The Swellest Wife Anyone Ever Had (Kelsay Books, 2024) by Jennifer Schomburg Kanke chronicles the life of Enid, an Appalachian housewife born in 1919, through vivid imagery and keenly observed detail. The poet creates rich portraits not only of Enid’s personality and growth, but also of the people, landscape, and culture that shape her life […]
“The Swellest Wife Anyone Ever Had,” Poems by Jennifer Schomburg Kanke
June 1, 2026 by Leave a Comment
“Bloodroot: Poems” by Bill King
February 4, 2026 by Leave a Comment
The bloodroot plant with its white flowers that herald spring evokes the deep forests of Appalachia, which are sacred groves for poet Bill King, who grew up in and lived his life in Appalachia. His collection Bloodroot: Poems (Mercer University Press 2023) is a record of this life, one of challenges but sustained joy buoyed by a […]
“A Legacy of Birds” by Sharon Perkins Ackerman
November 10, 2025 by 1 Comment
Sharon Perkins Ackerman’s most recent poetry collection— A Legacy of Birds (Kelsey Books 2025) — is comprehensive and lyrical, a wonderful representation of Appalachian childhood and growing pains. The poems each describe distinct memories, some hazy from humid days long gone, some sharp and clear as yesterday as Ackerman contemplates the past and the present. […]
“Lying In” by Barbara G. Tucker
October 13, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Barbara G. Tucker is proof that exquisite storytelling can and does happen far from the massive New York City publishing houses with their army of gatekeepers and yes-men and women whose focus is less on craft and more on fickle trends in the market. Her brilliantly-written novel, Lying In, (Colorful Crow Publishing 2024) explores the […]
“When the Earth Was a Comfort” by Victor Depta
July 1, 2025 by Leave a Comment
The Buddhist concept of emptiness appears frequently in Victor Depta’s latest collection of poetry, When the Earth Was a Comfort (Blair Mountain Press 2025). The collection is divided into four parts, corresponding to the seasons. I related strongly to the title poem, which is placed first in the book. Depta references the floods, the heat, […]
“Filling the Big Empty” by Rhonda Browning White
March 6, 2025 by Leave a Comment
It’s easy to understand why Rhonda Browning White’s debut novel, Filling the Big Empty (Redhawk Publications 2024) was shortlisted for the 2022 Neilson Prize. The novel is a tour-de-force, relentlessly examining environmental issues in Appalachia. While never losing focus on a young couple’s relationship, the story drops readers into the horrors of mountaintop removal to extract coal, the […]