Bloodroot: Reflections on Place by Appalachian Women Writers

35 essays about Appalachia by the region’s women writers
Appalachia, erroneously thought to be the most dimly lit region of our nation, is ablaze with writing talent–and has been for 150 years. This volume assembles 35 essays (most of them new) by contemporary Appalachian women writers. They talk about the influence of this mountainous region on their development as writers, defining Appalachia in a larger, more generous, and more intricate way than deep stereotypes have allowed.

Authors include Sheila Kay Adams, Lisa Alther, Maggie Anderson, Marilou Awiakta, Artie Ann Bates, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Jo Carson, Lou V.P. Crabtree, doris diosa davenport, Hilda Downer, Wilma Dykeman, Sidney Saylor Farr, Nikky Finney, Denise Giardina, Nikki Giovanni, Gail Godwin, Ellesa Clay High, Lisa Koger, George Ella Lyon, Sharyn McCrumb, Llewellyn McKernan, Heather Ross Miller, Elaine Fowler Palencia, Jayne Anne Phillips, Rita Sims Quillen, Jean Ritchie, Bettie Sellers, Mary Lee Settle, Anne Shelby, Betsy Sholl, Bennie Lee Sinclair, Barbara Smith, Lee Smith, Jane Stuart, and Meredith Sue Willis. They describe Appalachia with poignancy, eloquence, forthrightness, and humor.

The book features, along with the essays, brief biographies of the authors and recent photos. The cover displays an engraving of bloodroot by Harlan Hubbard. This plant, whose root is both poisonous and medicinal, is an appropriate symbol for the mix of pleasure and pain that informs the memoirs of the women in this volume.

Bloodroot won the 1997 Appalachian Studies Award. The back of the book jacket features this quotation from Whiting Award winner Mary Swander: “A splendid and much needed collection. In this remarkable anthology, Joyce Dyer brings together a group of dynamic, passionate writers who have discovered part of their identities in the contours and confluences of Appalachia.”