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"There is about [Byer's] lines something of the art of the woodcut, a starkness made the more powerful by modesty of presentation, a certain wintriness of aspect that cloaks a smoldering sensibility. This is a mode, we might think, that she does not choose but is chosen by."-Fred Chappell, ShenandoahTaking as her touchstone poet Seamus Heaney's verse "We come back emptied, / to nourish and resist / the words of coming to rest," Kathryn Stripling Byer in these poems engages the contradictions inherent in the act of coming home. She explores the step-by-step leaving and returning-and finding "home" transformed because of the journey. Seamless lines of poetry weave together experiences as a daughter and a mother, the challenges of aging, the innate dignity of domestic life, and learning to let go while holding fast to what matters all the while. Byer gathers the trivial things that make up our lives and shows their meaningful connections, our movement toward discovery. In Coming to Rest, she expands upon the great themes of the poetic tradition.Kathryn Stripling Byer has published four previous books of poetry, including Catching Light, winner of the Southeast Booksellers Association Award for Poetry. Among her other accolades are the Lamont Poetry Selection for Wildwood Flower, the Roanoke-Chowan Poetry Prize and the Brockman-Campbell Award for Black Shawl, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and appointment as Poet Laureate of North Carolina. She lives in Cullowhee, located in the western mountains of the state. ... Read more

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Poems Bring Mountain Women's Voices To Life
Kathryn Byer's BLACK SHAWL follows the thread of her earlier prize-winning WILDWOOD FLOWER, that is, it remains fascinated by the lives of women in the southern mountains.Whereas the earlier book presented the voice of one woman named Alma, this latest book gathers up the voices of many women, most of them singers, quilters, story-tellers.The poems weave Byer's distinctive music into every line, creating a verbal tapestry that haunts long after one has closed the book. Byer is one of the country's best poets and deserves a far wider readership. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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In Wildwood Flower, Kathryn Stripling Byer speaks through the fictional voice of a mountain woman named Alma, who lived in the Blue Ridge wilderness around the turn of the century.In narrative and lyric, Byer's poems sing a journey through solitude, capturing the spirit and the sound of mountain ballads and of the women who sang them, stitching bits and pieces of their hardscrabble lives into lasting patterns. ... Read more

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Great poems
I think you should seriously consider removing Publisher Weekly's review; this is a very good selection of poems. The poet's word choice seems so natural.The poems' sequence of words seem inevitable and the writing is beautiful and appears effortless. The themes are accessible but not cliched. These are not screeching confessional poems, nor do they contain the so-called words of the street ("f...", sh..." etc) It is becoming a cliche but the review by Publisher Weekly almost certainly stems from east coast bias. Highly recommend her poetry along with that of Betty Adcock and David Mason. Good poetry is being written in the U.S.; too bad that you have to read reviews by Fred Chappell to discover it.

Publishers Weekly is off the mark!
Lord only knows who Publishers Weekly gets to review its books, but it goofed with this reviewer. (Maybe from NYC, too jaded to know what real poetry is?) This is a wonderful book, lyrical, unashamedly so, and full of the the details that make literature stay in one's imagination.
While the NYC critics celebrate the obscure and fashionable (Jorie Graham, anyone???), real poets are out in the hinterlands writing memorable poetry.Let's read them and let the literary establishment go about its silly business.

Wildwood Flower Sings!
So much of contemporary poetry is as prosy as your average obituary.And just about as engaging.A few poets, more than a few of them from the South, still know how to wield a line, a stanza, a whole poem.This poet does.The poems in this book, in the voice of a mountain woman named Alma, gather up the physical, emotional, erotic life of one woman into a texture of beauty and terror."Abandoned to hoot owls and copperheads," Alma survives and sings her journey through the dark into luminous song. If you despair of what is happening to poetry, these days, don't.Read this book.

A voice from the blue Ridge Mountains
Byer is quoted as saying of the Blue Ridge Mts. "...these mountains are a crazy-quilt of trails haunted by women's voices," and what Byer is successful in doing is bringing those voices to life. Each poem connectsthe reader withthe lives of women who have lived in the mountians, theisolation of their daily lives and how they sink into or break theisolation by communicating with each other through their songs. The poemsare sometimes joyful and sometimes haunting as the boundary betweendomestic space and nature overlap. I couldn't stop reading and usually withpoetry I only read one or two poems at a time and then let it settle. Butwith this book I got caught up Byer's crazy-quilt and read untill the end.It is a rich book. ... Read more

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In Catching Light, Kathryn Stripling Byer searched for the language of aging, for a way of confronting every woman's fear of looking in the mirror and seeing an old woman staring back.Inspired by a series of photographs entitled "Evelyn"-which depicts a former artist's model in her declining years, still full of life and facing death with flair and wit-Byer finds a voice to contemplate the enigmatic but inevitable process of growing old.

Byer opens her book with a ten-poem sequence, In the Photograph Gallery. " 'Who is she?'/a child hanging on to her mother's skirt/ asks, as if she is frightened/ by what she sees. 'Just a little old lady,'/her mother soothes/That's all she is.'"By placing Evelyn herself in the gallery to respond to the photos, and hear that exchange, Byer opens the door into the inner life of this "little old lady."

Part Two moves into more personal, mythological territory as the images of Evelyn and the poet's own recollections coalesce.The final section draws closer to Evelyn's dark hour, her humor in the face of death, her memories, her acknowledgement of her sexuality, her letting go.

Catching Light is a profound inquiry into aging and how one remarkable woman faces it, sings to it, mocks its, rebels against it, and ultimately embraces it. ... Read more

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Kathryn Byer Creates Another Haunting Woman's Voice
In CATCHING LIGHT, Kathryn Stripling Byer weaves yet again her own brand of poetic magic.Poems in the voice of an aging woman named Evelyn take us into the life and imagination of a woman who refuses to give up, refuses to let go of life.In lyrics with delicate yet strong movement and closure, she gathers her reader into the web that only language well used can weave. Byer continues to grow as a poet, and I look forward to future volumes. The terms Southern and Appalachian no longer apply to such work; it has moved beyond the regional and into a realm accessible to anyone who cares about poetry, regardless of its regional roots.All good poems begin in the particulars of their worlds, of course, but too often poems termed regional, especially Southern or Appalachian, are met with condescension from the more entlighted literati in NYC, Provincetown, and else where. Byer's poems rebuke such a constricted view of American poetry.

Unflinching yet Lyrical Look at Aging
When the Southeastern Bookseller's Association selected this book for their 2002 Book of the Year in Poetry, they knew what they were doing.Kathryn Stripling Byer's fourth book of poetry takes on the subject of a woman's old age, her last days, and how she reacts to them. By turns stark, witty, lyrical, elegiac, these poems seem determined to rise to the challenge issued by Eavan Boland in several of her poems and essays that writing about an aging woman is difficult if not downright impossible in the Western poetic tradition. In the voice of a woman by the name of Evelyn, and growing out of a collaboration with photographer Louanne Watley, whose Evelyn Series illuminated the last days of an eccentric old woman, these poems take the reader into Evelyn's interior world, her fears, her sexuality, her memories. It's quite a journey and one well worth taking, not only for its insights but also for the beauty and clarity of its poetry. ... Read more

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The Jesse Stuart Foundation recently published Late Mowing, a collection of poems and essays by Eastern Kentucky author, Stephen M. Holt. Holt's book has already earned high marks from literary critics.

Michael McFee, a well-known University of North Carolina author and critic, writes that Steve Holt's Late Mowing is "a fine debut and a welcome addition to Appalachian poetry, in particular the remarkable literature of Kentucky. His style is delicately intense and sharp of image…but his poems are always pursuing something deeper than just vivid diction."

Linda Parsons Marion, a magazine editor and critic, points out that Holt's view of the natural world is another important major theme that runs throughout his writings.

Kathryn Stripling Byer, a well-known Appalachian author from Cullowhee, North Carolina penned the Introduction to Late Mowing and observes that Steve Holt has continued a literary tradition of "unlocking the Appalachian landscape, inviting his reader...into a reality brimming with history, song, and ten thousand things of his keenly observed world." ... Read more

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Pure Genius...
...That's just what this book is! True, I may be partial due to the fact Mr. Holt is my Senior English Teacher, but the poems and essays are wonderful. Many of the poems give such rich detail that one might think they are there with the author as he narrates the action. One of my favorite poems, "Jesus Wept" seems rather humorous on the surface, but as I read it over and over again, it shows the somber truth of human nature. This book is perfect for anyone who has a serious understanding of poetry. ... Read more

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Word count: 2060. ... Read more

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A multi-genre, multicultural anthology of poetry, stories, creative nonfiction, and letters, written by 52 outstanding voices in contemporary American literature. The selections are gutsy, humorous, and lyrical. Section I, Call Me, Even if You're Happy, recounts the difficult task of mothers bidding farewell to their daughters: feeling apprehensive, yet proud to have raised young women who can fend for themselves. Section II, Hello, Mother, Goodbye, offers tender reflections on leaving home, as well as stories about caring for aging mothers, about grieving and healing, and about adoption. Contributors: Betty Adcock, Deedee Agee, Lauren K. Alleyne, Maggie Anderson, Jeanette Cabanis-Brewin, Corinna Lynette Byer, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Andree Chedid, Marilyn Chin, Lucille Clifton, Judy Pfau Cochran, Moira Crone, Rita Dove, Janice Eidus, Diane Gilliam, Alice Friman, Tereze Gluck, Sarah Gorham, Joy Harjo, Brenda Hillman, Colette Inez, Jessie L. Janeshek, Allison Joseph, Marilyn Kallet, Meg Kearney, Jamaica Kincaid, Renee Linkhorn, Linda Parsons Marion, Libby Martinez, Rebecca McClanahan, Lauren McCollum, Pat Mora, Sharon Olds, Rainy Dawn Ortiz, Alicia Ostriker, Linda Pastan, Rochelle Ratner, Hilda Raz, Paulette Roeske, Nelly Sachs, Sonia Sanchez, Pamela Schoenewaldt, Barbara Selfridge, Nonie Selfridge Sparks, Katherine Smith, Gloria Vando, Ingrid Wendt, J. Patrice Whetsell, Dede Wilson, Lillian Elaine Wilson, Cecilia Woloch, and Barbara Zimmerman. ... Read more

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Vivid family pictures
I found this book through a review and interview with one of the editors which recommended it for Mother's Day. I purchased one for my daughter, then one for my mother, then realized I would want to know what they were reading, so lastly, one for myself. An eclectic mix of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and letters around the central theme of mother-daughter transitions, the book was a fast read that stimulated a kaleidoscope of intergenerational images. I also appreciate the diversity represented by the contributing authors. The multicultural approach simply serves to underline the universality of this most powerful relationship, whatever language its participants speak. ... Read more

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Poems In the Wake of 9/11
Writing, or going on at length about how one cannot or should not write,about the terrorist attacks of 9/11 has become something of a cottage industry. There are many risks involved in taking on this topic, but Kathryn Byer comes at it slant, as Emily Dickinson advised.The first poem, "Safe," sets the tone of emotional honesty, particularly the last line, responding to the young daughter's cradling of a bird killed by flying into window glass, "Now go wash your hands." The poems in this chapbook are arranged almost musically, and there is enough variety of form and subject to sustain suchmovement. Byer has written four previous books, all graced with the lyricism, keen eye for detail, and ear for poetic music that mark her work.WAKE explores new ground.And it shows that poetry can indeed speak to the events of our time, with no loss of poetic power. Moreover, this book is a beautiful example of bookmaking. Hand-sewn, with handmade endpapers, it rests in one's hands like a gift.It has been designed with these powerful but restrained poems as its focus, and the final product is stunning. ... Read more

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A Poetic Harvest
Kathryn Byer's first book of poetry was published in the Associated Writing Program's Award Series, selected by John Frederick Nims, who has an excellent introductory statement on the dust jacket.Nims praises the robust and affirmative singing and story-telling in this collection, and he is right on target with his comments.The Girl In the Midst of the Harvest is a book about growing up in the flatlands of the South, coming of age in the mountains of North Carolina.The poems are by turns rollicking and controlled.The middle section explores the mythology of family history in a sequence titled "Search Party." One of the best books of poetry to come out of the South in the last 20 years, or so I believe. ... Read more

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Featuring R. T. Smith, Ron McFarland, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Amy Small-McKinney, Adrian Matejka, Sarah Kennedy, Samn Stockwell, David C. Meyer, Mark McKee, Nance Van Winckel, Mark Terrill, Mark Scroggins, John Colburn, Chad Davidson, Simon Perchik, John Isles, Theodore Worozbyt, Kevin Ducey, Jim McGarrah, Sandra Kohler, Elizabeth Murawski, Kate Evans, Jane Satterfield, Alexandra Van de Kamp, Michelle Mitchell-Foust, Lorene Delany-Ullman, Moira Muldoon, Rebecca Dunham, Stephen Burt, Sima Rabinowitz, Sara Calloway, Sandra Meek, Sarah Wetzel-Reiss, Elizabeth Howard, Tom Noyes, Clara Stites ... Read more

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The chapbook documents readings and talks from the first annual Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival, which was held in April, 2009 (Organizers: Buket Aydemir, Pelin Bali, Mehmet C. Ozturk & Birgul Tuzlali).The chapbook is a cooperative publication by scholars,poets, and members of the NC literary community that celebrates the work and influence of Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet.The chapbook includescommentary by NC Poet Laureate Katherine Stripling Byer, and articles on Nazim Hikmet's life and poetry by Greg Dawes (NC State University) and Erdag Goknar, (Duke University).Eight winning poems and two honorable mentions from the poetry competition are also included, representing the work of poets Judy Light Ayyildiz, Katherine Barnes, Jeffery Beam, David Need, Pamela Richardson, Christopher Salerno, Tony Tost, Chris Vitiello, Guney Acipayamli and Mimi Herman. For information on thefestival visit: http://www.nazimhikmetpoetryfestival.org ... Read more