor of The Bluestone Review. I couldn’t have asked for a better faculty advisor than Dr. Merritt. He was always filled with enthusiasm and wisdom. He would come in with a hot tea in hand, ready to help tackle whatever editorial or life issue we pre- sented him. His love for the Appalachian region of Bluefield, notably the locals from Bluefield and the surrounding areas, was beyond compare. He pioneered one of the best compilations of both regional and student work. Art and literature allow for the appreciation of self-expression and creativity in The Bluestone Review ; however, The Bluestone Review is so much more than a literary magazine. It is a celebration of Appalachian people, an underserved and underrecognized, yet very deserving popula -

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