Kathryn Stripling Byer (1944-2017) is on any list of the dozen or so most distinguished poets of the Southern Appalachians. She grew up in South Georgia with kinfolks from the mountains, and lived in Cullowhee, North Carolina, most of her life where she and her husband Jim - a native or Morgan County, Tennessee - both taught at Western Carolina University. She followed Fred Chappell as Poet-Laureate of North Carolina. This book is a favorite of hers for many. It celebrates mountain women who sang old ballads. LSU Press is arguably the most selective of the Southern university presses in the field of poetry.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1998. 53 pages. Trade paperback.