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A journey through the literature, history, politics, and culture of the Bluegrass State with its most important chroniclers

For over two hundred years, Kentucky has inspired many of the nation's finest writers, both natives of the Bluegrass State and outsiders who were entranced by its rich natural wonders and culture. Now, for the first time, celebrated Kentucky literary historian Wade Hall has assembled a comprehensive collection of writings embodying the hopes, concerns, and aspirations that have made the state unique and yet so typically American.

Hunters, soldiers, adventurers, tourists, farmers, lawyers, preachers, educators, journalists, historians, playwrights, poets, and novelists offer readers an unparalleled literary tour of Kentucky. Early descriptive and political writings by such figures as George Rogers Clark, John James Audubon, and Henry Clay give way to the flourishing body of poetry and fiction by such authors as John Fox Jr., Irvin S. Cobb, James Lane Allen, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, and Robert Penn Warren. The concerns of contemporary nationally known Kentucky writers Bobbie Ann Mason, Silas House, Sena Jeter Naslund, Sue Grafton, Frank X Walker, Barbara Kingsolver, and Maurice Manning center on the struggle to reconcile the place they call home with an increasingly global community.

The Kentucky Anthology is the ultimate celebration of the state's literary heritage, which Wendell Berry once described as "local life aware of itself."

Wade Hall is emeritus professor of English at Bellarmine University and served as the editor of the Kentucky Poetry Review for more than fifteen years. The author or editor of numerous books, including Conecuh People: Words of Life from the Alabama Black Belt and Passing for Black: The Life and Careers of Mae Street Kid, Hall lives in Union Springs, AL.

Reviews:

"A compendium that pays attention to every type of writer without making this book feel stuffy or polemical. . . . Among the warmest books I've read, leaving me with the sense that I'm being guided by a clear-minded, erudite, and non-partisan docent whose only agenda is to get me to nod along with him that yes, Kentucky does have some fine writers."--Arkansas Review

"No fewer than 179 writers are included, an honor roll not only of Kentucky's most accomplished writers, recognized nationally and even internationally, but dozens of those lesser known whose more modest contributions add dimension and contour to the journey. . . . In covering so much territory, Hall encapsulates a miniature portrait of the culture of Kentucky."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"A welcome addition to any Kentucky collection. . . . Will delight and educate and whet one's appetite for more."--Kentucky Kaleidoscope

"An excellent gift for anyone who loves our state or good writing, and should be in the collection of every high school and college student within our borders."--Louisville Voice-Tribune

"With this rich and varied anthology of Kentucky's best, The Kentucky Anthology is a selection of works that will navigate its readers through the rich weaving of the many threads that comprise Kentucky's wonderful tapestry."--Chevy Chaser

"This volume should stand as the authoritative sampler of Kentucky writing. . . . Well organized, accessible, and handsomely presented, this is a good choice for those interested in regional US literature."--Choice

"Truly a patchwork quilt of experience and fiction that shows us how integral Kentucky is to the geography of the American imagination."--Library Journal

"Wade Hall has done an enormous service that will be prized for decades to come."--Louisville Courier-Journal

"It is a remarkable opportunity to get inside the minds of those who helped shaped the history of the state in diverse ways. . . . This impressive collection offers a wealth of treasures."--Modern Mountain Magazine

"A bargain; no other compilation produced in or about this state offers as much of the history of Kentucky as seen through its writers and perhaps more importantly, suggests where it is going."--Appalachian News-Express

"Should be lauded as a tremendous addition to Kentucky letters, and Hall should be praised for his panoramic presentation of Kentucky writing and his painstaking scholarship."--Lexington Herald-Leader

"Gathers an incredible array of writings from and about our state's land, people, and culture."--Kentucky Living

"Appears just in time for the holidays, appropriately enough, because the book reads like a wonderful present to the commonwealth."--Bowling Green Daily News