Lexington’s Literary Mother Lode

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Local writers extoll the wealth of Bluegrass talent and tradition

Lexington, KY - Kentuckians have been writing since Daniel Boone supposedly scratched “D Boon kilt a bar” into a tree. Kentucky writers seem drawn to the landscape, the history and the culture of Kentucky, and the Bluegrass has given rise to a longstanding literary tradition that has perhaps never been richer than right now.

Just this year, University of Kentucky professor Nikky Finney won the National Book Award for Poetry for her book Head Off and Split. Maurice Manning, a Guggenheim fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist for his book, The Common Man, has recently returned to Kentucky to teach at Transylvania University. Much loved and lauded Kentucky author Wendell Berry gave the Jefferson Lecture in Washington, D.C., this year, one of the nation’s highest honors, and a new collection of his selected works has just been released. Kentucky authors Bobbie Ann Mason and Silas House populate the bestseller lists with every new book they offer.

Pretty good for a state that a few miles outside its borders is often joked about as being stereotypically backward and less than literate. We beg to differ.

Lexington, once known as the Athens of the West, has continued to cement its reputation as a writer’s paradise and a city determined to earn the bragging rights to call itself a literary hub, a mother lode of great writers and also a community dedicated to supporting and nurturing the best and brightest new and emerging talent.

Building a critical mass of talent

Neil Chethik, a published author and executive director of the Carnegie Center, found in Lexington something he had not found any other place, a community of writers.

“We came to Lexington when my wife accepted a job, but we stayed because this is a town that supports writers. I’ve seen a tremendous boom in the last 15 years in Lexington’s literary arts scene,” said Chethik. “Kentucky is a fountain of writers and is establishing itself as the Literary Capital of Mid-America. Part of what has made the literary tradition grow here is that we celebrate and support our writers. We teach them and groom them and provide a nurturing community for all to work and produce.”

Upcoming at the Carnegie Center is the Books-In-Progress Conference scheduled for June 8 and 9, which will target writers seeking support for book-length manuscripts. Workshops and lectures will feature nationally known authors, including Leatha Kendrick, A.J. Verdelle, George Ella Lyon and Will Lavendar. Bestselling, award-winning author Barbara Kingsolver, named by Writers Digest as “one of the most important writers of the 20th century,” will serve as the keynote speaker. The conference also offers opportunities to meet with two literary agents from New York, as well as Chuck Sambuchino of Writers Digest magazine. Attendance is expected to be in the hundreds and nearby hotels and restaurants will be among the beneficiaries of the well-attended program.

“I so admire what the Carnegie Center is doing and I’m proud to be asked to be part of it,” said Kingsolver. “I’m interested in the fact that we will be exploring books in progress. ... Participants are not at the point of thinking about marketing or someone looking over their shoulder, but still thinking about the work.”

For Kingsolver this is a homecoming. She grew up in rural Kentucky and credits this fact with her penchant for writing.

“I’m grateful for my origins. For me growing up in a culture that values storytelling was really important. Whenever friends and family gathered, it was around stories. We all grow up a bit anxious to knock the dust of small town life off our shoes, but it was after I left Kentucky that I learned the real importance of that sense of community I grew up with and what it means for the whole world, and I missed that dust a little.

“Kentucky has one of the highest rates of native residency,” she said. “That correlates to that family continuity that is important in literature and contributes to voice and sense of place, all important components of writing.”

The Carnegie Center also offers, throughout the year, a full schedule of classes and programs to ignite and support writers in the community. In addition, the center provides classes in business writing, reading and computers. What kind of numbers are we looking at? Approximately 5,000 people a year participate in Carnegie Center programs and seminars. Attendees last year came from 40 out of Kentucky’s 120 counties and from other states as well.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray is an enthusiastic proponent of Lexington’s literary community. “Lexington’s rich literary history is alive and thriving,” he said. “I’m excited by the aspirational thinking of Neil Chethik at the Carnegie Center. Neil’s idea to put a stake in the ground and claim Lexington as the literary capital of mid-America makes great sense. It’s here for the claiming and Neil’s doing it.”

George Ella Lyon, a contributor to the upcoming conference is a writer in many genres, including nonfiction and poetry, but she is perhaps best known for her many picture books for children. She is also a native of Kentucky and has her own take on what makes Kentucky a special place for writers.

“Kentucky is a crossroads and a paradox. North and South met here [both Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were born here], we have east and west, [we were once the frontier], and we have old and new — and Lexington is right in the middle of all of this. I think all this goes into the richness of the writing here,” she explained.

Lyon touts the Women Writers Conference started in 1978 by Linda Pannill as a major factor in establishing Lexington’s primacy in the field of literature. She said it consistently brings top writers to Lexington to present workshops and attracts writers and visitors from all over the country to participate.

“I don’t think we can underestimate the cumulative effect of this ongoing event,” said Lyon.

Julie Wrinn, the director of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, now in its 33rd year, added, ”Writers, like all artists, are drawn to communities with economic conditions that enable them to continue being creative, where there is an audience to appreciate their work and other writers to provide fellowship. Lexington, with two universities, many good bookstores and the Carnegie Center — and of course, our conference — really provides wealth in these areas that far exceeds that of many cities twice our size. We attract writers and keep writers here.”

Wrinn also points to a rich pool of established authors willing to mentor up-and-coming writers and the creation of new programs in Lexington for high school students and younger writers, with written word events springing up alongside science fairs and debate competitions.

In addition to being the venue for the Women Writers Conference every September, the Carnegie Center hosts several events and workshops throughout the year to help writers with everything from plot, pacing, and sentence structure to finding an agent and understanding the ever-changing world of the publishing industry.

“Finding your voice as a writer and then getting your work to an audience is a lot of work,” Chethik pointed out. “Writing can be isolating. Writing something great is one thing, but what if no one reads it? You can have a great state, a great community, but if no one knows what’s here but us, that won’t work. For Kentucky and Lexington word has spread: ‘This is a state that creates great art.’ It puts us on the literary map and gives us a lot of leverage.”

Literary fellowship in Lexington

Eric Sutherland is the founder of Holler Poets Society, which meets monthly for poetry reading events that feature an open-mic portion of the evening, along with featured readings by established poets such as Richard Taylor, Frank X. Walker, Rebecca Gayle Howell, Maurice Manning and Silas House. He knows something about the growth of the literary scene in Lexington. Holler Poets events went from a handful of participants to standing room only crowds and the region’s top writers have joined the popular events enthusiastically. A teen version has also sprung up. Calling their gatherings Teen Howl, this group, led by local writers Elizabeth Beck and Jay McCoy meets regularly at the Morris Book Shop.

Sutherland likes to argue the case that Kentucky is the literary capital of America — all of America. He points to the extraordinary camaraderie among local writers and the support system that extends to the next generation.

“Where are people more generous, encouraging and genuinely kind than here?” Sutherland asked. “Nowhere. Where is place more central to the lives and art of its people? Nowhere. Where is the literary capital of America? Here.”

Author Maurice Manning knows the pull of Kentucky and the sense of place Sutherland spoke of, along with what it means to a writer.

“Kentucky is the sole thing I write about,” said Manning. “When I close my eyes, wherever I am, it is the Kentucky landscape that I see. My devotion is easy. This place is my heritage, and there is something special about it here geographically, culturally and historically. Most Kentuckians have a facility for telling a story. I always pay attention to people’s stories because there is natural literature going on … tragedy, comedy; it’s all there.”

He is careful to point out that today’s rich cultural landscape is no accident but the result of many dedicated people who have worked for years to provide venues and audience and enthusiasm for what we now hold so dear.

“People were making literature part of our daily life here long before now — people like Gray Zeitz of Larkspur Press and Mike Courtney at Black Swan Books and many others,” Sutherland said. “That continuity all along adds to the strength of the literary arts here now.”

Gray Zeitz has been printing the work of Kentucky writers for 40 years. He started Larkspur Press in 1974 with the intention of making fine books and publishing contemporary writers. Ever since, he has been creating handmade, letter press books that are prized editions of many a reader’s library.

“Business is great,” said Zeitz. “Lexington is a very special place. There is a strong literary community. Louisville is strong and, of course, Whitesburg’s Appalshop and also the Hindman Settlement School have meant a lot to Kentucky’s literary reputation, but Lexington has really blossomed into a very supportive place for writers. When I first started, there was a great thirst for this, but now many people are being reached and are enjoying great access to writers’ works, and writers are given great opportunities to share their work. Our state is much better off for having this strong literary voice.”

Local economy loaded with opportunity

No question, it adds to Lexington’s reputation in a positive way and many business leaders see this as good — even vital — to a city like Lexington. They recognize it as an important piece of economic development.

What makes an attractive community? Can being considered a literary capital possibly be anything but good for Lexington? What sets the city apart from others in the region? All good questions if you are concerned about recruiting talent for your existing business and staff or looking to relocate your business or start a new one in the area. If you are emgaged in one or more of those endeavors, then finding a culturally rich community with much to offer and a literate, smart, well-rounded population of potential employees, along with a high quality of life to offer a developing workforce, is crucial.

Local booksellers see firsthand what Kentucky writers can do for the local economy. Brooke Raby, marketing director for Joseph-Beth Booksellers says its Kentucky section sets them apart.

“We take a lot of pride in our Kentucky section. We give local writers a shot at selling their books and developing their careers and we couldn’t be prouder of this,” Raby said. “Many local writers have large followings and demand for their books never stops. Our Kentucky writers section is to honor the great writers we have and to serve as a beacon for those to come.”

Wyn Morris, owner of the Morris Bookshop in Chevy Chase agreed.

“We feel strongly about the strength of the work itself, and we like to show it off a bit, but also it sells like crazy,” Morris said. “If you run a list of our top 10 sellers any week, all 10 may be Kentucky authors. When you have writers like Bobbie Ann Mason, C.E. Morgan, Wendell Berry, Silas House, Nikky Finney, James Nicholson and Ed McClanahan all putting out new books, it really lights up your bestsellers list,”

“Our children’s books section boasts bestselling books for children by Kentucky writers also,” he said. “George Ella Lyon, J.D. Lester, and Marcia Thornton Jones and the late Paul Brett Johnson — all Lexingtonians — have titles among our most popular. You don’t walk into many bookstores in other states, anywhere in the country, with this impressive a local section. I challenge anyone to find a better place to be a writer.”

Local publishers like Apex Publishing, University Press of Kentucky and Accents Press keep new editions on the shelves and release new titles throughout the year. The Lexington Public Library Foundation each year conducts a fundraising event called A Night of Literary Feasts, giving rare, intimate access to some of Kentucky’s gifted writers by offering a unique opportunity for local book lovers to spend an evening with a favorite author at a dinner hosted in a private home. This year lucky participants spent an evening with their pick of several authors, among them, David King, author of Death in the City of Light, and Kim Edwards, author of The Lake of Dreams, both of whom have enjoyed success with books released this year.

Many local authors are at the forefront of political and activist writing also. The tradition, starting with books like Night Comes To The Cumberlands by Harry M. Caudill, gave rise to the current writings of Erik Reece on the mountain top removal controversy and Which Side Are You On by George Ella Lyon that explore the darker side of Kentucky’s history and current woes.

From Kentuckian Robert Penn Warren, the nation’s first poet laureate, to William Wells Brown, a former slave and published author and playwright, to Jesse Stuart, and James Still, Elizabeth Hardwick, Harriette Arnow and Gurney Norman, to Hunter S. Thompson, Sue Grafton, Mary Ann Taylor-Hall and Barbara Kingsolver, Kentucky writers have made their mark. We have an unbroken thread of great writers from Kentucky, and we are producing more all the time. The dedicated members of our writing community wouldn’t have it any other way. Kentucky writers have a pretty good handle on one indisputable fact: There is much to tell.

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