Post Vietnam Women Appalachian Authors

Scope: 

A new trend in Appalachian Literature has evolved over the past three decades. Prior to the 1960’s, information on this region stemmed primarily from literature written by authors outside of Appalachia. The misconceptions established by these authors echoed throughout the hills and hollows of our region. With the identity crisis of the 1960’s, a great need for cultural revivalism occurred. As we near the millennium, our literature comes from native regional writers and the cry is coming from female Voice. It is vital to the cultural awareness of this region that we applaud our women authors and their struggle to equitably redefine Appalachia.

NOTE: It is important to note that although the subject is about women Appalachian authors writing after the Vietnam War (early 1970s), the subject search must be broadened/narrowed to the search of Appalachian Literature. This must be done to achieve a more thorough and exhaustive search.

Introductory Text: 

Joyce Dyer’s (editor) Bloodroot. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1998.
ASU APP COLL RESERVES PS 286.16 B57 1998
-A collection of writings from women authors in Appalachia.

Library of Congress Subject Headings: 
  • Appalachian Literature
  • Appalachian Authors
  • Appalachian Women
  • Women’s Literature
  • Women Authors
  • American Literature
  • Regionalism in Literature
  • Southern States
  • Mountain Life
  • American Fiction
  • Short stories, American
Clipping Files Subject Headings – W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection: 
  • Appalachian Authors
Books: 

Marilou Awiakta’s Abiding Appalachia: Where Mountain and Atom Meet. Memphis, TN. St. Luke’s Press. 1978[PS3570.H64237 A64]
-A collection of poetry by Awiakta with emphasis on her Cherokee background.

Denise Giardina’s Storming Heaven. New York. Ballantine Books. 1988. [AS2411/IDS2411]
-A novel written about the coal mines of West Virginia told from four different perspectives.

Sharyn McCrumb’s Foggy Mountain Breakdown and Other Stories. New York. Ballantine Books. 1997. [PZ4.M1332 Fog1997]
-Three fictional stories that tell of children and mysteries in Appalachia.

Sharyn McCrumb’s She Walks These Hills. New York. Penguin Books. 1995.
[PS3563.C3527 S54 1997]
-A novel about a woman’s ghost trying to return home in Appalachia.

Lee Smith’s Fair and Tender Ladies. New York. Ballantine Books. 1993. [PZ4.S6514 Fai c.2]
-A novel of letters written in Virginia tells stories of Appalachia in Sugar Fork.

Sandra L. Ballard and Patricia L. Hudson’s Women Writing in Appalachia. University Press of Kentucky. 2003.[PS554.L57 2003]
-An anthology of 105 women writers in Appalachia.

Other books including material on Post Vietnam Women Appalachian Authors
PS35-PZ7 (Within the ASU WL Eury Appalachian Collection)

Guides, Encyclopedias, and Dictionaries: 

Wilson, Charles R, and William R. Ferris. Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. Print.

Brunvand, Jan H. American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities), vol. 1551. New York: Garland Pub, 1998. Internet resource.

Roller, David C, and Robert W. Twyman. The Encyclopedia of Southern History. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1979. Print

Thernstrom, Stephan. Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1980. Print.

Bibliographies: 

Appalachian Women: An Annotated Bibliography. Compiled by Sidney Saylor Farr, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, c1981. [App Coll Z7964.A127 F37]

The Bibliography of Appalachia. Compiled by John R. Burch, Jr. Jefferson, NC. McFarland, 2009. [ASU SPEC APP COLL Z1251.A7 B87 2009]

Journals: 

Appalachian Journal. Boone, N.C.: Appalachian Journal, 1972. Print. [ASU SPEC APP COLL F216.2.A66]

Appalachian Heritage. Hindman, Ky., etc: Appalachian Heritage, Inc., 1973. Print. [ASU SPEC APP COLL F106.A137 A6]

Now and Then. Johnson City, Tenn: Center for Appalachian Studies and Services, 1984. Print. [ASU SPEC APP COLL F217.A65 N68]

Journal of Appalachian Studies. Morgantown, WV: Published by the Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University for the Appalachian Studies Association, 1995. Print. [ASU SPEC APP COLL F106 .J74]

Compiled by: 

Compiler: Jessica Blackburn, 29 October 1998

Updated by: 

Updated: Skye McFarland, 30 November 2010

Subject: