Looking for Native Ground - by Rita Sims Quillen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Fred Chappell, Jeff Daniel Marion, Jim Wayne Miller, and Robert Morgan are primarily folk artists who write poetry about people doing common, everyday tasks. Each poet in his own unique style illustrates a strong sense of place and community. All natives to the Appalachian region, these poets come from an agrarian community that they had to leave behind to enter the world of academia. Looking For Native Ground was published in 1989 comparing Chappell, Marion, Miller, and Morgan because of their place at the forefront of the regional literary movement in the 1980s.

About the Author

Rita Sims Quillen is the author of the full-length poetry collection The Mad Farmer's Wife (Texas Review Press), a finalist for the 2017 Weatherford Award in Appalachian Literature. Her novel Hiding Ezra has a chapter included in Talking Appalachian (University of Kentucky Press), a scholarly study of Appalachian dialect. One of six semi-finalists for 2012 Poet Laureate of Virginia, Quillen received a Pushcart nomination in 2012 and 2015 and a Best of the Net nomination in 2012. Her previous poetry collections include Her Secret Dream, which received the Book of the Year award from the Appalachian Writers Association.