The twelfth volume of the Anthology of Appalachian Writers was recently published by Shepherd University and the West Virginia Center for the Book. This year’s anthology celebrates the work of Affrilachian poet and Weatherford Award-winner Crystal Wilkinson, the 2019 One Book, One West Virginia Common Read author. Wilkinson served as the Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence last fall at Shepherd University where she received the Appalachian Heritage Writers Award.
Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt, director of the Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities at Shepherd University and senior managing editor of the anthology, said that she considers this volume the most diverse of the series. “We’re excited about this volume in particular because it reflects so well the work of Crystal Wilkinson, both a superb writer and wonderfully good-hearted person,” Dr. Shurbutt said. Volume twelve features an in-depth analysis of the prose and poetry of Wilkinson as well as an interview and an excerpt from her novel, Gut.
The Anthology of Appalachian Writers is supported by the WV Library Association, the WV Humanities Council, and the Shepherd University Foundation. Volume twelve unites writers and artists from across the region as well as across the nation. Affrilachian poet Frank X Walker, Nikki Giovanni, Ronald Davis, Omope Carter Daboiku, West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, and several writers and photographers from the Mid-Ohio Valley are among those included. Wood County native Randi Ward and Kari Gunter-Seymour, founder and director of the Women of Appalachia Project, both have poetry and photography in the anthology. Retired Ohio Valley University English instructor Lois Spencer and teacher Karen Whittington Nelson each had their fiction chosen for publication.
The Anthology of Appalachian Writers can be purchased at Four Seasons Books, the Shepherd University Book Store, Tamarack, and online. The West Virginia Library Association also distributes copies of the anthology to school libraries across West Virginia. For more information, visit the anthology website or contact Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt at SShurbut@shepherd.edu.