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North Carolina Libraries
Summer 1999
One of North Carolina's best known creative writers, Thomas Wolfe (left),
plays the title role of outlaw Buck Gavin in his play, The Return of Buck Gavin
produced by the Carolina Playmakers in March 1919 when Wolfe was a junior
at the University of North Carolina. Frederick J. Cohn (right) is the Sheriff.
/
North Carolina Writers
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Volume 97, Number 2
ISSN 0029-2540
NorTH CAROLINA WRITERS
Alice Cotten, Guest Editor
49 Collecting North CarolinaTs Creative Writing: One LibrarianTs Guide,
Eileen McGrath
53 A Noble Tradition: Creative Writing at UNCG, William K. Finley
57 writers and Libraries: A Symbiotic Partnership, Jinnie Y. Davis
62 Backyard Treasure: North Carolina Authors of Books for Children and Young
Adults, Ruth Moose
64 North CarolinaTs Award-Winning Creative Writers
66 Little Magazines in North Carolina
70 A Field Guide to Writers in North Carolina and the South, Dorothy D. Hodder
wees PR) ee
48 From the President
63 About the Authors
72 Lagniappe: And What About Thomas Wolfe?, Alice Cotten
74 Wired to the World: North Carolina Authors, Ralph Lee Scott
76 North Carolina Books
83 In View OF...
84 Between Us: Whither State Documents?, Maurice C. York
85 NCLA Minutes
Advertisers: Broadfoot's, 68
Brodart, 75
Checkpoint, 82
Current Editions, 73
Davidson Titles, 87 / ~
Ebsco, 79 Cover: This photo, recently acquired, has not previously been published. Photo courtesy of the
Mumford Books, 69 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina Library at Chapel Hill.
Quality Books, 81
SIRS, front cover
UNC Press, back cover
North Carolina Libraries is the official publication of the North Carolina Library Association.
Art direction and design by Pat Weathersbee of TeamMedia, Greenville, NC.
ce
From the President
Beverley Gass, President
48 " Summer 1999
remember still reading Lancaster's The Death of the Book in 1985-86 while | was a doctoral student at
~Columbia University. It has taken me this entire day to recall his name. About 6:00 PM, it came to me
~that his last name was Lancaster. By about 7:00 or so, | knew that his first name began with the letter
F. By 10:30 PM it occurs to me to look in the attic. Seems like | recall having filed away notes and
things in a file cabinet in the attic from my time at Columbia in pursuit of the doctorate nearly 13
- years ago. Maybe it will be there. In less than five minutes, | find it. | am stunned. It must have really
stirred me up when | read it. To remember his name, to find the article, to even have kept it. | am pretty
_* amazed. Must have really hit a nerve.
F. Wilfrid Lancaster, that's it. Lancaster. He's the guy who talked about the paperless society and ques-
tioned whether or not libraries would be needed in an electronic world. He thought that the profession
(of librarianship) had its head in the sand if it continued to ignore this inevitable reality. His ideas haunted
me. Could it be that | was spending all this energy working on a doctorate in library science only to have
the whole darn profession disappear? Could he possibly be right? He was futuristic, even shocking.
It's accurate for me to say that Lancaster's ideas and what they might mean for libraries are ones that
| have carried with me since first hearing them. It's almost been my mantra: prove him wrong, prove him
wrong. | was reminded of Lancaster's predictions again last summer during ALA and the ACRL President's
Program when North Carolina's own John Ulmschneider spoke of the future of the book. Another flash
recall about what Lancaster said occurred again two months ago when Kem Ellis described his investiga-
tions into e-books and what this might mean for the services his public library might deliver. | was again
reminded of the Lancaster prediction.
And then, it hit right here at home: the vortex of that intellectual storm has touched down right here
at GTCC. Only two days ago, Technical Services Librarian Don Forbes told me that he had set counters on
our library workstations to see what electronic resources were used most. Would it be NC LIVE, SIRS, Law
Desk, the library's catalog, the Internet, or some other electronic resource? I'm afraid that Don's predic-
tion that the least used item at the workstation will be our library's catalog may be correct. Apparently,
Lancaster's predictions that have haunted me for 13 years are more accurate than | feared. Now | still do
not believe that libraries will disappear during my career, and they may continue for a long time to come.
But, | still worry.
| worry, too, about Intellectual Freedom and First Amendment rights and Internet filters and North
Carolina Senate Bill 907. We've developed Internet Use Policies for our library. We don't worry too much
about challenges to our resources or our access to the Internet here in our library. We're small; we're in
the cloistered environment of academe. Yeah, right. Is it not enough to worry that Lancaster might still be
right? Apparently not.
For today, right here at Guilford Technical Community College, it hits. The memo arrives addressed
to Community College Presidents with this ominous disclaimer attached: Please note that while this re-
port is not listed in the Annual Reporting Plan, we must respond to this Legislative request. Must re-
spond? Respond about what? Respond to a survey designed to collect data about the impact and costs of
adhering to Senate Bill 907 should it pass. Holy smoke. It asks about our policies concerning authorized
or unauthorized access to the Internet by persons under the age of 18. It asks for how we supervise,
monitor, make disclaimers for persons under 18. It asks how much it will cost us to use filtering software.
Let us all hope that by the time this column appears in the next issue of North Carolina Libraries, the
whole mess about Senate Bill 907 will have been swept away with some of the other debris of dead North
Carolina Senate bills.
But that's not all I'm worried about. I'm really worried that Gene, Dr. Intellectual Freedom, Lanier is
retiring. Late this afternoon, Gene completed the wording of a cover memo to accompany the proposed
statement as it is distributed to Executive Board members. What will become of us? Who among us is pre-
pared to take his place? Let us all hope, again, that by the time this column appears in print, NCLA will
have adopted a statement on Internet access and filters.
I'm really worried, too, about what it must be like to be Jerry Thrasher, Director of the Cumberland
County Public Library, and to have to wage his nearly never-ending defense of the principles of Intellec-
tual Freedom and the role of library in the community.
Holy, holy smoke. All these worries in just one short week. | worried all day about these things. And
then | worried that a colleague of mine told me today that | worry too much. Well, bah humbug, some-
one must worry about these things. Please, let these worries, though, be just another few of those several
million things out there that | worry about all the time. And, please, give us all the strength to continue to
wage the battles for libraries and Intellectual Freedom. May we find the way through these things. May
the strong and brave among us be stronger and braver still.
North Carolina Libraries
Collecting North CarolinaTs Creative Writing:
One LibrarianTs Guide
hen I moved to North
Carolina in 1984, I was fa-
miliar with twentieth-century
North Carolina history and,
while I had read some twenti-
eth-century Southern literature,
I had only the slightest acquain-
tance with North Carolina authors.
That changed when I accepted a posi-
tion as a cataloger in the North Carolina
Collection at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. These novels,
childrenTs books, science fiction, ro-
mances, poetry, short story collections,
and multi-genre, multi-author collec-
tions rolled into the cataloging work
room week after week. I began to notice
announcements in the local newspapers
and periodicals about author readings,
and I started to read reviews of North
Carolina books in local and national
publications. Before long, much of my
professional and leisure time was ab-
sorbed by North Carolina literature. My
interest must have been obivious be-
cause in 1994, I was given formal re-
sponsibility for collection development
for the stateTs premier collection of
North Caroliniana, the North Carolina
Collection in Wilson Library. Because
there is an enthusiasm for North Caro-
lina creative writing among the staff of
the collection, I get lots of help. Co-
workers leave me articles from newspa-
pers, pages from publishersT catalogs,
printouts from Web sites, and notes
about new or forthcoming books. I need
North Carolina Libraries
by Eileen McGrath
(and have) a special in-box on my desk
just for acquisitions ideas.
The Contemporary Literary
Landscape
Tony Abbott, Alice Adams, Lavonne
Adams, Sheila Kay Adams, Betty Adcock,
Alex Albright, Annette Allen, Schandra
Alston, A. R. Ammons, Maya Angelou,
James Applewhite, Daphne Athas, Laura
Argiri, Ellyn Bache, Margaret Booth
Baddour, Robert Bain, Sharlene Baker,
Mignon Ballard, Nigel Barnes, Wilton
Barnhardt, Gerald Barrax, Robert
Bateman, Joseph Bathani, Ronald Bayes,
Jeffery Beam, Maudy Benz, Doris Betts,
Helen Bevington, Will Blythe, Elizabeth
Bolton, Earl S. Braggs, Lilian Jackson
Braun, Sue Ellen Bridgers, Bill Brittain,
Grey Brown, Linda Beatrice Brown,
Dixie Browning, Elizabeth Brownrigg,
Sally Buckner, Betsy Byars, Kathryn
Stripling Byer. The North Carolina liter-
ary scene is a mighty crowded place. The
list of creative writers in or from the Tar
Heel State doesnTt peter out as one goes
through the alphabet: John York, Marly
Youmans, Barbara Younger, Ila Yount,
John Young, Lee Zacharias, Hugh
Zachary, Robert Zimmerman, Isabel
Zuber. It seems to me that North Caro-
lina has more creative writers than any
other state, except New York. This is, of
course, difficult to prove.
In a recent article in the Spectator,
Sally Buckner (herself a poet and an-
thologist) wrote that she could think of
sixty fiction writers, twenty-eight poets,
six dramatists, and eighteen authors of
books for children and young adults in
the Triangle area.! ThatTs over one hun-
dred published authors in just one part
of the state. Nor does this number in-
clude the many writers whose works
have yet to see print, or whose works
have appeared only in periodicals. For
the state as a whole, one approximation
might be based on the membership
(1,800) of the North Carolina WritersT
Network. Each issue of its newsletter,
The WritersT Network News, lists the
names and residences of new members.
If those listed in the November/Decem-
ber 1998 and January/February 1999 is-
sues reflect the membership as a whole,
then 90% (approximately 1,600) of
their members are North Carolina resi-
dents. Even though some members may
be librarians, nonfiction writers, editors,
and publishing industry workers, I
think that number is impressive. How
does this compare to other states? In
population North Carolina now ranks
eleventh among the states; Georgia is
the tenth most populous state, Virginia
is the twelfth. The geographical index
in WhoTs Who in Writers, Editors & Poets:
United States & Canada, 1995-1996 edi-
tion lists 120 writers with Georgia resi-
dences, 177 with North Carolina, and
207 with Virginia.2 This would imply
that our numbers are not extraordinary
for our size, but I think that the case can
be made that the Washington, D.C. sub-
Summer 1999 " 49
urbs skew the numbers for Virginia.
Another way to measure the magni-
tude of the literary scene is to look at
publications. Each year the North Caro-
lina Historical Review prints a bibliogra-
phy of published, book-length North
Caroliniana, arranged by general cat-
egories.* According to the bibliogra-
phies appearing from 1988-1997, Tar
Heel authors published 374 books of
poetry during those ten years. Eight
hundred forty-nine works of fiction
with a North Carolina setting or by a
North Carolina author were published
in that same period. Moreover the aver-
age annual number of North Carolina
fiction works has been increasing, from
67 (1988-1992) to 102 (1993-1997). Here
is numerical confirmation of what many
of us have thought: more North Caro-
lina fiction writers are getting published,
and writers elsewhere are finding North
Carolina to be an interesting setting.
Within this crowded literary scene,
all ages are represented. Writers who
began their careers in the 1950s and
1960s are still publishing. They have
been joined by at least two newer gen-
erations of writers, many of whom
learned their craft in courses taught by
members of the older generation. The
productive senior generation includes
such writers as Doris Betts, Fred
Chappell, and Reynolds Price. Betts
published two well-received novels
in the 1990s. In the same decade,
Chappell, now the stateTs poet laureate,
published nine books and chapbooks,
and Price published an astounding six-
teen volumes of poetry, fiction, drama,
and religious meditations.
These individuals may be among
the stateTs best known writers, but they
are not exceptional in their ability to re-
main productive through a long career.
Each year four literary competitions are
sponsored by the North Carolina Liter-
ary and Historical Association in coop-
eration with several other cultural
groups.* The nominees for those awards
are listed in the September issue of Caro-
lina Comments.® The list of nominees for
the Sir Walter Raleigh Award, given for
the best work of fiction, and the
Roanoke-Chowan Award, given for po-
etry, includes familiar names: Fred
Chappell, Charles Edward Eaton, Eliza-
beth Daniels Squire (Sir Walter Raleigh
Award, 1990); James Applewhite, Ronald
Bayes, Fred Chappell, Lenard D. Moore
(Roanoke-Chowan Award, 1993); Maya
Angelou, Charles Edward Eaton, Marie
Gilbert, Peter Makuck, Robert Watson
(Roanoke-Chowan Award, 1995);
Kathryn Stripling Byer, Michael
50 " Summer 1999
Chitwood, Tim McLaurin, Shelby
Stephenson (Roanoke-Chowan Award,
1998). These well-established and mid-
career authors are joined by new writ-
ers. Competing for the 1990 Sir Walter
Raleigh Award against the luminaries
mentioned above was Allan GurganusTs
first novel, Oldest Living Confederate
Widow Tells All. The newcomer won.
Reading the list of literary award
nominees in back issues of Carolina
Comments is one of the best ways to
gain an appreciation for the wealth of
writing talent in this state. Through
these lists one can see the emergence
and development of new talents such as
Clyde Edgerton and Kaye Gibbons.
Clyde EdgertonTs first novel, Raney, was
nominated for the Sir Walter Raleigh
Award in 1985. Later books by Edgerton
were nominated in 1987, 1989, 1991,
1993, and 1998; he received the 1998
award for his novel Where Trouble Sleeps.
Kaye GibbonsTs first book, Ellen Foster,
was nominated in 1987; subsequent
books were nominated in 1989, 1991,
and 1998. This year Gibbons received
the stateTs highest civilian honor, the
North Carolina Award, for her contribu-
tions to literature.
Another phenomenon that one can
see by reading the oNorth Carolina Bib-
liography� in the North Carolina
Historical Review or the list of
nominees in Carolina Comments is
that many North Carolina writers
are not limited to one genre.
The stateTs poet laureate, Fred
Chappell, has published nine
books of fiction. Jim Grimsley
came to wide public view with his
novels Dream Boy, My Drowning,
and Winter Birds; but play writing has
been his primary focus for much of his
career. It is hard to say whether
Reynolds Price is better known as a poet
or a novelist, or whether Maya Angelou
is better known for her poetry or her au-
tobiographical works. Several other po-
ets have produced affecting memoirs,
including Alan Shapiro whose The Last
Happy Occasion and Vigil were published
a few years ago, and Michael Chitwood
whose autobiographical commentaries
often can be heard on WUNC-FM.
Collection Development |
Decisions
When such a rich and diverse literary
field meets the reality of the library bud-
get, librarians have to make choices.
Each library must define for itself the
term oNorth Carolina literature.� Is it
solely the literary creation of North
Carolinians, or can it include works set
in North Carolina, but written by resi-
dents of other places? In the North
Carolina Collection, we collect both
types of materials. We have done this so
that our collection will reflect the liter-
ary genius of the state as well as what
others have thought or imagined about
this place.
So, who is a Tar Heel? Is birth the
determining factor? Is having grown up
in the state or having lived in the state
for a certain number of years sufficient?
Is any item published while its author
resides in the state a work of North
Carolina literature?
This state has given birth to many
writers who now live elsewhere: e.g.,
A.R. Ammons, Shirley Cochrane, Tony
Earley, Michael Malone, Armistead
Maupin, Jill McCorkle, Howard Owen,
Tom Robbins, and Tom Wicker. Others,
such as Alice Adams, Anne Tyler,
Randall Kenan, and David Sedaris, were
born elsewhere but raised in North
Carolina. In some cases, the decision is
easy " while Jill McCorkle has lived for
some years in Massachusetts, her work
clearly draws on her North Carolina
experiences. Anne Tyler was born in
Minnesota but grew up in Raleigh. She
has lived in Baltimore for three decades
and much of her work has been set in
Each library must
define for itself the term
oNorth Carolina literature.�
the mid-Atlantic states. Yet her enor-
mous popularity insures that virtually
every public and college library in the
state will buy her next novel. More dif-
ficult are the decisions about someone
like Alice Adams or David Sedaris. Both
were reared in North Carolina after be-
ing born elsewhere. Few, if any, of their
works have North Carolina content,
and neither has achieved as wide an
audience as Anne Tyler.
Librarians also have to decide about
people born elsewhere who moved into
the state. Maya Angelou and Elizabeth
Spencer are two writers who had well-
established careers before settling in at
Wake Forest University, and the Univer-
sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
respectively. Both continued to write
and publish after they moved to the
state. Collecting their new books seems
to me appropriate, given the quality of
their works (each has received the
North Carolina Libraries
North Carolina Award for literature);
but should a library attempt to acquire
the works they published before mov-
ing to North Carolina?
Then there is the question of genre.
Can the library collect in all genres, or
should it limit itself to just one or two,
such as poetry and mainstream fiction?
The interests of patrons and the library
budget are probably the chief consider-
ations. For example, since most poetry
appears in periodicals, meeting local
interest will mean acquiring periodicals
that regularly publish poetry. Is the li-
brary prepared to maintain subscrip-
tions to a large number of literary maga-
zines or to buy single issues containing
pieces by one or more North Carolina
authors?
Regardless of the genre, will the li-
brary collect all or just some editions
(hardback, paperback, large print, trans-
lations, foreign imprints, etc.)? What
about ephemeral materials such as
chapbooks and poems published in pro-
grams and keepsakes? Nonprint formats
such as audiobooks and adaptations for
television or the movies also might be
considered for addition to the collec-
tion. Is the library so committed to its
North Carolina literature collection that
it will buy manuscript materials or
other pre-publication forms such as
proof copies or advanced reading cop-
ies?® Finally, what will the library save?
Public and school libraries, and many
college libraries, regularly weed their
collections. Will the libraryTs collection
be one of current North Carolina litera-
ture, or will North Carolina literary
materials be retained without regard to
their age or circulation history so that
the collection reveals the full literary
heritage of the state? Each library must
make its own decisions.
Identifying Authors and Their
Publications
Identifying new North Caroliniana is
one of the major parts of my job, and it
is work that I relish. To track North
Carolina writers and their work, I em-
ploy the standard print and online
sources useful to any librarian building
a collection of contemporary American
literature. I regularly read Publishers
Weekly. It includes news of specific
forthcoming books, reprints, and adap-
tations. The reviews in each issue and
the announcements in the seasonal pre-
view issues are required reading, but
other parts of the magazine can be help-
ful and interesting. Advertisements of-
ten include works that are not reviewed
and usually include price and ISBN
North Carolina Libraries
numbers. Through a business story in
one issue, I learned that Warner Books
had purchased the right to republish
one of my favorite books of 1997, Susan
KellyTs How Close We Come.T By regu-
larly scanning the business briefs, I fol-
lowed the phenomenal sales of Charles
FrazierTs Cold Mountain and the growing
popularity of Jan KaronTs Mitford series.
The news in Publishers Weekly also gives
me a sense of which North Carolina
writers are being energetically pro-
moted by their publishers.
In addition to Publishers Weekly, 1
also regularly read Library Journal and
the New York Times Book Review. Library
Journal is useful because it reviews such
a large number of books, and because its
reviewers usually mention the setting of
works of fiction. Through the reviews in
the New York Times Book Review I occa-
sionally uncover a writerTs hitherto un-
known connection to North Carolina;
the Times's reviews also provide a na-
tional, professional perspective on the
work of North Carolina authors. I also
try to scan the book reviews in the
magazines and journals to which I sub-
scribe and those I acquire when I am
traveling. Through book review maga-
zines from other parts of the country
such as the Hungry Mind Review from
Minnesota, I sometimes discover a Tar
Heel living and writing in some other
part of the country. I also read as many
publisher catalogs as I can. Of course, I
look at the catalogs and publication lists
of in-state presses, but I also look at the
catalogs of such large commercial pub-
lishers as Random House and Simon &
Schuster, university presses, genre-iden-
tified publishers, and a number of small
presses that often publish the works of
North Carolina writers. Some of the
publishers that have been surprisingly
deep in North Caroliniana include the
following: (for poetry) Copper Canyon
Press, Gnomon Press, Louisiana State
University Press, Nightshade Press,
Papier-Mache Press, and (for science-fic-
tion) Tom Doherty Associates.
Friends and colleagues often leave
me suggestions for purchases, though
seldom with a full bibliographic cita-
tion. Books in Print, now available both
in print and online through OCLCTs
FirstSearch service, is invaluable for
finding the complete ordering informa-
tion. PublishersT Web sites are also good
sources of information. Other online
sources that I use regularly are the
OCLC database and CARL Corpor-
ationTs NoveList, both available through
NC LIVE. I use these to check for other
works by an author who has just come
to my attention. OCLC also helps me
sort out a title that has appeared in
multiple forms or editions.
As good as these sources are, if I re-
lied upon them exclusively, I would
miss a large amount of what is being
published by North Carolina authors.
Attention to in-state sources of informa-
tion is essential if you hope to develop
an extensive collection of North Caro-
lina creative writing. The local newspa-
per is a good place to start. A number
of newspapers in the state, particularly
the Charlotte Observer, the Herald-Sun
(Durham), the Fayetteville Observer-
Times, the News & Observer (Raleigh),
and The Pilot (Southern Pines), have
long supported the stateTs literary scene
with good book pages that include book
reviews, feature articles, author inter-
views, and calendar listings of upcom-
ing readings. A town does not have to
be large for the local paper to cover the
local literary scene. Small town papers
may not run many book reviews, but
they frequently interview local authors
and print a calendar of local literary
events.
Statewide or regional cultural pub-
lications are also a source of informa-
tion of books and writers. Some publi-
cations, like Brightleaf and the North
Carolina Review of Books, focus on litera-
ture. In these you will get long reviews,
essays, interviews, and advertisements
that can alert you to new publications
and new writers. For periodicals such as
Creative Loafing, the Independent Weekly,
and the Spectator, literature is but one of
the subjects they cover, yet these pub-
lications include literary events in their
community calendars and often con-
tain book reviews, interviews, advertise-
ments for books and bookstores, and
essays on literary topics. The space given
to literary matters in these publications
is, to me, an indicator of the vitality of
the stateTs literary community.
The book review pages in local pa-
pers often contain advertisements from
local bookstores. North Carolina is
blessed with a good number of local,
independently owned bookstores, ex-
tending not quite from Manteo to
Murphy, but from at least Manteo (with
Manteo Booksellers) to Asheville (with
MalapropTs Bookstore/Cafe and other
book sellers). Despite the recent loss of
WellingtonTs Books and The Intimate,
the Triangle is still home to some of the
finest bookstores in the country: the
Regulator Bookshop and the Know
Book Store and Cultural Center, both in
Durham, McIntyreTs Fine Books & Book-
ends at Fearrington, and Quail Ridge
Summer 1999 " 71
Books, the ReaderTs Corner, and Books
at Stonehenge in Raleigh. These local
bookstores are in touch with the stateTs
writers. Local stores tend to be most
successful at tracking down local books
that are hard to get through normal ac-
quisitions channels. Although large,
chain bookstores host readings by name
authors on national book tours, it is at
the local, independent bookstore that
users are treated to a large number of
readings by local authors. The newslet-
ters, e-mail bulletin boards, and Web
sites that many of the stores have are
gold mines of information about books
and writers. Getting on the mailing list
at local bookstores is a good idea; an
even better idea is to get to know the
owner.
Many independent bookstores have
sections or displays on local writers.
Browsing these areas is one way to learn
about the many publishers operating in
the state. By my informal count, about
15 commercial entities in the state pub-
lish creative literature.® Included in this
number are established firms publishing
both nonfiction and creative writing
such as Algonquin Books, John F. Blair,
and Down Home Press; presses associ-
ated with colleges in the state such as St.
Andrews College Press, North Carolina
Wesleyan College Press, and Mount Ol-
ive College Press; and a healthy number
of small, independent presses including
Banks Channel Books, Briarpatch Press,
Carolina Wren Press, Horse and Buggy
Press, Hummingbird Press, The Jargon
Society, Lorien House, Persephone Press,
Sandstone Publishing, and Scots Plaid
Press. Few of these presses produce cata-
logs, but it is worth writing to each in-
state publishing firm and asking to be
placed on its mailing list.
A good bit of literature, especially
poetry, is found in periodicals rather
than books. Subscriptions to statewide
and local literary journals expose pa-
trons to a wide range of authors, many
of whom will never publish a book-
length work. Librarians who scan these
journals as part of their collection devel-
opment routine will learn about new
writers and see writers develop material
that may later appear in book form. De-
ciding what in-state literary journals to
subscribe to is not easy. The North Caro-
lina Literary Review is a good selection for
a statewide, multi-genre source, but it
should be supplemented with journals
from your town or region, if such exist.
Librarians should not overlook the liter-
ary journals published at many of the
colleges around the state " itTs likely
that the famous Tar Heel authors of the
92 " Summer 1999
twenty-first century are publishing in
their college literary magazines today.
In addition to subscribing to a range
of literary magazines, librarians may
want to write some of the literary asso-
ciations in the state and ask to receive
their newsletters and to be placed on
their mailing lists. The newsletter of the
North Carolina WritersT Network is a
great source for information on writers,
as are publications of other, more spe-
cialized, groups such as the Carolina Af-
rican American Writers Collective, the
Carolina Romance Writers, North Caro-
lina Haiku Society, the North Carolina
Poetry Society, and the Writers Group of
the Triad. Carefully watching the com-
munity calendar in the local newspaper
or entertainment tabloid enables librar-
ians to learn about local groups, when
they meet, and the name and phone
number of a contact person.
Another way to build knowledge
and make contacts is by attending indi-
vidual author readings and book sign-
ings, and by participating in the many
literary festivals around the state. Recur-
ring events include the North Carolina
Writers Conference, the North Carolina
WritersT Network Fall Conference, the
North Carolina Poetry Society conven-
tions, the Asheville Poetry Festival, the
Spring Literary Festival in Charlotte, the
Festival for the Eno, and an annual
book festival in Cary. These are comple-
mented by one-time or irregularly
scheduled events such as readings at res-
taurants, art galleries, and community
centers such as the Hayti Heritage Cen-
ter in Durham.? Finally, librarians
should not overlook the people they
know as they build their knowledge of
North Carolina authors and their
libraryTs collection of creative writing. I
find that my friends and colleagues
have interests that are not the same as
mine, that they read different things
than I do, and that they turn up infor-
mation on books and authors that I
would not find on my own.
It is pleasant to devote personal and
professional time to following North
Carolina literature. Unfortunately, I
have other claims on my time, and so
does every other librarian in the state.
Each year, as a way to judge how well I
am doing in collecting the work of the
stateTs writers, I check my order and re-
ceived files against the list of nominees
for the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for fic-
tion, the Roanoke-Chowan Award for
poetry, and the Association of American
University Women Award for juvenile
literature. Despite my best efforts, every
year at least twenty percent of the
nominated books are unknown to me.
This gives me pause. I tell myself that
this is a measure of the vitality and di-
versity of North CarolinaTs literary scene
rather than a measure of my inad-
equacy, and then I immediately order
those overlooked titles. So many books,
so little time ....
References
1 Sally Buckner, oFertile Soil,� Spectator,
1030 (November 4, 1998): 11-12.
2 Curt Johnson, ed. WhoTs Who in Writ-
ers, Editors & Poets: United States & Canada.
1995-1996 ed. Highland Park, IL: Decem-
ber Press, 1996.
3 The first of these bibliographies, cov-
ering the years 1931-1933, and composed
by Mary Lindsay Thornton, appeared in
the April 1934 issue of the North Carolina
Historical Review (NCHR). Later bibliogra-
phies, compiled by the curators of the
North Carolina Collection, appeared an-
nually thereafter. Robert G. Anthony, Jr.
compiled the most recent bibliography
which is forthcoming in April 1999 NCHR
issue.
4 These are the AAUW Award for juve-
nile literature; the Mayflower Award for
nonfiction; the Roanoke-Chowan Award
for poetry, and the Sir Walter Raleigh
Award for fiction. A complete listing of
the winners of each award appears else-
where in this issue.
5 Carolina Comments. Raleigh: North
Carolina Division of Archives and His-
tory. Bi-monthly.
© These are surprisingly easy to acquire
from used bookstores in metropolitan ar-
eas of the state or from out-of-print deal-
ers who specialize in literature.
7 This novel was the winner of the first
Carolina Novel Award, established in
1996 to recognize excellence in fiction
writing by Carolina authors. The novel
was first published by Banks Channel
Books of Wilmington, the contestTs spon-
sor. Its word-of-mouth sales and reviews
were so good that Warner Books con-
tracted to re-issue the work in hard cover.
The winning book for 1998-1999 is Judith
StacyTs Styles by Maggie Sweet, from Banks
Channel Books.
8 The 1997 edition of North Carolina
Literary Resource Guide (Carrboro, N.C.;
The North Carolina WritersT Network)
lists twenty-one small presses. A definitive
number is hard to come by since many
small publishing firms are short-lived,
and it is not always easy to tell when a
opublishing firm� is really just one person
publishing his own works and those of
his friends.
9 oSpotlight on Culture,� News & Ob-
server, January 20, 1999.
North Carolina Libraries
A Noble Tradition:
Creative Writing at UNCG
llen Tate, Peter Taylor, Randall
Jarrell, John Crowe Ransom,
Robert Lowell, Richard Wilbur,
Katherine Anne Porter, Carolyn
Gordon, Robert Penn Warren,
Elizabeth Bowen, Richard
Eberhardt, W. D. Snodgrass,
Reynolds Price, Fred Chappell, Donald
Hall, Kay Boyle, R. V. Cassill, Andrew
Lytle, Robert Frost, Eudora Welty, Will-
iam Styron " the names read like a
WhoTs Who of twentieth-century Ameri-
can literature. This distinguished group
has one thing in common: since the late
1930s they have participated at various
times and to varying degrees in the es-
teemed Creative Writing Program at the
University of North Carolina at Greens-
boro. With this glittering array of talent
as support, the universityTs Creative
Writing Program has long been rated
one of the best in the country.
Although the Creative Writing Pro-
gram was not organized fully until 1965,
the teaching of creative writing at the
university goes back much further. Un-
der various designations, classes in
thetoric and composition have been
taught at the North Carolina State Nor-
mal and Industrial School (as the univer-
sity was first called) since its opening in
1892. The English curriculum in the very
first Annual Catalogue includes an un-
titled oCourse IV� which enforced oprac-
tice in writing.� oWriting,� however, did
not necessarily mean creative writing, a
course of instruction generally foreign to
American universities of that time. The
English DepartmentTs stated purpose for
its writing classes was to assure othe ac-
quisition of the ability to use the lan-
North Carolina Libraries
by William K. Finley
guage with simplicity and force by
means of composition in its simpler
forms, e.g., letters, reproduction exer-
cises and essays.� Institutional interest in
encouraging creative writing would not
come until later.
By 1918, however, two-semester
courses were offered in both short-story
writing and versification (oa course de-
signed for that limited number who
wish help in the simpler forms of verse
making�). In 1920, oThe Writing and
Editing of News� replaced oVersifica-
tion� in the English curriculum, while
oThe Short Story� was reduced to a
single semester. In 1923 oPlay Writing�
joined oThe Writing of News,� but
courses in writing short stories and po-
ems were curtailed (although oPoetics�
included opractice in writing simple
pieces of verse�). Obviously, for most
students, creative writing as an academic
discipline was not compelling. For the
1924-1925 academic year, oEnglish
Composition� included opractice in the
short story,� while the courses in news
writing and playwriting continued. In
this year was added oThe Writing of
Verse,� olimited to fifteen students who
have a real desire to express themselves
in verse.� The reinstitution of such
courses reflected a national trend among
American colleges to develop classes in
creative writing.
In 1927 a course simply called oCre-
ative Writing� first appeared, with a fo-
cus on opractice in the short story, the
essay, and other literary forms.� This was
the first course at what was now called
North Carolina WomanTs College to en-
compass training in more than one lit-
erary genre. This hybrid course joined
the existing course in oPlay Writing� and
oThe Writing of Verse� to form the cre-
ative writing component of the English
curriculum. All courses in creative writ-
ing were electives; none were required to
major in English.
In January 1938 the first of many
illustrious writers joined the English fac-
ulty at the WomanTs College of the Uni-
versity of North Carolina. Allen Tate
came from Vanderbilt as full professor to
teach the art of poetry writing. He had
already written six well-received books
of poetry, a volume of literary essays,
and two biographies and was complet-
ing his first novel. Coming to WomanTs
College at what he called a ofabulous
salary,� Tate brought with him his wife,
the novelist Caroline Gordon, herself
the author of four books. He did not in-
herit the general oCreative Writing�
courses, but he taught both oThe Writ-
ing of Verse� and oThe Writing of Liter-
ary Criticism,� while Gordon taught a
new course, oThe Writing of Fiction.�
With the arrival of these two distin-
guished authors, it may be said that cre-
ative writing became established as a
fully-recognized component of English
studies at the WomanTs College, al-
though there was as yet no opportunity
for a concentration in writing.
For 1939-1940 Tate added a course
in oSpecial Projects in the Writing of
Criticism and Verse,� a class designed
ofor students desiring to master a critical
style or to study intensively the tech-
niques of verse.� Gordon taught a
complementary oSpecial Projects in the
Writing of Fiction.� oThe Writing of
Summer 1999 " 9%
News� continued to be taught, as did the
general oCreative Writing� classes. After
the 1939-1940 academic year, Tate and
Gordon left WomanTs College for
Princeton, where Tate had been named
Poet in Residence; and the advanced
specialized writing classes in poetry
and fiction temporarily ended.
In 1940-1941 oPlay Writing�
resumed, and in 1943 the Creative
Writing courses were renamed
oWriting Workshops,� covering
the writing of fiction, drama, and
poetry. The first to teach these
classes under the new designation
was Hiram Haydn, fresh from a
Ph.D. program at Columbia and
some years away from achieving his
reputation as a foremost editor and
author. He remained at WomanTs Col-
lege only two years, leaving to become
editor of American Scholar. Today, these
broad classes still are carried in the En-
glish curriculum under the same title
and course number.
In 1944 there first appeared at the
Woman's College what was to be an im-
portant supplement to the creative writ-
ing program. The Arts Forum, initiated
by English professors Marc Friedlaender
and Winfield Rogers, invited to campus
distinguished representatives from many
fields of arts and humanities, including
well-known authors to read and lecture
and to discuss and analyze student writ-
ing. Over the years such esteemed writ-
ers as Robert Lowell, Robert Penn War-
ren, Katherine Anne Porter, John Crowe
Ransom, Robert Frost, Saul Bellow, Eliza-
beth Bowen, and Seamus Heaney visited
WomanTs College to give both readings
and advice to student writers. These visi-
tations, though generally brief, not only
enhanced the instruction given to stu-
dents in creative writing, but brought
recognition and prestige to the college.
Today, visits from renowned writers con-
tinue to enrich the educational experi-
ence in creative writing at UNCG.
In the Fall of 1946 a second major
talent joined the English Department at
WomanTs College to teach creative writ-
ing. Although he did not
bring with him the distin-
guished publication record
of Allen Tate, Peter Taylor
had already published fic-
tion in national magazines
and showed great promise
as an author. Drawn to the
Richard Wilbur, Peter Taylor, Jean Stafford
at 1949 Arts Forum, UNCG.
Henry Holt, Taylor had studied poetry
under Tate at Southwestern University
and under John Crowe Ransom at both
Vanderbilt and Kenyon College, where
he roomed with the poet Robert Lowell.
But TaylorTs strength was fiction, not
poetry. At WomanTs College he revived
the specialized fiction-writing courses
that years before had been taught by
Caroline Gordon. In time, Taylor would
win a Pulitzer Prize and many other dis-
tinguished awards for his fiction and
would become one of the most respected
names in American literature.
The following year Taylor was
joined by Randall Jarrell, a classmate and
close friend from Vanderbilt. Likewise a
World War II veteran, Jarrell had been a
literary editor at The Nation and had
published two volumes of poetry. Jarrell
would go on to win the National Book
Award for poetry and fiction and achieve
great acclaim as one of America's finest
[Peter TaylorTs and Randall JarrellTs]
interest in students and their
poets. Taylor and Jarrell shared the Writ-
ing Workshop courses, Taylor teaching
the fiction component and Jarrell the
poetry. Unlike many authors who ac-
cepted teaching positions merely to pay
the bills while they concentrated on
their writing, Taylor and Jarrell shared
a genuine love of teaching and dis-
cussing the art of good writing.
Their interest in students and their
enthusiasm for teaching ushered in
a golden age of creative writing in-
struction at WomanTs College.
When Taylor took a leave of ab-
sence in 1948-1949, his place in the
Writing Workshop was taken by
Lettie Rogers, a graduate of
WomanTs College and a former mem-
ber of the Sociology Department who
had published her first novel to much
acclaim in 1946. Rogers would write
three more novels and be a teacher and
mentor to several future writers, includ-
ing Doris Betts. Her untimely death in
1957 at age 39 deprived the literary
world of what might have become a
major talent.
In 1949 the merit of the creative
writing component of the English pro-
gram was recognized by its prominent
inclusion in the newly formed Creative
Arts Program at the WomanTs College
(strongly endorsed and aided by
WomanTs College Chancellor, Walter
Clinton Jackson) and a new graduate
degree, the Master of Fine Arts, with
majors in painting and graphic arts,
dance, music composition, or writing.
New courses in advanced fiction, poetry,
and playwriting (oreserved for those
writers who have been encouraged to
continue creative work�) and graduate
seminars in writing were established;
and a required thesis for the MFA degree
in Writing called for original work in the
genres of novel, short stories, poetry, or
drama.
Joining the English Department in
1950 was Robie Macauley, a young
writer of short stories who showed much
promise. The English Department now
boasted four distinguished writers in its
creative writing program:
Taylor, Jarrell, Rogers, and
Macauley. Jarrell taught the
poetry sections, Taylor and
Rogers handled fiction, and
the versatile Macauley taught
both poetry and fiction. By
this time the writing pro-
world of teaching after
spending four years in the
military in World War II and
a brief stint as a reader with
the publishing firm of
94 " Summer 1999
enthusiasm for teaching ushered in
a golden age of creative writing
instruction at WomanTs College.
gram within the English pro-
gram had been greatly ex-
panded. In addition to
courses in.poetry, fiction,
playwriting, and journalism,
North Carolina Libraries
the department since 1947 offered a
course in oWriting for Radio� and ex-
tended this course in 1950 to oWriting
for Radio and Television,� undoubtedly
one of the earliest courses in the coun-
try to respond to the new popularity of
television.
By 1954 Randall Jarrell was all alone
in the Writing Workshop. Peter Taylor
and Robie Macauley had both left for
other positions, and Lettie Rogers taught
only classes in Advanced Composition.
For the next ten years Jarrell essentially
was the creative writing program at
WomanTs College, helped out only by
the occasional visiting professor. One of
the most admired and beloved instruc-
tors on campus, he remained the domi-
nant figure in the cre-
ative writing program
for 18 years. His death
in October 1965 left a
tremendous void in the
Creative Writing Pro-
gram. Eulogized by col-
leagues, distinguished
writers, and especially
by his students,
Randall Jarrell left an
unmatched legacy of
brilliant talent, teach-
ing ability, and genu-
ine concern for stu-
dents, a legacy re-
flected in UNCGTs
Randall Jarrell Fellow-
ship in Writing.
Fortunately, the
English faculty had
competent replace-
ments. Peter Taylor re-
joined the program
from 1963 to 1967 for
his third and final
stint. In 1964 Fred
Chappell joined the
English faculty from
Duke; and Robert Watson, who had
been a member of the department since
1953, teaching mainly literature classes,
moved into the creative writing compo-
nent. Currently North CarolinaTs Poet
Laureate, Chappell would eventually
publish more than 20 volumes of poetry
and fiction and win many prestigious
awards, among them the coveted
Bollingen Prize for Poetry and the T. S.
Eliot Award. Watson's poetry also would
_receive many awards, including a
Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1966 for his
second volume of poems. The post-
Jarrell era in creative writing at WomanTs
College began with reassurance that the
quality that Jarrell reflected would con-
tinue. Occasionally, visiting professors of
North Carolina Libraries
the stature of Allen Tate, Gibbons Ruark,
and Alan Shapiro would enhance the
program with their presence. Today the
Creative Writing Program is in the ca-
pable hands of Chappell, Lee Zacharias,
H. T. Kirby-Smith, Michael Parker, Stuart
Dischell, and Jim Clark, who serves as
director.
These prominent writers and teach-
ers represent one-half of the success
story of UNCGTs Creative Writing Pro-
gram; talented and dedicated students
constitute the other half. Since the
universityTs beginning in 1892, there has
been strong interest in writing among
students. In the very first year, two stu-
dent literary societies were formed: the
Adelphian and the Cornelian. A third
Front Row: Elizabeth Hardwick, Carol Johnson (UNCG faculty).
Back Row: Robert Lowell, Peter Taylor, Fred Chappell at the Arts Festival,
UNCGG, 1964.
society " the Dikean " appeared in
1918 and a fourth " Aletheian " in
1922. Active and prestigious, these liter-
ary groups encouraged creative expres-
sion and provided an outlet for student
literary endeavors. The first literary
magazine at the university dates from
March 1897. Called initially
The State Normal Magazine, the
quarterly publication was ed-
ited by members of the
Adelphian and Cornelian soci-
eties and consisted almost en-
tirely of student work. The
early issues focused more on
campus news and scholarly
critiques than on fiction or
poetry, and generally con-
tained only a few short poems or stories
to reflect the creative urge.
Beginning with the October 1910
issue, however, a new impulse character-
ized the magazine. Now more than twice
the length of previous issues, this issue
contained five stories and five poems
from students, as well as essays and short
commentaries on a variety of subjects.
This new focus set the tone for subse-
quent issues. Thus a prestigious new cre-
ative voice was born on campus. By the
time The State Normal Magazine changed
its name to Corradi (an amalgam of oCor-
nelian,� oAdelphian,� and oDikean�) in
1919, the content was almost entirely
poetry or fiction. Beginning in 1946, a
special Arts Forum issue of Corradi wel-
comed student writing
from other universities.
Works chosen for this
special issue were dis-
cussed and analyzed by
the Writers Committee
during the annual Arts
Forum conference. The
quality of this publica-
tion is indicated by the
number of contributors
who later achieved liter-
ary prominence. Among
those who contributed
over the years were
Flannery OTConnor,
James Dickey, Guy Dav-
enport, Donald Hall,
Wendell Berry, Borden
Deal, Anthony Hecht,
Heather Ross Miller, and
Sylvia Wilkinson.
Students enrolled in
both the undergraduate
and graduate creative
writing programs have
published their works in
leading magazines and
have won numerous lit-
erary awards as well as prestigious
Guggenheim, Rockefeller, and American
Academy of Poets fellowships. More
than a few have written books of poetry,
fiction, or non-fiction to national ac-
claim. Among the more prominent au-
thors who have studied creative writing
Few programs in the nation
can boast a history that
includes so many awards
won by faculty and students.
Summer 1999 " 997
at UNCG are Margaret L. Coit, Eleanor
Ross Taylor, Robert Morgan, William Pitt
Root, Heather Ross Miller, Kelly Cherry,
Tim Sandlin, Sylvia Wilkinson, and
Doris Betts.
In 1965 the MFA Creative Writing
Program at UNCG was formalized and
accelerated. A new emphasis distin-
guished this program from other MFA
offerings at the university, and the staff
sought the most accomplished student
writers from across the nation. At this
time only two official creative writing
programs existed in the country " at
Stanford and the University of Iowa.
Students were now accepted as a
oclass� into the two-year graduate
program and became a tightly-
knit group who discussed writ-
ing and analyzed one
anotherTs work in formal
classes or informal gather-
ings on or off campus.
The next year saw the
founding of an important
new campus publication.
While Corradi remained the
chief outlet for undergradu-
ate writing, the newly fo-
cused MFA Creative Writing
Program needed a different
publication for graduate
work. The Greensboro Review
was founded by faculty mem-
ber Robert Watson and sev-
eral graduate students as a ve-
hicle for graduate writing. Watson, Peter
Taylor, and Fred Chappell sat on the first
editorial board. Originally intended
solely for UNCG students in the Creative
Writing Program, the magazine soon
expanded to include, first, graduate stu-
dents from other universities, and then
writers in general " students, faculty,
or freelancers. Among the prominent
contributors since the magazineTs begin-
ning have been Joyce Carol Oates, Rob-
ert Bly, May Swenson, Walter Lowenfels,
William Peden, Guy Owen, Dabney
Stuart, James Applewhite, and Sallie
Bingham. The best indication of The
Greensboro Review's quality came when
the Winter 1987-1988 issue had four sto-
ries selected for inclusion in distin-
guished short story anthologies. Still
going strong, The Greensboro Review rec-
ognizes and encourages good writing,
especially by newcomers, by presenting
annual awards for best submissions of
previously unpublished fiction and po-
etry. Over the years, publications in the
magazine have won numerous presti-
gious awards.
Since the first creative writing
courses were offered at the State Normal
76 " Summer 1999
and Industrial School over 80 years ago,
the writing component at UNCG has
grown to great renown. Few programs in
the nation can boast a history that in-
cludes so many awards won by faculty
and students. The quality of the program
was proclaimed in 1994 when George
Garrett, Hoyns Professor of Creative
Writing at the University of Virginia, in
an article for the Dictionary of Literary
Biography Yearbook 1994 titled oWho
Runs American Literature?� ranked
Back Row: Wallace Stevens, Randall Jarrell, Allen Tate. Front Row:
Marianne Moore, Muriel Rukeyser at the Arts Form, UNCG in 1955.
UNCGTs MFA Creative Writing Program
fourth in the nation, ahead of such well-
known programs as those at the Univer-
sity of lowa and Johns Hopkins.
The development of the Creative
Writing Program at UNCG is docu-
mented by the breadth of research ma-
terials in the Special Collections & Uni-
versity Archives Department of Jackson
Library. In 1997 a new focus and empha-
sis were created in gathering a number of
separate collections of creative writing
under a general heading to form the Cre-
ative Writing Collection.
Among the relevant books are pub-
lications of staff and students in the Cre-
ative Writing Program. Shelved in the
university archives are complete runs of
both Corradi and The Greensboro Review.
Copies of all university catalogues and
bulletins from 1892 help document the
evolution of creative writing courses.
Special files devoted to Creative Writing,
the Arts Forum, The Greensboro Review,
and many individual faculty and stu-
dents add valuable information on the
history of the program.
It is in the area of manuscripts, how-
ever, that the Creative Writing Collec-
tion is unique. Writers whose manu-
scripts are represented in Jackson Library
include Margaret Coit, Jean Farley,
Edythe Latham, Robie Macauley,
Heather Ross Miller, Michael Parker,
Lettie Rogers, Jessie Rosenberg Schell,
Joan Cox Spears, Eleanor Ross Taylor,
Peter Taylor, Robert Watson, Sylvia
Wilkinson, and Emily Herring Wilson.
Related collections include The Greens-
boro Review, the Black Mountain Poets,
and the papers of Olive Dargan and Lois
Lenski.
While the Peter Taylor Collection
contains much useful research mate-
rial on a major literary figure, the
most significant research collec-
tion in the Creative Writing Col-
lection is undoubtedly the
Randall Jarrell Collection. Not
only does this important col-
lection contain manuscript
and typescript copies of
many of JarrellTs poems and
essays, but it also includes
class and lecture notes, pho-
tographs, memoranda, news
clippings, annotated books,
and other material which
help document both JarrellTs
career and the development
of the Creative Writing Pro-
gram at UNCG. The collec-
tion is one of the most
heavily used in Special Col-
lections and has proved in-
valuable to scholars preparing books and
articles on JarrellTs life and works.
WomanTs College Chancellor Walter
Clinton JacksonTs hope in the 1940s that
the MFA program in Creative Writing
would become one of the best in the
country has been realized. Tate, Taylor,
Jarrell, Watson, and other luminaries in
the program are gone, but a distin-
guished staff and high-caliber students
remain to lead UNCGTs Creative Writing
Program into the next century.
o|. os o|. a.
Thank You
to NCLA
Contributing Members:
David S. Ferriero,
Duke University
Dr. Benjamin F. Speller, Jr.,
North Carolina Central University
SOLINET
Tom Broadfoot,
BroadfootTs Publishing Company
North Carolina Libraries
Writers and Libraries:
A Symbiotic Partnership
he American library has long
held a special place in the
hearts and minds of writers who
remember its enduring effect on
their lives. As the writer Anne
Rockwell eloquently expressed it,
she learned as a child that the li-
brary is oa powerful place. I soon discov-
ered it was miraculously alive with the
thoughts of people I would only know
through their books... Through reading
I learned to journey out of myself and
back again, but on the return voyage I
brought riches and power in the form of
thoughts to last a lifetime. It was impos-
sible to be lonely there.�! Even beyond
offering the wealth of its collections,
however, the library as an organization
is able to form special ties with writers,
which can work to their mutual benefit.
Many public libraries, especially those
in large cities, have wonderful and well-
established writer programs. Academic
libraries, on the other hand, have not
fully exploited this opportunity. This
paper chronicles two examples of
writer-library collaborations at the
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Libraries.
The Friends of the Library (FOL) of
North Carolina State University has an
array of programs featuring authors. For
example, the Spring Dinner is the FOLTs
primary public relations event and has
been in existence since 1969. Each year,
writers of national repute are invited to
speak or to read from their works. Past
speakers included Doris Betts, William
Leuchtenburg, and John Ehle. The Fall
Luncheon, inaugurated in 1981, high-
North Carolina Libraries
by Jinnie Y. Davis
lights authors among NCSUTs own fac-
ulty. It offers the audience a glimpse
into the fertile intellectual life of the
campus community, with talks on such
diverse topics as the Latin American
gaucho, the excavation of the 2,000-
year-old Roman port of Aila, or the In-
donesian tiwah burial ritual. In addi-
tion, the FOL sponsors several special
lectures and readings by authors over
the course of the academic year. During
the NCSU LibrariesT centennial in 1988/
89, the library administration created
two new programs that sought to focus
specifically on writers in this state: the
Author of the Year and the North Caro-
lina Writers Series.
Now in its eleventh year and re-
named the Author-in-Residence, the
Author of the Year is probably the old-
est program in this country that en-
sconces a writer in a formal relationship
with an academic library. The most in-
novative aspect of this arrangement was
the formation of a rich symbiosis be-
tween a writer and the library. Its ori-
gins were serendipitous: Susan K.
Nutter, the new director of the NCSU
Libraries in 1987, had long been aware
of the stateTs literary fame. As native
North Carolinian Manly Wade Wellman
had written years ago:
Every state has its pretensions
[to a literary reputation] ... But
North Carolina has made its
claims valid. Elsewhere in the
country, one meets with a sense
that North Carolina is a natural
breeder of creative writers ... I,
myself, have known aspiring
young students of creative
writing, who have seriously and
honestly felt that, if only they
could come to North Carolina,
their careers would blossom and
become fact. Oddly enough,
that has happened, with more
than one such [individual]. The
designation of oNorth Carolina
Writer� has become a coveted
one, and a flattering one,
within recent years.�
Nutter considered the library a per-
fect organization for nurturing writers,
especially young authors who had some
affiliation with the university, and
hoped to rejuvenate the FOL with a new
... the Author of the Year is probably the
oldest program in this country that
ensconces a writer in a formal relationship
with an academic library.
Summer 1999 " 97
Professor S. Thomas Parker
describes his excavations at the
Roman city of Aila at the 1995
Fall Luncheon.
program based on the writer-li-
brary bond. She asked the library
staff for ideas about potential can-
didates and was pleased to hear
from Ron Simpson, head of the
libraryTs Technical Information
Center. Simpson mentioned that
Kaye Gibbons, a former student as-
sistant of his, had just published
her first novel at the age of 25.
Ellen Foster was garnering critical
acclaim, both nationally and inter-
nationally. Nutter was intrigued
and attempted unsuccessfully to
reach Gibbons. She was surprised
one day to find that Kaye Gibbons
had come to her. Having heard
that the library director was look-
ing for her, the author decided to
find out what Nutter wanted, and
the two spent the rest of the after-
noon in conversation. Gibbons
talked about her student days,
when she had spent so much time
haunting the D. H. Hill bookstacks
that she called herself othe phan-
tom of the library.� She also men-
tioned her current difficulties, in
the absence of an institutional af-
78 " Summer 1999
~
filiation, in finding a quiet place
away from home to concentrate
on her writing. Nutter knew that
she had found the ideal match
for a unique public relations and
development program under the
sponsorship of the Friends of the
Library, the Author of the Year.
From the start, the Author of
the Year program was designed
to establish the reputation of the
NCSU Libraries as an environ-
ment highly supportive of writ-
ers. Recognizing that writing is
essentially an activity conducted
in solitude and that young au-
thors often must struggle to
make a living solely through
their writing, the library wanted
to foster the careers of promising
young, local writers. As a re-
search library in a land-grant in-
stitution renowned primarily for
its science and engineering pro-
grams, but building a reputation
in the humanities and social sci-
ences as well, the NCSU Libraries
hoped to strengthen its role as a
literary center in the state. This
ambition was actually a natural
Amy Tan autographs books at the 1990 Spring Dinner.
one for a university with a well-re-
spected creative writing program and an
active humanities extension program.
The Author of the Year was seen as a
concept that could enhance the NCSU
LibrariesT public relations and
fundraising programs, thereby high-
lighting its extension and public ser-
vices role within the university. More-
over, by acquiring copies of the authorTs
books, the libraries could expand its col-
lection of autographed first editions.
The library also hoped that the Author
of the Year program would provide the
FOL with a regular source of speakers for
its events. Finally, the opportunity for
library employees to work closely with
authors would help the staff better un-
derstand the creative writing process,
out of which emerges the collections
that are at the core of any library.
The author would receive tangible
benefits in turn. A one-year faculty ap-
pointment as visiting lecturer (without
salary but with faculty privileges) would
give the appointee both an institutional
base and a place to work. The NCSU Li-
braries designated an individual, locked
study room in the main library for the
exclusive use of the Author of the Year.
The library also offered un-
limited access to its collec-
tionsT resources, free data-
base searching, use of the
staff lounge, and library bor-
rowing privileges at NCSU,
Duke, and UNC-Chapel
Hill. Both library and FOL
functions provided the au-
thor with many public-
speaking opportunities, as
well as publicity and sales
opportunities throughout
the year. In addition, the
Friends of the Library be-
stowed honorary life mem-
bership on the Author of
the Year.
Nutter secured the
backing of the FOL Board of
Directors and university ad-
ministration to inaugurate
the program, and Kaye Gib-
bons was installed in 1988
as the Friends of the
LibraryTs first Author of the
Year. Early on, the NCSU Li-
braries set several measures
whereby the success of the
program might be gauged.
They included primary and
secondary measures:
¢ completion of
arrangements for
physical facilities,
North Carolina Libraries
equipment, and services for the
Author of the Year
¢ attendance by the Author of the
Year at Friends events
e increased attendance at North
Carolina Writers Series lectures
and other FOL events
e increased publicity about the
NCSU Libraries and its Author of
the Year Program
e increased involvement of the
NCSU local and regional com-
munities with the Author of the
Year Program
e improved library programming
sponsored by the FOL
¢ closer personal ties between the
Author of the Year and the NCSU
LibrariesT staff
e increased Friends membership
e increased contributions to the
Friends
The program got off to a splendid
start and, by all measures, was deemed
a success. The NCSU Libraries and the
Friends did their part in creating a sup-
portive community for Gibbons, with
both the environment and resources
that would help to promote concen-
trated work. The room selected as the
Author of the Year's study held special
significance because its previous occu-
pant had been the late NCSU professor
Richard G. Walser, a long-time cham-
pion of North Carolina literature. As a
student, Gibbons had enjoyed seeking
out WalserTs company to talk with him
about Thomas Wolfe. The FOL also pur-
chased a computer workstation and
printer for GibbonsTs use.
In return, Gibbons agreed to par-
ticipate without honoraria in several li-
brary events. In the first year alone, she
spoke at the FOLTs North Carolina Writ-
ers Series and delivered another lecture
open only to members of the NCSU Li-
braries staff. At lectures by other speak-
ers, Gibbons introduced her fellow writ-
ers. She participated in a library-spon-
sored Faculty Book Fair and held
autographing sessions for her fans at
various library events such as the Spring
Dinner and a reception for graduating
seniors. In sum, she contributed her tal-
ents as a speaker, her popularity as an
author, and her literary contacts to en-
hance the libraryTs public relations ef-
forts, and the Libraries gained a well-
known, effective advocate for its
broader goals. Beyond the formal as-
pects of the Author of the Year program,
both partners were enriched by closer
personal ties. In her 1991 novel A Cure
for Dreams, Gibbons acknowledged the
North Carolina Libraries
support of Susan Nutter and the Friends
of the Library.
News of the Author of the Year pro-
gram received national attention when
Library Journal featured a cover photo-
graph of Kaye Gibbons in the book-
stacks of the D. H. Hill Library. The jour-
nal hailed the NCSU LibrariesT Author
of the Year program as operhaps the
most exciting example of author in-
volvement with libraries.� The oAu-
thor of the Year� title was soon replaced
by oAuthor-in-Residence� as both the
NCSU Libraries and Kaye Gibbons grew
comfortable in their mutually support-
ive roles.
Ten years later, Kaye Gibbons is still
the FOLTs Author-in-Residence. Now the
author of six novels and numerous es-
says, she is in demand as a speaker who
is entertaining, moving, and profound.
In December 1997, Gibbons catapulted
to national celebrity status when televi-
sion talk show host Oprah Winfrey an-
nounced her selection of two of
GibbonsTs works, Ellen Foster and A Vir-
tuous Woman, for her influential book
club. At the same time, a television pro-
duction of Ellen Foster appeared on the
Hallmark Hall of Fame. GibbonsTs fame,
George Plimpton (right), 1993 Spring Dinner speaker, enjoys a laugh with NCSU coach
Les Robinson and his wife.
ell
Author-in-Residence Kaye Gibbons (left) and Jinnie Y. Davis (right) with the 1995 Spring
Dinner speaker, Joseph Heller.
Summer'1999 " 99
however, rests upon solid literary cre-
dentials. The literary merit of her works
has been recognized in a steady stream
of honors. They range from individual
prizes, such as the Sue Kaufman Prize
for First Fiction from the American
Academy and Institute of Arts and
Letters, to awards for her corpus of
works, such as the Chevalier de lTordre
des arts et des lettres (Knight of the Or-
der of Arts and Letters) from the gov-
ernment of France, an honorary doc-
torate from North Carolina State Uni-
versity, and the prestigious North
Carolina Award in Literature.
Kaye Gibbons'Ts ties to the NCSU
Libraries remain vigorous. The library
continues to offer regular venues for
the Author-in-ResidenceTs works, in-
cluding readings and autographing
sessions. The preface to GibbonsTs lat-
est book, On the Occasion of My Last
Afternoon, again acknowledges the
support of the Friends of the Library.
Now an ex-officio member of the
FriendsT Board of Directors, Gibbons
still actively supports the Libraries.
For example, she used the literary
contacts developed over several years
of book tours to help attract writers of
national prominence to Raleigh. In
her first year as resident au-
thor, Gibbons personally re-
cruited best-selling novelist
Amy Tan to speak at the FOL
Spring Dinner, and has since
helped bring in authors such
as George Plimpton, Dominick
Dunne, Christopher Buckley,
Joseph Heller, and John
Grisham. Grisham, who at-
tracted a sellout audience of
1,000, made special mention
of the fact that he had come to
Raleigh oquite simply, because
Kaye Gibbons asked me.� Like
the other authors, he also par-
ticipated in a fundraiser hosted
by Gibbons in her own home
to help raise money for library
endowments.
The Libraries also has
reaped unexpected benefits
from its association with Gib-
bons. With her husband Frank
Ward, Jr., she established The
Mary Alice Ward Endowment
to support the LibrariesT collec-
tions, and she is a regular con-
tributor to the Friends. Re-
cently, she announced the es-
tablishment of an endowment
in honor of her husband. It is
also noteworthy that Gibbons
has chosen to donate her pa-
60 " Summer 1999
pers to the NCSU LibrariesT Special Col-
lections Department. These records
document the author's editing and writ-
ing process and will prove an invaluable
resource for future literary researchers.
Among the secondary measures of
John Grisham and Lee Smith.
#
NCSU Poet-in-Residence Gerald Barrax autographs a
book after speaking in the 1994 N.C. Writers Series.
(Left to right) Frank Ward, Jr., and Kaye Gibbons at the 1996 after-dinner fundraiser with
success were indicators of the overall
growth of the Friends of the Library as
an organization that exists to support
the Libraries. The achievement of these
goals also reflected the success of the
Author-in-Residence, N.C. Writers Se-
a
ries, and other FOL programs. Mem-
bership in the Friends of the Library
has grown from around 250 a decade
ago to 1,400 members today. Annual
gifts during this period increased
nearly fourfold. The library endow-
ment has grown an average of more
than 30% annually in the last ten
years, and the number of individual
endowments leapt from one to over
40, established not only by FOL
members and supporters, but also by
N.C. StateTs own faculty, students,
and staff. Their actions have clearly
been affected by the libraryTs grow-
ing public relations program.
Concurrent with the Author-in-
Residence program, the NCSU Li-
braries created the North Carolina
Writers Series. The idea again grew
out of library director Susan NutterTs
conviction that, in a state blessed
with an abundance of literary talent,
the library is a natural partner in pro-
moting that talent. Even self-desig-
nated oliterary carpetbaggers� like
professor and writer Robin Hemley
could exclaim, oFor GodTs sake, what
other state has the number of writers
striking hardcover deals or a pub-
lisher like Algonquin? Or the num-
ber and quality of literary maga-
North Carolina Libraries
zines? Or an organization like the North
Carolina WritersT Network?�
In spring 1989, the Friends of the
Library initiated an annual four-lecture
series spotlighting authors with an af-
filiation to North Carolina, who were
invited to read from their works or to
give talks. The first year featured Author
of the Year Kaye Gibbons, NCSU En-
glish professor Lee Smith, N.C. poet lau-
reate Sam Ragan, and humorist Roy
Wilder, Jr. For each event, the library
made arrangements with a local book-
seller to have copies of the authorTs
works available for purchase. Audience
members enjoyed the opportunity to
meet the writers and have their books
personally autographed at a wine-and-
dessert reception.
The heady literary ferment of that
inaugural year culminated in June 1990,
when the NCSU Libraries cosponsored
with GibbonsTs publisher"the immi-
nently North Carolinian Algonquin
Books of Chapel Hill"a reception at the
American Library AssociationTs Annual
Conference in Chicago. The by-invita-
tion-only event was attended by 200
librarians, writers, publishers, and me-
dia representatives. The rollicking
evening of readings by four of
AlgonquinTs star authors was cited in
the library literature as a o[p]eak expe-
rience: Listening to North Carolina
writers Kaye Gibbons, Jill McCorkle,
Clyde Edgerton, and Larry Brown read
from their own work in the lovely set-
ting of Biggs Restaurant.�° Later in the
year, Library JournalTs cover story on the
North Carolina writersT renaissance de-
scribed North Carolina as oa state that
regards its writers not as celebrities but
as part of the landscape.�®
Since then, the N.C. Writers Series
has featured nearly 35 novelists, poets,
and nonfiction writers. One factor in its
success was the timing of its inception.
In the late 1980s, author readings were
not as common in the Triangle area as
they are today. With increasing interest
in the arts and the advent of major
bookstore chains, events featuring writ-
ers have become routine occurrences.
The series now strives to maintain its
freshness with a deliberate attempt to
incorporate individuals of diverse back-
grounds, who write fiction and nonfic-
tion, poetry and prose. The library con-
tinues to collect autographed first edi-
tions of all its speakersT works and one
slot in the series is always reserved for
the Author-in-Residence.
While writers and libraries may be
a good fit, programs such as the ones
described come about only with a great
North Carolina Libraries
deal of hard work. At the NCSU Librar-
ies, they have succeeded because of the
commitment of the library administra-
tion and the resources allocated to the
enterprise. A full-time librarian serves as
director and is aided by a full-time pro-
gram assistant and part-time student
help. Strong support also comes from
the Board of Directors, comprised of
more than 25 individuals who volun-
teer their time and energies to help
meet the organizationTs mission of sup-
port for the NCSU Libraries. In particu-
lar, the Program Committee helps to
identify and attract speakers for the
N.C. Writers Series. Its members are
now considering ways of refocusing the
series to attract a wider audience while
continuing to publicize the work of
writers of all kinds.
In the case of the Author-in-Resi-
dence program, a decided factor in its
longevity is the popularity of the in-
cumbent. The NCSU Libraries was for-
tunate to find a person whose writing
has elicited praise from the likes of
Eudora Welty, whose unforgettable
phrase othe life in it, the honesty of
thought and eye and feeling and word!o
appears on the book jacket of Ellen Fos-
ter. Kaye Gibbons is a remarkable indi-
vidual who, like her own characters, has
overcome extreme hardship to achieve
a hard-won personal happiness and pro-
fessional success. The enormously
popular Ellen Foster, for example, re-
flects elements of GibbonsTs own child-
hood as an orphan and has been selling
3,000 paperback copies a month. Its in-
clusion in the syllabi of literature classes
across the country reflects its appeal
and accessibility to a wide range of read-
ers. In Sights Unseen and Frost and Flower;
My Life with Manic Depression (So Far),
Gibbons reveals her personal battle with
a crippling illness. Her works appeal to
an audience who respond to her in an
intensely personal way. As Robin
Hemley noted in 1994, owhen Kaye Gib-
bons left North Carolina for Califor-
nia..., the state seemed to go into shock.
I thought a day of mourning might be
declared. But then a miracle occured
[sic] " she came back home again!�
The NCSU LibrariesT experience
with its Author-in-Residence is encour-
aging for other academic libraries that
wish to follow suit. There is no shortage
of writers, particularly beginning au-
thors who can benefit from the support
of an established organization like a li-
brary. Libraries should investigate cre-
ative ways in which to cultivate special
relationships with writers. At the Uni-
versity of Tennessee at Knoxville, the
Hodges LibraryTs newly established
Writer in Residence program exempli-
fies another notable writer-library rela-
tionship that emphasizes aspects spe-
cific to that locale. According to the first
Writer in Residence, Brian Griffin, dur-
ing its one-year pilot the position offers
him fully equipped office space in the
Hodges Library, the support of the li-
brary organization, and a small stipend.
In return, Griffin is committed to writ-
ing a book during his tenure and to
serving as a literary liaison with the lo-
cal community. He keeps the library in-
formed about promising writers in Ten-
nessee and the Appalachian area, and
makes authors aware of the library as a
resource (e.g., as a place to host their
readings or as repository for their pub-
lications).8
As evidence of the NCSU LibrariesT
success in fusing the thought of Kaye
Gibbons with her library role, when an
announcement about her selection for
Oprah WinfreyTs book club appeared on
the Web page of Library Journal, the au-
thor was prominently described as the
NCSU LibrariesT Author-in-Residence
and a olibrary devotee.� Finally, it is
heartwarming for library staff to hear
the eloquent testimony of their own
Author-in-Residence: oThe NCSU Li-
braries is my haven, the staff a blessing.
I have rested my spirit there on the
bounty of words.�9
References
1 Barbara Elleman, comp., Books
Change Lives (Chicago: American Li-
brary Association, 1994), [37].
2 Manly Wade Wellman, oOn Being a
North Carolina Writer,� North Carolina
Literary Review | (Summer 1992): 149-
150.
3 Barbara Hoffert, oWritersT Renais-
sance in North Carolina,� Library Jour-
nal 114 (November 1, 1989): 47.
4 Robin Hemley, oYankee Writers in
North Carolina: Literary Carpetbag-
gers?� North Carolina Literary Review II
(Spring 1994): 129.
*° Graceanne A. DeCandido, oAla-
rums & Diversions,� Library Journal 115
(August 1990): 24.
© Hoffert, 46.
7 Hemley, 129.
8 Brian Griffin, telephone conversa-
tion with author, February 25, 1999.
9 Kaye Gibbons, [advertisement], NC
State 71 (Winter 1999): 56.
Summer 1999 " 6]
Backyard Treasure:
North Carolina Authors of
Books for Children and Young Adults
fell in love with James Street in
graduate school. Also with
Suzanne Newton and Eleanora
Tate. You see, my favorite class at
the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro was childrenTs litera-
ture, and I discovered that many of
the writers in this magical world lived
in North Carolina. Today I teach the
writing of childrenTs literature to a new
generation of students at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and
North Carolina writers figure promi-
nently in class readings and discussions.
They constitute a virtually unrecog-
nized state treasure.
Come with me on a whirlwind tour
of North CarolinaTs literary bounty. We
will begin in the Research Triangle area
because many of the writers living there
have been kind enough to visit my
classes. William Hooks, who has pub-
lished more than fifty books for chil-
dren and young readers, including
Snowbear Whittington (1994), lives a few
blocks from the UNCCH campus. In
nearby Carrboro is Clay Carmichael,
author of Bear at the Beach (1996) and
Used-Up Bear (1998). Susie Wilde, who
reviews childrenTs books and has writ-
ten Extraordinary Chester (1988), also
lives in the area, as do Mark and Cathy
Dubowski, who have between them
published an amazing eighty-five
books. Max Steele, former head of the
Creative Writing Program at UNCCH,
wrote the beloved The Cat and the Cof-
fee Drinkers (1969). Also in Chapel Hill
62 " Summer 1999
by Ruth Moose
is Janice May Udry, author of many pic-
ture books including one Caldecott
winner, A Tree is Nice (1956). Louise
Haas, author of Rosey in the Present Tense
(1999), a story for middle readers, re-
cently moved to Fearrington Village,
south of Chapel Hill. Sarah Dessen, also
on the UNCCH faculty, is author of two
novels for young adults, That Summer
(1996) and Someone Like You (1998).
Nancy Tilly, whose novel Golden Girl
won the AAUW award in 1986, lives
nearby, as does Frances Davis, author of
Frank Lloyd Wright: Maverick Architect
(1996).
Maureen Wartski, author of A Long
Way from Home (1980) and five other
books for young adults, and Suzanne
Newton, winner of five North Carolina
AAUW awards for Best Juvenile Book,
including M.V. Sexton Speaking (1981),
live in Raleigh. Also in Raleigh is
Belinda Hurmence, author of Tancy
(1984) and other books for young
adults.
In Durham live Jackie Ogburn, who
wrote Jukebox Man (1998), and
Catherine Petroski, author of The Sum-
mer That Lasted Forever (1984). Mesa
Somer, also in Durham, syndicates a
newspaper exclusively for children,
Kidsville News, and is the author of Night
of the Five Aunties (1996).
Greensboro is home to a number of
authors, including Carole Boston
Weatherford, author of Juneteenth Jam-
boree (1995), Me and the Family Tree
(1996), and Sink or Swim: Black Life Sav-
ers of the Outer Banks (1999); Stephanie
Greene, who wrote Owen Foote: Second
Grade Strongman (1996); and Donna
Jacobs, whose baby picture books are
gems. Also in Greensboro are Orson
Scott Card, whose science fiction nov-
els include EnderTs Game (1985), which
was named a Best Book for Young
Adults, and Mary Jarrell, whose Knee
Baby (1973) I read aloud to my classes.
Her late husband, Randall Jarrell, pub-
lished Juniper Tales, which won the
AAUW Award in 1964. Mary Pope
Osborne, who grew up in Greensboro
but now lives in New York City, writes
the popular Magic Tree House Mystery
Series, as well as other books for chil-
dren, including Moonhorse (1991).
In Charlotte are Kenn and Joanne
Compton, whose Ashpet, An Appala-
chian Tale (1994), is a class favorite, and
Helen Copeland, who has written sev-
eral books for boys, including This Snake
is Good (1968). Betsy Byars, born in
Charlotte but now living in Clemson,
SC, won the Newbery Award for her
Summer of the Swans (1970).
In eastern North Carolina is Glen
Rounds, over ninety years old, who lives
in Southern Pines and is the author and
illustrator of many books of tall tales,
including The Snake Tree (1966) and
Wild Appaloosa (1983). Eleanora Tate,
now living on the coast, wrote the
young adult novel, The Secret of Gumbo
Grove (1987), which has become a clas-
sic. Lois Duncan, a newcomer to the
Outer Banks, has published thirty-five
North Carolina Libraries
books. One, I Know What You Did Last
Summer (1990), was recently made into
a movie.
To the west is Gloria Houston, born
in Spruce Pine but now living in Florida,
who still maintains North Carolina con-
nections. Her Caldecott Honor Book,
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree
(1994), and My Great-Aunt Arizona
(1992) are wonderful choices for read-
ing aloud. Author and illustrator Gail
Hailey, who now lives in Boone, re-
ceived a Caldecott Medal for her 1970
African tale A Story, A Story. Doris
Buchanan Smith of Hayesville has writ-
ten seventeen books including The Taste
of Blackberries (1973) and Return to Bit-
ter Creek (1986). Bill Brittain, who writes
young adult books, lives in Asheville.
Sparta is home to Sue Ellen Bridgers,
whose nationally recognized writing
includes the young adult books Perma-
nent Connections (1987), which is being
reprinted by WilmingtonTs Banks Chan-
nel Press, and All We Know of Heaven
(1996).
In WritersT Heaven, which is where
ITm sure they are, are Guy Owen, who
wrote Journey for Joedel (1970), a young
adult novel set in the stateTs tobacco re-
gion, and James Boyd, whose novel
Drums (1928) was illustrated by N.C.
Wyeth. In addition to her novels for
adults, Bernice Kelly Harris wrote a
childrenTs book, The Santa on the Man-
tel (1964). Ina Forbus lived in Durham
and wrote for children. Her books in-
clude The Magic Pin (1956). Elizabeth
Smith, born in Charlotte, published ten
books for children and young adults, in-
cluding biographies of first ladies,
women aviators (Coming Out Right: The
Story of Jacqueline Cochran, 1991), and
picture books. Inglis Fletcher of
Edenton was known for her historical
novels, but few know that her first
novel, The White Leopard (1931) was a
selection of the Junior Literary Guild,
serialized in BoyTs Life, and made into a
movie. Nell Wise Wechter wrote five
books for young adults set on the coast
of North Carolina; one of them, Taffy of
Torpedo Junction (1957), was recently
reprinted by the University of North
Carolina Press. Julia Montgomery Street
began her writing career after she be-
came a grandmother and went on to
write four novels, each based on some
aspect of North Carolina history. James
StreetTs boy and dog books, The Biscuit
Eater (1939) and Goodbye, My Lady
(1954) were best sellers later made into
popular movies. Manly Wade Wellman
wrote an astonishing eighty books dur-
ing his career, almost half of them
North Carolina Libraries
young adult histories based on events in
the history of North Carolina. He re-
ceived an AAUW award for Rifles at
RamsourTs Mill (1961). In the High
Country lived Ellis Credle, who wrote
the Appalachian story Down, Down the
Mountain (1934); Richard Chase of
Beech Mountain, whose book The Jack
Tales (1943) is always popular; and
BooneTs Vera and Bill Cleaver, authors
of the classic Where the Lillies Bloom
(1969), which was adapted to film by
Walt Disney.
Stephen Roxburgh, editor of Cricket
Magazine and president and publisher
of Front Street Books, lives in Asheville.
Front Street recently published The Facts
Speak for Themselves by young adult
award-winning author Brock Cole. In
Wilmington, Banks Channel Books is
publishing its first young adult novel,
Takedown, a book by E. T. Benjamin
about high school wrestling. Dream Girl,
a magazine for girls ages eleven to fif-
teen edited by Frances Dowell, is pub-
lished in Carrboro, as is Shoofly, an au-
dio magazine for children.
The Society of ChildrenTs Book
ABOUT THE AUTHORS ...
Alice R. Cotten
Education: B.A., UNCG; M.A., UNCCH
Writers and Illustrators has several ac-
tive chapters in North Carolina that
hold workshops around the state. In
May 1999 the SCBWI sponsored a
month-long show of work by childrenTs
book illustrators of the Carolinas at the
Chapel Hill Museum, with correspond-
ing programs and speakers.
Authors of books for children and
young adults are universally overlooked
and under-reviewed, but things are
slowly changing. In 1998 William
Hooks became the first childrenTs au-
thor to receive a Distinguished Alumni
Award from UNCCH. Beginning in the
year 2000, the North Carolina Writers
Network will hold an annual competi-
tion for writers of stories for middle
readers named for Elizabeth Smith and
sponsored by her husband, Edward H.
Smith of Charlotte. North CarolinaTs
writers of children and young adult lit-
erature may not be as widely recognized
as the stateTs authors of adult works, but
they are known and loved by the chil-
dren and young adults who are their
readers. ThatTs what counts. What is
held in the heart, always holds true.
Position: Reference Historian, North Carolina Collection, UNCCH
Jinnie Y. Davis
Education: A.B., A.M.L.S., University of Michigan; M. Hispanic Studies, Auburn
University; Ph.D., Indiana University
Position: Assistant Director for Planning and Research, NC State University
Dorothy Hodder
Education: A.B., M.S.L.S., UNCCH
Position: Public Services Librarian, New Hanover County Public Library
William K. Finley
Education: B.A., The College of William and Mary; M.A., University of Kentucky;
M.L.S., University of South Carolina; Ph.D., Duke University
Position: Special Collections Librarian, Jackson Library, UNCG
Eileen McGrath
Education: B.A., Saint Lawrence University; M.A., Vanderbilt University; M.L.S.,
George Peabody College
Position: Collection Management Librarian, North Carolina Collection, UNCCH
Ruth Moose
Education: B.A., Pfeiffer College (now University); M.L.S., UNCG
Position: Author; Lecturer, Creative Writing Program, UNCCH
Maurice C. Y ork
Education: M.A., M.S.L.S., UNCCH
Position: North Carolina Librarian, Joyner Libreary, East Carolina University
Summer 1999 " 6%
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LOW:
North CarolinaTs
Award-Winning Creative Writers
North CarolinaTs most well-known literary awards are given each year at the annual meeting
of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. A list of the winners in each
creative writing category provides a glimpse of the names of some of the stateTs best
writers, along with titles of their outstanding books. The Web site of the North Carolina
Collection at the library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ maintains an up-to-date list of these winners, as well as a
list of the winners of the Mayflower Cup, awarded each year for the best work of nonfiction.
The list below is taken from that Web site.
Roanoke-Chowan Award Winners Since 1953
sponsor: Roanoke-Chowan Group of Writers and Allied Artists
category: Poetry
Frank Borden Hanes. Abel Anders
Thad Stem, Jr. The Jackknife Horse
No award
Helen Bevington. A Change of Sky
Dorothy Edwards Summerrow. Ten Angels Swearing
Paul Bartlett. Moods and Memories
Olive Tilford Dargan. The Spotted Hawk
Carl Sandburg. (Total of his work)
Carl Sandburg. Wind Song
Helen Bevington. When Found, Make a Verse Of
Herman Salingar. A Sigh Is the Sword
E. S. Gregg. Reap Silence
Randall Jarrell. The Lost World
Thad Stem, Jr. Spur Line
Walter Blackstock. Leaves Before the Wind
Paul Baker Newman. The Cheetah and the Fountain
Guy Owen. The White Stallion, and Other Poems
Charles Edward Eaton. On the Edge of the Knife
Paul Baker Newman. The Ladder of Love
Fred Chappell. The World Between the Eyes
Ronald H. Bayes. The Casketmaker
Campbell Reeves. Coming Out Even
Marian Cannon. Another Light
Fred Chappell. River: A Poem
Norman W. MacLeod. The Distance
64 " Summer 1999
1978 Mary Louise Medley. Seasons and Days
1979 Fred Chappell. Bloodfire: A Poem
1980 Fred Chappell. Wind Mountain: a Poem
1981 James Applewhite. Following Gravity
1982 Thomas Heffernan. The Liam Poems
1983 Reynolds Price. Vital Provisions
1984 Betty Adcock. Nettles
1985 Fred Chappell. Castle Tzingal
1986 James Applewhite. Ode to the Chinaberry Tree and Other
Poems
1987 Charles Edward Eaton. New and Selected Poems,
1942-1987
1988 Lochlin Walker. Musings While Adrift
1989 Fred Chappell. First and Last Words
1990 Sam Ragan. Collected Poems of Sam Ragan
1991 Charles Edward Eaton. A Guest on Mild Evenings
1992 Julie Suk. The Angel of Obsession
1993 James Applewhite. A History of the River
1994 Judy Goldman. Wanting to Know the End
1995 Robert Watson. The Pendulum
1996 Fred Chappell. Spring Garden: New and Selected Poems
1997 James L. Seay. Open Field, Understory: New and Selected
Poems
1998 Kathryn Stripling Byer. Black Shawl
North Carolina Libraries
AAUW Award Winners Since 1953
sponsor: American Association of University Women
category: Juvenile Books
1953 Ruth and Latrobe Carroll. Peanut
1954 Mebane Holoman Burgwyn. Penny Rose
1955 Ruth and Latrobe Carroll. Digby, the Only Dog
1956 Julia Montgomery Street. FiddlerTs Fancy
1957 Nell Wise Wechter. Taffy of Torpedo Junction
1958 Ina B. Forbus. The Secret Circle
1959 Thelma Harrington Bell. Captain Ghost
1960 Jonathan Daniels. Stonewall Jackson
1961 Glen Rounds. Beaver Business
1962 Manley Wade Wellman. Rifles at RamsourTs Mill
1963 Julia Montgomery Street. DulcieTs Whale
1964 Randall Jarrell. The Bat-Poet
1965 Alexander Key. The Forgotten Door
1966 Richard Walser and Julia Montgomery Street. North
Carolina Parade, Stories of History and People
1967 Glen Rounds. The Snake Tree
1968 Neal F. Austin. A Biography of Thomas Wolfe
1969 Mary Lina Bledsoe Gillet. Bugles at the Border
1970 Mebane Holoman Burgwyn. The Crackajack Pony
1971 Suzanne Newton. Purro and the Prattleberries
1972 No award
1973 Barbara M. Parramore. The People of North Carolina
1974 Suzanne Newton. C/o ArnoldTs Corners
1975 Alexander Key. The Magic Meadow
1976 Glen Rounds. Mr. Yowder and the Lion Roar Capsules
1977 Ruth White Miller. The City Rose
1978 Suzanne Newton. What Are You Up To, William Thomas?
1979 Suzanne Newton. Reubella and the Old Focus Home
1980 Caroline B. Cooney. Safe As the Grave
1981 No award
1982 Suzanne Newton. M. V. Sexton Speaking
1983 Glen Rounds. Wild Appaloosa
1984 Belinda Hurmence. Tancy
1985 Catherine Petroski. The Summer That Lasted Forever
1986 Nancy Tilly. Golden Girl
1987 Sue Ellen Bridgers. Permanent Connections
1988 Lila Hopkins. Eating Crow
1989 Belinda Hurmence. The Nightwalker
1990 Lila Hopkins. Talking Turkey
1991 Suzanne Newton. Where Are You When | Need You?
1992 Bill Brittain. Wings
1993 Christina Askounis. The Dream of the Stone
1994 Joanne Compton. Ashpet: An Appalachian Tale
1995 Joanne and Kenn Compton. Sody Sallyratus
1996 William Hooks. FreedomTs Fruit
1997 Gloria Houston. LittlejimTs Gift: An Appalachian Christmas
Story
1998 Jacqueline Ogburn. Jukebox Man
Sir Walter Raleigh Award Winners Since 1952
sponsor: The Historical Book Club of Greensboro
category: Fiction
1952 Paul Green (for Outstanding Literary Achievement)
1953 Inglis Fletcher (for Outstanding Literary Achievement)
Frances Gray Patton. The Finer Things of Life
1954 Ovid Williams Pierce. The Plantation
1955 Frances Gray Patton. Good Morning, Miss Dove
1956 Frances Gray Patton. A Piece of Luck
1957 Doris Betts. Tall Houses in Winter
1958 Betty Smith. Maggie-Now
1959 Ernest Frankel. Band of Brothers
1960 Ovid Williams Pierce. On a Lonesome Porch
1961 Frank Borden Hanes. The Fleet Rabble
1962 Reynolds Price. A Long and Happy Life
1963 Richard McKenna. The Sand Pebbles
1964 John Ehle. The Land Breakers
1965 Doris Betts. The Scarlet Thread
1966 Heather Ross Miller. Tenants of the House
1967 John Ehle. The Road
1968 Sylvia Wilkinson. A Killing Frost
1969 Bynum Shaw. The Nazi Hunter
1970 Guy Owen. Journey for Joedel
1971 John Ehle. Time of Drums
1972 Daphne Athas. Entering Ephesus
1973 Fred Chappell. The Gaudy Place
1974 Doris Betts. Beasts of the Southern Wild and Other Stories
1975 John Ehle. The Changing of the Guard
North Carolina Libraries
1976 Reynolds Price. The Surface of Earth
1977 Sylvia Wilkinson. Shadow of the Mountain
1978 Mary Sheppard. All Angels Cry
1979 Daphne Athas. Cora
1980 Guy Owen. The Flim-Flam Man and Other Stories
1981 Reynolds Price. The Source of Light
1982 Lee Zacharias. Lessons
1983 Lee Smith. Oral History
1984 Reynolds Price. Private Contentment
1985 John Ehle. Last One Home
1986 Reynolds Price. Kate Vaiden
1987 Marianne Gingher. Bobby RexTs Greatest Hit
1988 Lawrence Rudner. The Magic We Do Here
1989 Lee Smith. Fair and Tender Ladies
1990 Allan Gurganus. Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
1991 Kaye Gibbons. A Cure for Dreams
Peter Turchi. Magician
1992 Angela Davis-Gardner. Forms of Shelter
1993 John Russell. Favorite Sons
1994 Michael Parker. The Geographical Cure: Novellas and
Stories
1995 Tim McLaurin. Cured by Fire
1996 G. Dan Gearino. What the Deaf-Mute Heard
1997 Charles Frazier. Cold Mountain
1998 Clyde Edgerton. Where Trouble Sleeps
Summer 1999 " 69
Little Magazines in North Carolina
One sign that creative writing is flourishing in a state is the presence of olittle magazines.� These publications,
many times out of the mainstream or associated with academic institutions, often publish new writers,
minorities, or alternative types of writing, bringing these new voices to the attention of the literary establish-
ment. The following list of little magazines in North Carolina, adapted from the fifth edition (1999) of North
CarolinaTs Literary Resources Guide and published by the North Carolina WritersT Network, and is used through
the courtesy of Linda Hobson, Director of the Network. Additional information about little magazines can be
found in issues of the North Carolina Literary Review. The North Carolina Collection in the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill Library actively collects little magazines.
Copies of North CarolinaTs Literary Resources Guide are available from the North Carolina WritersT Network, P.O.
Box 954, Carrboro, NC 27510. Cost is $8.00 for network members, $10 for non-members.
North Carolina Literary Magazines and Presses is a literary association of North CarolinaTs nonprofit little
magazines and small presses. Members of this group are indicated with an asterisk.
When requesting information from a magazine or press, remember to include a self-addressed stamped
envelope (SASE).
*Asheville Poetry Review
Keith Flynn, managing ed., PO Box 7086, Asheville, NC 28802
The Asheville Poetry Review is a biannual, international journal established in 1994 that focuses on poetry, transla-
tions, and reviews. It prints 600 copies per issue. Subscriptions: $22.50/year; $43.50/2 years; $13/single issue.
Brightleaf: A Southern Review of Books
David S. Perkins, ed. and publ., 303 Blake St., Ste. 203, Raleigh, NC 27601
e-mail: dperkins@mindspring.com; Web site: www.brightleaf-review.com
Established in 1997, Brightleaf is a regional book review published quarterly. Includes reviews by and about
Southern writers and special profiles, as well as regular columns and departments that comment on the literary
arts in the South. Subscription: $25/year.
*Carolina Quarterly
Robert West, ed., CB# 3520, Greenlaw, UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3520
The Carolina Quarterly is a triannual publication established in 1948. It features fiction and poetry by new and
established writers, also graphic art, reviews and nonfiction, and prints 1,100 copies. Subscription: $12/year.
*Coastal Plains Poetry
Nina Wicker, Committee Chair, 4318 Minter School Rd., Sanford, NC 27330
Coastal Plains Poetry, Eleanor R. May, ed., established in 1992, is published annually each fall, and features both
emerging and established writers. Circulation is 350 copies. Issues sell for $6.
Creative Loafing
John Grooms, ed., PO Box 241988, Charlotte, NC 28224-1988
e-mail: john.grooms@creativeloafing.com; Web site: www.creativeloafing.com/charlotte/newstand/current
Creative Loafing, a weekly newspaper, was established in 1987 and prints 50,000 copies. Subscription: $26/year.
66 " Summer 1999 North Carolina Libraries
*Crucible
Terrence L. Grimes, ed., Kathy James, asst. ed., Barton College, Wilson, NC 27893
e-mail: tgrimes@e-mail.barton.edu
The Crucible, an annual publication established in 1964, features fiction and poetry with an emphasis on North
Carolina writers. Prints 500 copies. Subscription: $6/year.
*DoubleTake Magazine
1317 W. Pettigrew St., Durham, NC 27705
e-mail: dtmag@aol.com; Web site: www.doubletakemagazine.org
DoubleTake Magazine is a quarterly publication established in 1995; it prints 65,000 issues. DoubleTake publishes
fiction, nonfiction, essays, poetry, and photography representing the breadth and depth of the extraordinary
events of everyday life. Subscription: $24/year. DoubleTake will move its offices to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in
Summer 1999.
Dream/Girl
Frances Dowell, ed., PO Box 639, Carrboro, NC 27510
e-mail: fdowell@mindspring.com
Dream/Girl magazine seeks to encourage creative genius in girls age 11-15. Includes articles on arts and crafts,
interviews with artists, book and music reviews. Circulation is 2,000. Subscription: $12/four issues.
Ex Umbra
Andrew Williams, adv., Dept. of English, N.C. Central University, Durham, NC 27707
Ex Umbra annually publishes the creative efforts of NCCU students, staff, and alumni and prints 2500 copies.
FIBERARTS Magazine
Nancy Orban, ed., 50 College St., Asheville, NC 28801
FIBERARTS magazine was established in 1976 and provides information and inspiration for textile artists; it is
published five times a year.
Front Striker Bulletin
Bill Retskin, owner, PO Box 18481, Asheville, NC 28814
e-mail: bill@matchcovers.com; Web site: www.matchcovers.com
Published quarterly, the Front Striker Bulletin promotes and prints articles on match cover collecting. Established in
1986, the magazine has a circulation of 550. Subscription: $25/year.
GreenPrints: oThe WeederTs Digest�
Pat Stone, ed., PO Box 1355, Fairview, NC 28730
GreenPrints, published quarterly, endeavors to share the human side of gardening through personal garden stories
and essays. Circulation is 10,000. Subscription: $17.97/year.
*Greensboro Review
Jim Clark, ed., English Department, 134 McIver, UNC-Greensboro, PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
e-mail: clarkj@fagan.uncg.edu
The Greensboro Review, a biannual publication established in 1966, features poetry and fiction by writers nation-
wide. Prints 1,000 copies. Subscriptions: $10/year; $25/3 years.
*International Poetry Review
Mark Smith-Soto, ed., Dept. of Romance Languages, UNC-Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
International Poetry Review, a biannual publication established in 1975, features poems in translation and originally
composed in English. It prints 300 copies. Subscriptions: $10/year, $18/2 years, $25/3 years, $100/life, $5/sample.
Journal of African Travel-Writing
Amber Vogel, ed., P.O. Box 346, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
The Journal of African Travel-Writing is a semi-annual publication established in 1996. It presents and explores
accounts of African travel in all literary genres and prints 600 plus copies. Subscription: $10/year.
Kshanti Literary/Arts Review
Hilde Weiseit, co-ed., PO Box 1644, Carrboro, NC 27510
e-mail: editors@literary.org; Web site: www.literary.org
Established in 1997 Kshanti Literary/Arts Review publishes poetry, fiction, photography, essays, interviews, and
reviews by new and established writers and artists. Published continuously on the Web, Kshanti is distributed in
print biannually. Subscription: $22.50/year.
LonzieTs Fried Chicken Literary Magazine
E.H. Goree, ed. and publ., PO Box 189, Lynn, NC 28750
Established in 1998, LonzieTs Fried Chicken Literary Magazine publishes accessible Southern fiction and poetry,
strives to offer the best in regional fiction and poetry and to give new writers a voice. Published twice yearly.
Subscriptions: $12.95/year; $23.95/2 years.
The Lyricist
David Tillman, ed. staff, PO Box 220, Buies Creek, NC 27506
Established in 1968, published annually with a circulation of 1000 copies, Lyricist publishes poetry by North
Carolina poets. Subscription: $3/year.
North Carolina Libraries Summer 1999 " 67
*Mount Olive Review
Pepper Worthington, ed., Mount Olive College, 634 Henderson St., Mount Olive, NC 28365
Mount Olive Review, an annual publication established in 1987, features theme-related scholarly articles, poems,
short stories, book reviews, interviews, and essays. Subscription: $25/year.
*North Carolina Literary Review
Thomas E. Douglass, ed., English Dept., East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353
North Carolina Literary Review, an annual magazine established in 1992, features articles and essays by and about
NC writers, literature, culture, and history. Circulation 1200. Subscription $17/year; $31/2 years.
North Carolina Review of Books
Mark W. Hornberg, ed., PO Box 10443, Raleigh, NC 27605
e-mail: funk2@ix.netcom.com
Founded in 1998, NCRB is free and is distributed throughout the state at bookstores, libraries, coffee shops, and
restaurants. Its goal is to provide an alternative to the academic approach to book reviews and to offer an eclectic
mix of frequently overlooked literary genres.
*Obsidian II: Black Literature in Review
Afaa M. Weaver, ed., Dept. of English, NCSU, Box 8105, Raleigh, NC 27695-8105
Obsidian II, a biannual publication established in 1975, features fiction and poetry by Black writers worldwide and
includes criticism of the work of Black writers by commentators of all races. It prints 500 copies. Subscriptions:
$17.40/year; $29.80/2 years.
Our State
Mary Ellis, ed., PO Box 4552, Greensboro, NC 27404
Our State, a monthly magazine about North Carolina, was established in 1933 and has a circulation of 35,000. It
celebrates North Carolina travel, history, and folklore.
Parting Gifts
Robert Bixby, ed. and publ., 3413 Wilshire Dr., Greensboro, NC 27408
e-mail: rbixby@aol.com; Web site: www.users.aol.com/marchst
Parting Gifts, a semi-annual poetry and fiction literary magazine, was established in 1988. Also publishes Fatal
Embrace an electronic magazine (Web site: users.aol.com/rbixby/fatal_embrace/fe11.html.
Broadfoot's has TWO Locations Serving Different Needs
Broadfoot's
of Wendell
6624 Robertson Pond Road ~ Wendell, NC 27591
Phone: (800) 444-6963 ~ Fax: (919) 365-6008
|Broadfoot
|Publishing
Company
SOFTWARE
1907 Buena Vista Circle ~ Wilmington, NC 28405
Phone: (800) 537-5243 ~ Fax: (910) 686-4379
MULTICULTURAL raorenit
SELECTIONS Recent Publications:
VISUALS The Colonial & State Records of NC (30 vols.)
Spring & Fall Catalogs North Carolina Regiments (5 vols.)
Are you on our mailing list ue pipe Roster of Confederate Troops (16 vols.)
Tar il alain Ie og wl Supplement to the Official Records (100 vols.)
or hig oe
natives & newcomers
young & old
Full Color Catalog (free upon request)
68 " Summer 1999 North Carolina Libraries
*Pembroke Magazine
Shelby Stephenson, ed., Box 60, UNC-Pembroke, Pembroke, NC 28372
Pembroke Magazine is an annual publication established in 1969, that features fiction, poetry, and essays by
writers nationwide, with a focus on NC writers and literary activity. Prints 600 copies. Subscription: $5/year.
*Sandhills Review
Stephen Smith, ed., Sandhills Community College, 220 Airport Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374
Sandhills Review, a biannual publication, was established in 1970 as St. Andrews Review. It features poetry, fiction,
and plays by emerging and established writers worldwide. Prints 500 copies. Subscriptions: $14/year; $25/2 years.
Southern Cultures
Laura Cotterman, managing ed., Center for the Study of the American South, 03B Manning Hall, UNC-CH,
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3355
e-mail: csas@e-mail.unc.edu; Web site: www.unc.edu/depts/csas/socult/socult.htm
A quarterly publication, Southern Cultures publishes scholarly essays on the history, politics, folklore, literature,
art, and social structures of the South and reviews for an educated (but not necessarily academic) audience.
Established in 1995; circulation is 1,300. Subscriptions: $28/individual; $44/institutions.
*Southern Exposure
Pat Arnow, ed., Jo Carson, fiction ed., PO Box 53, Durham, NC 27702
Southern Exposure, established in 1973, is a quarterly magazine that publishes profiles, investigative journalism,
art, photos, interviews, reviews, and some poetry and fiction. Membership in the Institute of Southern Studies
includes four issues.
*Southern Poetry Review
Ken McLaurin, ed., Advancement Studies Dept., CPCC, Charlotte, NC 28235
Southern Poetry Review is a biannual publication, established in 1958, that features work by young American poets.
Prints 1,100 copies. Subscriptions: $8/year; $15/2 years.
*The Sun
Sy Safransky, ed., 107 N. Roberson St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516
The Sun is a monthly magazine, established in 1974. It features essays, interviews, fiction, poetry, and photo-
graphs by emerging and established writers and artists nationwide. Prints 30,000 copies. Subscriptions: $3.95/
issue; $34/year; $60/2 years.
*Tar River Poetry
Peter Makuck, ed., Dept. of English, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353
Tar River Poetry is a biannual publication, established in 1978, that features poetry by emerging and established
writers nationwide. Circulation is 700. Subscriptions: $10/year; $18/2 years.
Taste Full Magazine
Elizabeth K. Norfleet, ed. in chief, PO Box 1712, Wilmington, NC 28402
e-mail: nctf@taste-full.com; Web site: www.taste-full.com
Established in 1990, Taste Full publishes six times per year and has a circulation of 16,500. Its concentration is a
food-oriented lifestyle focusing on North Carolina culture and history.
*Wellspring
Dave Roberts and Becke Roughton, eds., James Sprunt Community College, PO Box 398, Kenansville, NC 28349
e-mail: dlrobert@duplinnet.com; broughto@duplinnet.com
Wellspring, an annual publication established in 1991, features poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drawings, and photog-
raphy by emerging and established writers and artists. Prints 500 copies. $5/issue.
° Over 21,000 Current & Backlist Titles
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North Carolina Libraries Summer 1999 " 69
A Field Guide to
Writers in North Carolina and the South
OVERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS & SELECTIONS
70 " Summer 1999
by Dorothy D. Hodder
Literary North Carolina, by Richard Walser with E.T. Malone, Jr. Raleigh: North Carolina Department
of Archives and History, 1986.
This brief history begins with the 16th-century explorers and extends to contemporary poets and
novelists. Covers historians, childrenTs writers, humorists, science fiction authors, and publishers.
Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary, edited by Robert Bain, Joseph M. Flora, and Louis
Rubin, Jr. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1980.
Brief biographical sketches of 379 Southern authors, famous as well as obscure. Authors selected
generally had to have published at least four books of poetry or fiction, and had to be identified
with the South imaginatively as well as geographically.
Contemporary Fiction Writers of the South: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook, edited by Joseph M.
Flora and Robert Bain. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993.
o.,.a preliminary report on the flurry of good books Southerners have written in the last two or three
decades.� Forty-nine authors were included, selected by three main criteria: they should have pub-
lished four books, been reviewed widely, and have achieved critical recognition outside the South.
Contemporary Poets, Dramatists, Essayists, and Novelists of The South: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook,
edited by Robert Bain and Joseph M. Flora. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994.
A companion to Contemporary Fiction Writers of the South.
Contemporary North Carolina Authors. Wendell, North Carolina: BroadfootTs of Wendell, 1989 -.
Looseleaf notebook format, one page per author. Includes a photograph, answers to several bio-
graphical questions, and a list of works for each author.
Images of the Southern Writer, photographs by Mark Morrow. Athens, Georgia: University of
Georgia Press, 1985.
Southern Writers, photos by David G. Spielman, text by William Starr. Columbia: University of
South Carolina Press, 1997.
Coffee table collections of photographs of Southern writers, with brief accompanying texts.
Parting the Curtains: Interviews with Southern Writers, by Dannye Romine Powell, photographs by
Jill Krementz. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair, Publisher, 1994.
In-depth interviews conducted between 1975 and 1994. Some have appeared in the Charlotte Observer.
The Christ-Haunted Landscape: Faith and Doubt in Southern Fiction, by Susan Ketchin. Jackson,
Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1994.
A dozen in-depth interviews, with accompanying fiction selections, all illustrating the literary
treatment of the theme of faith and doubt.
The Store of Joys: Writers Celebrate the North Carolina Museum of ArtTs Fiftieth Anniversary, edited
by Huston Paschal. Winston-Salem: North Carolina Museum of Art in Association with John F. Blair,
Publisher, 1997.
Forty-five North Carolina writers, selected by a committee chaired by Reynolds Price, each of whom
chose a piece of art in the North Carolina Museum of Art, and wrote a story, poem, or essay about it.
A WhoTs Who of NC writers, and a great introduction to the museum.
North Carolina Libraries
Speak So | Shall Know Thee: Interviews with Southern Writers, by William J. Walsh. Asheboro: Down
Home Press, 1993.
Thirty-one lengthy interviews with contemporary Southern authors.
Books of Passage: 27 North Carolina Writers on the Books That Changed Their Lives, edited by David
Perkins. Asheboro: Down Home Press, 1997.
And they picked everything from the Bible to Julia ChildTs Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Close to Home: Revelations and Reminiscences by North Carolina Authors, edited by Lee Harrison Child.
Winston-Salem: John F. Blair, Publisher, 1996.
Twenty-one authors from North Carolina share memories of home.
Twelve Christmas Stories by North Carolina Writers, and Twelve Poems Too, edited by Ruth Moose.
Asheboro: Down Home Press, 1997.
ANTHOLOGIES
New Stories from the South: The YearTs Best, edited by Shannon Ravenel. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of
Chapel Hill, 1986 -.
Best of the South: From Ten Years of New Stories from the South, selected by Anne Tyler, edited by
Shannon Ravenel. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1996.
Our Words, Our Ways: Reading and Writing in North Carolina, by Sally Buckner. Durham: Carolina
Academic Press, 1991.
Comprehensive 7th grade textbook with a wide selection of NC authors. Includes selections from their
works, brief biographies, and photos.
The Rough Road Home: Stories by North Carolina Writers, edited by Robert Gingher. Chapel Hill: Univer-
sity of North Carolina Press, 1992.
Cardinal: A Contemporary Anthology of Fiction and Poetry by North Carolina Writers, edited by Richard
Krawiec, poetry editor Paul Jones. Wendall, North Carolina: Jacar Press, 1986.
The Language They Speak is Things to Eat: Poems by Fifteen Contemporary North Carolina Poets, edited
by Michael McFee. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
No Hiding Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Charlotte Area Writers, edited by Frye Gaillard, Amy Rogers
and Robert Inman. Asheboro: Down Home Press, in association with the Public Library of Charlotte and
Mecklenburg County, 1999.
Pete & Shirley: The Great Tar Heel Novel, edited by David Perkins. Asheboro: Down Home Press, 1995.
A serial novel, each chapter being the work of a different author. Originally published in the Raleigh News
& Observer.
PERIODICALS
Brightleaf: A Southern Review of Books. Quarterly. David Perkins, Editor and Publisher. Raleigh: Brightleaf
Publishing Company, 1997 -.
North Carolina Literary Review: NCLR. Semiannual/annual. Greenville, North Carolina: East Carolina
University Department of English and the North Carolina Literary and Historical Assoc., 1992 ".
North Carolina Libraries, quarterly journal of the North Ccarolina Library Association. Each issue includes
book reviews.
The WritersT Network News, a bimonthly publication for members of the NC WritersT Network. Articles,
calendar, and ads for classes, workshops, writersT groups, contests, and opportunities for publication.
N.C. Poetry Society, a quarterly newsletter.
News & Observer [Raleigh] Sunday edition includes book reviews.
Wes Paces
North Carolina Bookstore
http://www.mindspring.net/~freedom1/ncbooks
North Carolina Writers in the Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill
http://cadmus.lib.unc.edu/mss/writers
North Carolina WritersT Network
http://www.ncwriters.org/
Brightleaf: A Southern Review of Books
http://www.brightleaf-review.com
Atlanta Journal & Constitution book page
http://www.accessatlanta.com/global/local/yall/culture/quill/atoz.html
North Carolina Libraries Summer 1999 " 71
Lvgicappe? North Caroliniaua
*Lagniappe (lan-yapT, lano yapT) n. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. [Louisiana French]
compiled by Plummer Alston Jones, Jr.
And What About Thomas Wolfe?
he year 2000 marks the centen-
nial of the birth of Thomas
Clayton Wolfe, a likely candidate
for the distinction of being North
CarolinaTs most famous author. Libraries
and archives can play important roles in
what will be a year-long celebration of
WolfeTs life and work.
Wolfe, born in Asheville on October
3, 1900, and educated at the University
of North Carolina and at Harvard, had a
complex relationship with his native
state. He wanted to attend either the
University of Virginia or Princeton and
came to the state university in Chapel
Hill in 1916 only under pressure from
his father. He attended graduate school
at Harvard and lived and wrote in New
York from 1924 until his untimely death
in 1938. WolfeTs autobiographical novel,
Look Homeward, Angel, published in
1929, brought accusations that the au-
thor ospat upon North Carolina and the
South,�! and after its publication he
stayed away from the state until 1937.
Yet Wolfe grew to love the University of
North Carolina during his four years in
Chapel Hill, referring to it later as oas
close to magic as ITve ever been,�� and he
often wrote beautifully and lovingly of
his family, friends, and native state.
Though some critics characterize
WolfeTs writing as undisciplined and
unstructured, a substantial number of
scholars affirm WolfeTs place in the
canon of American writing. Kurt
Vonnegut, when asked to comment on
the books he loves most, responded
bluntly:
People are proud of holding books
in contempt that theyTve read
72° " Summer 1999
by Alice Cotten
when they were young and have
outgrown. One real injustice in my
particular generation is when we
got to be forty or so and would re-
member when we loved Thomas
WolfeTs Look Homeward, Angel,
which is still a terrific book. Any-
body who speaks ill of it, having
since outgrown it, is, to use a tech-
nical word, an asshole.2
The Thomas Wolfe Society, founded
in 1979, is planning a number of events
around the state to celebrate the centen-
nial of WolfeTs birth. North Carolina has
two cities closely affiliated with Thomas
Wolfe. One is Asheville, where Wolfe
was born and lived during his child-
hood, and the other is Chapel Hill,
where Wolfe attended the University of
North Carolina from 1916 to 1920. The
Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic
Site is located in Asheville in the board-
inghouse that WolfeTs mother operated.
Though a fire severely damaged the
house in July 1998, and it likely will not
be open for a few years, the Visitor Cen-
ter is open and offers interpretative
exhibits, an informative film about
Wolfe, a gift shop, and tours and lectures.
Pack Memorial Library in downtown
Asheville has a good collection of mate-
rials by and about Wolfe: books, maga-
zines, photographs, and some letters.
Though the largest cache of WolfeTs
literary manuscripts is at Harvard, the
North Carolina Collection at the Library
of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill has an extensive collection
of both primary and secondary material
by and about Wolfe, including family
correspondence, published materials,
and some manuscript fragments. Both
the historic site and the North Carolina
Collection have Web sites featuring
some of their Wolfe items. The North
Carolina CollectionTs site reproduces
photographs of Wolfe and his family as
well as portions of letters that Wolfe
wrote.4
The Thomas Wolfe Society will hold
two official meetings in the year 2000:
one in the spring in Chapel Hill, and one
in the fall in Asheville. The Society
hopes that the United States Postal Ser-
vice will issue a commemorative stamp
for Wolfe. The Playmakers Repertory
Company at UNC-CH will open its fall
2000 season with a production of Look
Homeward, Angel. The North Carolina En-
glish Teacher will devote an issue to
Wolfe, which will be a natural link to
students and teachers in the community.
There will be academic conferences on
Wolfe in the United States, Germany,
and Italy; other events in Asheville,
Chapel Hill, and around the state will be
announced soon.
So how do libraries fit in? Libraries
can help celebrate WolfeTs Centennial
in many ways. One is by ensuring that
collections have some basic works by
and about Wolfe. (A suggested list fol-
lows this article.) Another is by having
an institutional membership in the
Thomas Wolfe Society, in order to re-
ceive The Thomas Wolfe Review twice a
year, as well as the annual publication
featuring newly published works by
Wolfe or items related to Wolfe. Librar-
ies also may feature Wolfe in exhibits,
reading lists, book discussion groups, or
programs.
Why should librarians be concerned
North Carolina Libraries
with promoting Thomas Wolfe? This
article has already suggested some rea-
sons. Wolfe reveled in the pure joy of
books and libraries. In Of Time and the
River he wrote about standing in the li-
brary of a wealthy man: oall the time the
voice of the living books around him
seemed to speak to him ... he plundered
the living treasures of those shelves.
They were all there"the great
chronicles ... the keen diaries ... the
works of all the poets ... " each stood
there in his little niche upon the living
shelves.�
Perhaps, though, Louis Rubin helps
us answer the question best:
Reading and rereading his books, I
was led to feel that ... my own
thoughts and emotions might even
be worth writing about ... ArenTt the
Wolfe novels, finally, about being a
writer? ... If so, isnTt one measure of
their literary worth that they com-
municate the joy of using language
so well that many young persons
who tread them want to write for
themselves?�
Thomas Wolfe is a major literary fig-
ure from North Carolina, one of many
writers who were born or who lived in
this state. By providing basic works by
and about Wolfe, and by encouraging
library users to read his writings, librar-
ians can help ensure that North Carolina
continues to produce and to nurture tal-
ented creative writers for this and future
generations.
References
1 Jonathan Daniels, oWolfeTs First is
Novel of Revolt,� Raleigh News and Ob-
server, October 20, 1929.
2 Thomas Wolfe to Benjamin Cone,
July 27, 1929, quoted in The Letters of
Thomas Wolfe, ed. Elizabeth Nowell
(New York: Charles ScribnerTs Sons,
1956), 192.
WolfeTs Writings:
ScribnerTs, 1956.
Biography:
Donald, David Herbert. Look Homeward: A Life of Thomas Wolfe. Boston:
Little, Brown, 1987.
Mitchell, Ted. Thomas Wolfe: A WriterTs Life. Asheville: The Thomas Wolfe
Memorial State Historic Site, 1997.
Walser, Richard G. Thomas Wolfe, Undergraduate. Durham: Duke University
Press, 1977.
Other:
Suggestions for a Basic Thomas Wolfe Collection
Wolfe, Thomas. Look Homeward, Angel. NY: Scribners, 1929.
=__. Of Time and the River. New York: ScribnerTs, 1935.
. The Web and the Rock. New York: Harper, 1935.
. You CanTt Go Home Again. New York: Harper, 1940.
. The Complete Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe. Edited by Francis E.
Skipp. New York: Collier Books, 1987.
___. The Lost Boy: A Novella by Thomas Wolfe. Edited by James W. Clark,
Jr. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1992.
___. The Letters of Thomas Wolfe. Edited by Elizabeth Nowell. New York:
en |
. The Notebooks of Thomas Wolfe. Edited by Richard S. Kennedy and
Paschal Reeves. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1970.
Idol, John Lane, Jr. A Thomas Wolfe Companion. New York, Westport,
Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987.
Kennedy, Richard S. The Window of Memory: The Literary Career of Thomas
Wolfe. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1962.
3 Kurt Vonnegut, oIn the Bone,� Biblio
4 (March 1999): 18.
4 The Thomas Wolfe Memorial:
http://home.att.net/~WolfeMemorial/
North Carolina CollectionTs Thomas
Wolfe Collection: http://lib.unc.edu/
ncc/wolfe/
Also see: http://library.uncwil.edu/
wolfe/wolfe.html
5 For membership information: David
Strange, Thomas Wolfe Society Member-
858 Manor Street
Lancaster, PA 17603
WHOLESALERS
TO LIBRARIES
ship, P.O. Box 1146, Bloomington, IN
47402-1146. Institutional memberships
are currently $30.00 per calendar year.
6 Thomas Wolfe, Of Time and the River
(New York: Charles ScribnerTs Sons,
1935), 587-88.
7 Louis D. Rubin, The Mockingbird in
the Gum Tree ( Baton Rouge: Louisiana
State University Press, 1991), 112.
CURRENT EDITIONS, INC.
1-800-959-1672
1-800-487-2278 (FAX)
"Support North Carolina Libraries"
North Carolina Libraries
Summer 1999 " 72
Arid
by Ralph Lee Scott
North Carolina Authors
Close to HomeT states that oone of the things I liked
best about our house was the dirt road at the bottom
of the hill. Forever gullied and rutted by hard Southern
rains, the road was the object of much conflict within the
town when I was young.� Somehow oforever gullied and
rutted� reminds me all too much of my experiences on the
modern day Internet, especially when I get an e-mail,
oSorry to report a major fibre cable cut in the Triangle has
stopped our traffic� In this column we will visit a number
of North Carolina writersT sites on the Internet.
A good place to start is the oNorth Carolina WritersT
Network� at http://www.ncwriters.org This peer network
was started some fifteen years ago and has become a major
factor in the encouragement of writers in North Carolina.
Thanks to a recent grant, the North Carolina WritersT
Network (NCWN)now has a home office in the 1933 White
Cross School on NC 54 west of Chapel Hill. The NetworkTs
Motto, oWriting and Reading: EverybodyTs Art,� provides a
focus for individual level interaction among state writers.
The site has links to membership information, writersT
news, library and resource center, literary resource guide,
competitions, workshops, conferences, calendars, critique
service, readings, Hot Ink (a summer program for teens),
press release archive, Center for Business and Technical
Writing, the NC Literary Hall of Fame, North Carolina
WritersT Network West, outreach programs, FAQ and
directory, a history of NCWN, and Web links.
The link section offers a wealth of information. It is
divided into general categories: comprehensive writersT
organizations, reference works, libraries, funding, job
listings, agents, publishers, presses, search engines, new
services, e-zines and online journals, academic Web sites,
and HTML/Web page design tools. Reference links include
favorites such as Strunk & WhiteTs The Elements of Style, but
also an interesting link to The Police OfficerTs Internet
Directory. The library links go to British Library, Cornell,
LC, Purdue, Oxford, Duke, and NC State University (but
oddly not to UNC-Chapel Hill). The e-zines page offers
access to The Dead Mule, LonzieTs Fried Chicken Literary
Magazine, TimBookTu, and the Voice of the Shuttle: Journals
and Zines.
Another interesting writer site is the North Carolina
i ee Harrison Child writing about North Carolina in
74 " Summer 1999
Women Writers and Their Works home page http//
odyssey.lib.duke.edu/women/ncwwtoc.html. While this is
an old site, dating from a WomenTs Writers Conference in
1992, it appears to have been updated as recently as 1996.
Here you will find an excellent essay on oWomen and
Literary Publishing in North Carolina,� together with links
to Duke WomenTs Studies Program pages. oCities and
Roads,� a five-issue electronic journal of short fiction, has a
homepage that features oshort stories showcasing the best
of established and emerging writers.� At http://
www.shopthenet.net/poetcorner/cities/ neat pieces of
fiction such as oWashing Dishes,� oUncle Daddy,� oFace of
Adversity,� oDistant Sound of Sunshine,� oIce Storm,� and
oThat Standing Man with the OK Sign� are short and very
readable. Would-be authors can also submit stories to the
editor, Tom Kealey. The main requirement for submission is
that the author must be a resident or oVisiting student� in
North Carolina.
In addition to writersT organizations, online collections,
and e-zines, North Carolina is noted for writersT workshops.
An interesting one on the Web is the Wildacres Writers
Workshop near Little Switzerland which takes place in in
July http://www.wildacres.com. A residential writing
workshop housing up to 100 writers oin our lovely lodge-
type buildings,� the workshop provides coaching in novels,
short stories, poetry, and ocreative nonfiction.� Also this
year there is a Wildacres ChildrenTs Writers Workshop for
writers of Young Adult/Middle-Grade works. Four hundred
sixty dollars per person gets you a double occupancy room,
meals, a o15 page manuscript critique� [do they give you 15
pages of critique or do they look only at 15 pages of your
stuff?], and oall programs.� According to the home page,
the last night of the workshop concludes with othe Gong
Show, a Wildacres tradition of goofy skits and mono-
logues.� Sounds like just the cure for the 100+ degree
North Carolina pavements of July to me! You might even
come up with something for LonzieTs Fried Chicken up in
Little Switzerland!
Reference
1 Lee Harrison Child, Close to Home: Revelations and
Reminiscences by North Carolina Authors (Winston-Salem:
Blair, 1996), x.
North Carolina Libraries
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North Carolina Libraries Summer 1999 " 79
____ NORTH CAROLINA
Clarissa Thomasson.
Proke
Dorothy Hodder, Compiler
n Defending Hillsborough, Clarissa ThomassonTs first novel, the reader is
presented with a sharply contrasted portrayal of everyday life in the pre-Civil
War South and life in the South during the Civil War. Idyllic conditions
existed for the Southern plantation owners and their families before the war.
They lived in beautiful homes with grandiose grounds. They went horseback
riding, attended parties and weddings, fairs, and picnics. After the war started,
economic conditions in the South deteriorated completely. Food supplies were
cut off and commodities such as soap had to be made from meat scraps, bones,
skin, and lye, bonded together by boiling with ashes. Leather was so scarce, shoes
were produced that had leather uppers and wooden soles. When buttons were
missing, they were replaced with beans or nuts, or anything that would fit in a
button hole. Young boys and older men were all sent off to war. Plantations were
destroyed by the Union troops. Families lost everything, including their loved
ones. Life in the South would be changed forever.
This story is based on the life of the authorTs great-great-grandmother, Sarah
Holeman, who is portrayed as a strong and courageous woman. It takes place in
Hillsborough, North Carolina, and begins with her courtship by Henry Stroud,
whom she eventually marries. Henry has a twin brother named
Cave, who is also romantically interested in Sarah. Cave remains
jealous of Henry and Sarah throughout his life, because Sarah
did not reciprocate his feelings and chose Henry over him.
Defen d i n g H i | | iz bo rou g h. HenryTs dream of many years has been to purchase the Tavern
House, an inn and hotel in the town of Hillsborough. Although
Fuquay-Varina, NC: Research Triangle Publishing, Inc., this will be a major financial burden and means moving into the
1998. 284 pp. $12.95. ISBN 1-884570-85-2. city away from her family, not to mention the amount of work
76 " Summer 1999
involved, Sarah agrees. Throughout their married lives, Sarah
and Henry have seven children, all girls. On May 20, 1861,
North Carolina secedes from the Union and this, of course,
changes all of their lives. In 1863, the age of conscription is raised to 45 and
Henry goes off to war. His brother Cave manages to get an exemption. While
Henry is away, Sarah keeps the hotel running under extremely difficult circum-
stances. Henry contracts influenza while at war and is sent home due to his
illness. In addition to influenza, he is also suffering from severe malnutrition and
insect bites, which have not healed properly. He does not recover and dies. In
April of 1965, it becomes apparent that Hillsborough will be invaded by Union
troops. Rather than flee, as most of the townspeople do, Sarah stays and defends
the hotel. Today, the historic Orange Hotel still stands in Hillsborough as a result
of SarahTs bravery.
ThomassonTs portrayal of the relationships between Sarah Holeman and
Henry and Cave Stroud when they were competing for SarahTs attentions are
banal and superficial. Some of the situations seemed ludicrous to me. Sarah never
told Henry that Cave was pursuing her, for reasons that are unclear. Thomasson
does a better job in the second half of the novel, with her portrayal of Sarah and
HenryTs true love and devotion for each other. SarahTs character is more fully
developed later on in the story and the reader begins to see her intelligence,
bravery, and strength. Sarah Holeman was truly a heroic person and Thomasson
conveys this successfully. Recommended for school and public libraries.
" Geri Purpur
Appalachian State University
North Carolina Libraries
any readers are undoubtedly aware of the recent Supreme Court litigation
(which is still unresolved) involving North CarolinaTs congressional omajority-
minority� congressional districts. The controversy over these districts, and
others like them, is the subject of J. Morgan KousserTs Colorblind Injustice.
Kousser is a professor of history and social science at the California Institute
of Technology. He has written numerous books and articles on racial discrimina-
tion and voting rights, including The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the
Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910, and he has testified as an expert witness in
many voting rights and redistricting cases. Some of the cases in which he has been involved
are discussed in detail in Colorblind Injustice. (Kousser states this fact in the introduction, so
the reader receives fair warning that the narrative is not necessarily an impartial or dispas-
sionate one.)
The book opens by comparing the Reconstruction period after the Civil War to the
oSecond Reconstruction,� a term used to describe the period of civil rights reforms begin-
ning with the Supreme CourtTs 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Kousser argues
that the reason the Second Reconstruction was more successful than the First in improving
minority rights is that the Supreme Court and Congress
of the mid-twentieth century were much more inclined
to make the necessary changes in American law. Kousser
asserts flatly in the first sentence of the book that
. Morgan Kousser. ; es pwn:
J 8 oTiJnstitutions and institutional rules"not customs,
Co lorblind In j ustice: M inority Voting ideas, attitudes, culture, or private behavior"have
primarily shaped race relations in America.� The bookTs
Righ ts and the Undoing title is a reference to the idea of government
ocolorblindness� or neutrality in matters of racial
of the Second Recons truction. inequality, which Kousser deems ounjust in intent as
well as in effect.� Given these beliefs, it is not surprising
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. that Kousser proceeds to make the case for a prolonged
590 pp. Cloth, $65.00. ISBN 0-8078-2431-3. and aggressive role for the Federal government in
Paper, $29.95. ISBN 0-8078-4738-0. matters of apportionment and redistricting.
North Carolina Libraries
After a general review of the Voting Rights Act
and the history of the First and Second Reconstructions,
Kousser proceeds to give detailed accounts of the
redistricting process in California, Tennessee, Georgia,
North Carolina, and Texas. Due to extensive and well-documented research in contempora-
neous sources such as political speeches, government documents, or newspaper articles,
Kousser is able to offer considerable evidence that, at various points in history, state and
local officials in these five jurisdictions drew municipal, state legislative, and state congres-
sional districts with the explicit intention of keeping white politicians in power and
preventing Black or Hispanic candidates from being elected. As one might expect, Kousser
praises the series of court cases that outlawed the most egregious racial gerrymandering
practices and gave minorities a better chance for representation.
It is in North Carolina, Kousser says, that the law began to go awry. He discusses the
stateTs record of racial disenfranchisement in the past, and accuses the Supreme Court of
failing to meet its obligation to preserve minority rights in the present. In Shaw v. Reno in
1993, the Court ruled that five white plaintiffs who objected to the legislatureTs redistricting
plan had a valid claim under the ConstitutionTs Equal Protection Clause, on the grounds
that the plan was an unjustified attempt to segregate voters based on race. Kousser says that
he odofes] not find evil motives everywhere,� but he certainly believes he has found them
on the Supreme Court. He condemns Chief Justice William RehnquistTs racial views and
accuses Justice Sandra Day OTConnor of political partisanship. Kousser describes Shaw v.
Reno as the beginning of a radical trend that threatens to reverse the course of the Second
Reconstruction.
Many patrons may be intimidated by this book, as it is lengthy, full of references to
court cases and statutes, and peppered with political and legal jargon. Others may be
repulsed by the authorTs palpable disdain for many of those who disagree with him; he
often pauses to grind an ideological axe against the works of rivals such as Professor Abigail
Thernstrom. Despite these problems, Colorblind Injustice offers a thorough and passionate
discussion of minority voting rights, and due to its coverage of events in North Carolina, it
will probably be of interest to teachers and students of law, history, and politics throughout
the state.
Recommended for academic libraries.
" Robert C. Vreeland
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Summer 1999 " 77
he historic architecture of North Carolina extends across a broad range of
decorative styles and construction types, reaches through many generations of
development,
and forms a rich cultural panorama through the alliance of people
and places. A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina is the
second of a trilogy of regional field guides: Eastern, Western and Piedmont, that
presents a concise yet highly informative introductory essay about an almost unknown
area of the state. Topics include the picturesque and often rugged terrain of foothills
and mountains, human habitation over millennia, the growth of communities and
industries, and a special section on the visionary planning and accomplishment of the
Blue Ridge Parkway,
rightly regarded as oone of AmericaTs greatest public works
achievements and most popular scenic attractions.� Throughout the essay, illustrations
depict representative scenes and structures that add depth to the written word.
Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern,
and Jennifer F. Martin.
A Guide to the Historic Architecture
of Western North Carolina.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. 483
pp. $34.95 cloth, ISBN 0-8078-2465-8;
$19.95 paper, ISBN 0-8078-4767-4.
The guide is especially useful for the abundant reference
maps placed at the front of the book. Each county has a full-
page map showing each historic site clearly marked by a
numerical code. Nearby towns, rivers, highways, and rural
routes serve as geographic references. Subsequent chapters
trace diverging paths through eight foothill counties: Surry,
Wilkes, Alexander, Caldwell, Burke, McDowell, Rutherford,
and Polk; and eighteen mountain counties: Alleghany, Ashe,
Watauga, Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Madison, Buncombe,
Henderson, Transylvania, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain,
Graham, Graham, Clay, and Cherokee. The result is an awe-
inspiring compendium of some 1,200 historic sites, touching
on log dwellings and outbuildings, rural meeting houses,
farmsteads, community and government buildings, bridges,
schools, churches, mountain retreats, cities, and villages. The
entire effort of research, writing, and illustration is as expansive as the mountains
themselves; the reader and adventurer are led through a vast but intimate land where
culture and geography are closely allied; and the study weaves through the lives of
numerous authors, poets, painters, and politicians. The photographs accompanying
the entries for dramatically sited structures set in spacious surroundings are especially
provocative. Biltmore, where it was said othe mountains are in scale with the house,� is
just one of a wealth of architectural treasures " from cabins to castles " that abound
in the region. The book concludes with one of the best architectural glossaries yet
produced, a valuable bibliography,sources of information, and photographic credits.
The authors, Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer FE. Martin, are
associates in the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office in Raleigh. All are
obviously enamored
merly affiliated with
of the western region of the state, and the latter two were for-
the Western Office of Archives and History in Asheville. The guide
is part of the Richard Hampton Jenrette Series in Architecture and the Decorative Arts.
" Edward F. Turberg
Architectural Historian, Wilmington, NC
o Hiding Place is an anthology of stories, poems, articles, and excerpts from the works
of writers associated
with the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and, in the words of
novelist Robert Inman, is a tribute to them and oto the spirit which moves their work.�
Edited by Inman and local writers Frye Gaillard and Amy Rogers, and funded by the
Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, the book is a remarkable ex-
ample of the contributions a public library can make to the cultural life of a community.
Frye Gaillard, Amy Rogers, and Robert Inman, editors.
No Hiding Place: Uncovering the
Legacy of Charlotte-Area Writers.
Asheboro: Down Home Press, in association with the
Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County,
1999. 274 pp. Paper, $16.95. ISBN 1-878986-69-3.
78 " Summer 1999
It continues PLCMCTs tradition of building CharlotteTs reputation
as an important literary center, as seen in their 1988 anthology,
The Imaginative Spirit: The Literary Heritage of Charlotte and
Mecklenburg County, and literary festival Novello, a major citywide
event since the early 1990s.
The collection begins with selections by seven oLegends� from
days gone by, including Erskine Caldwell, Carson McCullers, W. J.
Cash, and Charles Kuralt. Harry GoldenTs satirical essay oThe
Vertical Negro Plan� is a standout in this section, suggesting that
since White southerners had no problem standing up with Blacks
in banks and department, the solution to the school segregation
North Carolina Libraries
North Carolina Libraries
problem was simply to remove all the seats. He notes that the students oare not learning to read
sitting down anyway; maybe standing up will help.�
The fiction section includes stories and novel excerpts from 14 writers, among them Dori
Sanders, a close-by South Carolina writer who writes in Charlotte. Robin HemleyTs oA PrinterTs Tale�
will be a treat to anyone who ever suffered through an amateur poetry reading. Banker Joe MartinTs
oSister Holy Ghost and the Fourth of July,� a slow-building, ultimately stunning indictment of
segregation, is the story from which the title of the collection is taken. Max ChildersTs oWhat Comes
Next� examines the lengths to which hard times will drive a Charlotte plumber. Readers will get a
taste of forthcoming novels by Ashley Warlick and Fred Leebron.
The poetry section presents 14 accessible entries, none, by Robin HemleyTs standards, offensive.
Joseph BathantiTs oIf | Returned to Rancor� carries out the theme of southern race relations which is
so prominent in the collection: oThis time the people would be friendly, / inviting my wife and me /
to their churches ... Disputes would be settled through discourse, / and the townTs name changed to
Reconciliation. / WeTd stay forever.� Two entries reflect CharlotteTs new immigrant populations: oMy
Turn� by Tanure Ojaide, a native of Nigeria, and oEl Nifio en la Hamaca,� a poem in Spanish by
Venezuelan-born Irania Macias Patterson. (For PattersonTs report on library outreach to CharlotteTs
Hispanic community, see North Carolina Libraries, Winter 1998.)
Thirteen nonfiction pieces conclude the anthology. Especially memorable are Dot JacksonTs oThe
Merger: A Ghost Tale or Maybe Not� and Doug RobarchekTs oAll You Want to Know About Women
But Are Too Smart to Ask Us�: odeep down, many of us guys are aware, in our rudimentary, slug-like
way, that most women are smarter than us, more reasonable, more practical, tougher, and more
flexible.� Sam Fullwood IIITs oThe Rage of the Black Middle Class� is enlightening; to balance it,
Elizabeth LelandTs account of the lifelong relationship between a prominent White family in
Lincolnton and a mentally retarded Black man, oJoe Hill: 55 Years of Family Love,� is heartwarming.
Each piece in this collection is introduced with a brief note explaining the connection of the
author to Charlotte. Some of these are slight or of brief duration, most are substantial. Brief biogra-
phies of the authors and bibliographical credits conclude the volume. Fans of North Carolina writers
will recognize many names and learn others to watch for, and even casual browsers will be impressed
with the quality of this anthology. No Hiding PlaceTs most important contribution may well be the
introduction of many of CharlotteTs journalists to readers who do not follow the Charlotte Observer.
From WJ. Cash, Harry Golden, and Kays Gary to Doug Robarchek, Kathryn Schwille, and Dan
Huntley, these deserve a wide audience. Recommended for school, public, and academic libraries.
" Dorothy Hodder
New Hanover County Public Library
Fa
IN ENeDeE GR: AvloE.D INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Summer 1999 " 79
Douglas F. Dickerson, as told to Bruce Washburn.
urly Dickerson made a World War II museum out of his pool house. It
started out as a poster display in his driveway. Folks from the neighbor-
hood saw his staggered line of easels, slowed down, stopped, and got out
to take a look. It was his neighborsT positive reactions that led Curly to
clean the exercise equipment, pool supplies, and other odds and ends
from his 10 by 17-foot backyard building. In their place, he put photographs, newspa-
per articles, maps, uniforms, and other relics. These items told the story of the depres-
sion-era kids who went to war in the 1940s.
Curly DickersonTs memoir is the product of the same sort of homespun self-
reliance and initiative. In Citizen Soldiers, one of the best books written abut World War
II, Stephen Ambrose notes that the warTs defining characteristic
was the ability of regular G.I.s to adapt, think for themselves, and
carry out their missions with little direct supervision. If his book is
Doi, ng M y Duty: The Life Sto ry Of any indication, Dickerson has maintained these qualities for more
than fifty years.
Douglas ae, urly � Dickerson. It is easy to imagine Curly standing in his converted pool
house telling a group of local Girl Scouts how, as a paratrooper
Burnsville, NC: Celo Valley Books, second edition with the 82nd Airborne, he jumped behind enemy lines and
1998. xii, 139 pp. Paper, $14.00. ISBN 0-923687-50-5. landed square on the back of a cow. When visiting veterans and
Stephen E. Miller.
their wives rehashed their oshipping out� romances, Curly must
have laughed about how he married his beloved Edna Lee after
having seen her only one time on a bus, followed by a courtship of letters. And when
the old soldiersT talk grew solemn and memories of lost friends crowded the chlorine-
filled air, Curly could count for them the twenty-some men lost from his special 30-
man unit. DickersonTs book is full of such stories, written as if he were standing in his
Greensboro backyard reminiscing for friends and visitors. With sentences like, oI
learned to dance from a boy named Joe Birddy� to oIt was during this stalemate that I
lost my friend Jake, who was our only remaining gunner,� this is the kind of book
everyone wishes his grandfather had written for him.
" Kevin Cherry
Rowan Public Library
irst-time novelist Stephen D. Miller is a native of Durham but hasnTt lived in
North Carolina since he left to attend college at the Virginia Military Institute.
After college he enrolled in a creative writing program at the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where he has remained, making his living
mostly as an actor. His award for winning a three-day novel writing contest was a
Toronto book agent, who encouraged him to write a murder mystery based on his
experience growing up in the South. He chose as his setting the port city of
Wilmington during the tumultuous year of 1954.
The suspense begins when a prostitute turns up dead on the banks of
the Cape Fear River. Acting sheriff Q.P. (Kewpie) Waldeau begins to search
earnestly for the murderer as more killings take place. He is aided by a
native Jewish public librarian, who has recently returned from up North to
Th e Wo man in th e Ya rd be with her dying father. Together they work through the mystery with
little help from either the black or white community.
New York: Picador USA, 1999. 294 pp. $23.00. Miller successfully captured the time and place by reading the 1954
80 " Summer 1999
ISBN 0-312-19962-7. Wilmington newspapers. Brown vs. the Board of Education, Wilmington
localities, politics, Hurricane Hazel, and the Bladenboro Beast make
believable appearances in the novel, and the Ku Klux Klan rally was
fashioned after one which took place in Monroe, North Carolina. His
characters are a composite of the many Southerners he knew while growing up in the
1950s, rather than actual personalities from the area. The two exceptions are a local
congressman and the editor of the newspaper.
The author is no stranger to suspense. He frequently shows up as oSpecial Agent
Andy McClaren� on the Fox-TV series Millennium, where he helps ex-profiler Frank
Black (Lance Henriksen) search out serial killers and other fin de siecle crazies.
The Woman in the Yard should be a favorite with public library mystery readers.
" Beverly Tetterton
New Hanover County Public Library
North Carolina Libraries
nyone who wants to understand North Carolina politics must start with Paul LuebkeTs Tar Heel
Politics 2000. This well-documented study, a revision and update of his Tar Heel Politics: Myths and
Realities (1990), analyses state politics over the last 50 years and sets the stage for what is to come
in the new millennium. Luebke writes from a unique perspective; he is both an academic (a professor
of political sociology at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro) and a politician (a Demo-
cratic member of the North Carolina House since 1991), but this book is the work of the scholar.
Although his political participation no doubt informs his analysis, his political views do not intrude.
More than a narrative of political events, this book is an insightful and detailed look at what hap-
pened and why. Luebke explains North Carolina politics by identifying and demonstrating the effects of
the two conflicting ideologies, traditionalism and modernism, which have most influenced state politics
and government in the last half of the century. Using the framework of these
philosophies, he analyses the tremendous changes that have taken place in the
state"the shift from an agricultural to a manufacturing and now growing ser-
Paul Luebke. vice economy, the rise of both the Republican Party and Black voters and office
ene holders, and the increasing influences of urban areas and in-migration. One of
Tar H. eel P ol Itics 4 000. the disturbing conclusions of his analysis is that both traditionalists (e. g.,
Chapel Hill: University of North Helms, Brubaker, Jimmy eee modernists (e.8-, Sanford, Holshouser, and
Carolina Press, 1998. 273 pp. the old Hunt) believe that whatTs good for business is good for everyone, the old
Cloth, $34.95. ISBN 0-8078-2452-6. trickle-down theory, which makes the welfare of the majority of middle- and
Paper, $14.95. ISBN 0-8078-4756-9. lower-income citizens a lower priority. aa
The book is a textbook that will surely be required reading in North Caro-
lina history and political science classes, but it is also full of fascinating political
stories: how Jesse Helms won five Senate elections and what Hunt and Gantt
could have done to win; how an ounholy alliance� of populists (a third ideology that has had relatively
little influence in recent North Carolina politics) and Republican traditionalists reduced the food tax; and
how Jim Hunt has evolved from a modernizer into a blend of traditionalist-modernizer. One looks forward
to the next editionTs stories of John EdwardsTs election to the Senate and the failed attempt to elect Dan
Blue House Speaker.
Every North Carolina library should own this book, and every policy maker, potential candidate, and
concerned citizen should read it.
" Artemis C. Kares
East Carolina University
John Higgins, Sales Representative
P.O. Box 21011
Columbia SC 29221
1-800-222-9086
Fax: 803-731-0320
oxror | OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Ce) QUALITY BOOKS INC.
North Carolina Libraries Summer 1999 " 81
OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST ...
Serious literature collections, students of the novel, and avid fans
of the stateTs most eminent novelist will want Learning a Trade:
A CrafismanTs Notebooks, 1955-1997. Reynolds Price himself com-
piled the journal of his writing life with a bare minimum of ed-
iting, judging that oan unvarnished attempt to demonstrate one
manTs effort to learn his craft should not be subject to omissions
in the interest of sheer readability.� (1998; Duke University Press,
Box 90660, Durham, NC 27708-0660; xx, 603 pp.; cloth, $34.95;
ISBN 0-8223-2112-2.)
New Ground is a collection of stories and poems about relation-
ships between men and women by Nancy Dillingham, a native
of Dillingham, North Carolina, and a resident of Asheville. In his
foreword Fred Chappell, the stateTs Poet Laureate, calls it an oodd
but utterly genuine book, one that tastes of experience in every
line.� (1998; WorldComm, 65 Macedonia Road, Alexander, NC
28701; 159 pp.; paper, $9.95; ISBN 1-56664-134-9.)
Waking Up in a Cornfield is a collection of columns by Chris Cox,
published in the Alleghany News, BooneTs Watauga Democrat,
WaynesvilleTs Enterprise-Mountaineer, and the Asheville Citizen-
Times, among other newspapers. Having omitted political com-
mentary and movie reviews, what he offers here is personal nar-
rative, reflecting his editorsT generosity in letting him owrite most
anything ITve wanted.� (1999; Parkway Publishers, Inc., Box 3678,
Boone, NC 28607; 154 pp.; paper, $14.95; ISBN 1-887905-13-8.
In Blue Ridge 2020: An Owner's Manual, author Steve Nash draws
on scientific research in a variety of disciplines to introduce some
of the most hotly disputed environmental issues facing the area
that includes the largest concentration of public lands east of the
Mississippi. (1999: The University of North Carolina Press, Post
Office Box 2288, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2288; 211 pp.; paper,
$19.95; ISBN 0-8078-4759-3.)
Orrin H. Pilkey, William J. Neal, Stanley R. Riggs, Craig A. Webb,
David M. Bush, Deborah F. Pilkey, Jane Bullock, and Brian A.
Cowan contributed to The North Carolina Shore and Its Barrier Is-
land, the latest volume in oLiving With the Shore,� a series ed-
ited by Orrin Pilkey and William Neal. It updates and replaces
an earlier volume in the series, continuing PilkeyTs famous case
for intelligent coastal development. (1998; Duke University Press,
Box 90660, Durham, NC 27708-0660; 318 pp.; cloth, $54.95;
ISBN 0-8223-2208-0; paper, $18.95; ISBN 0-8223-2224-2.)
Mines Miners and Minerals of Western North CarolinaTs Mountain
Empire by Lowell Presnell is both a history and a guide to a fas-
cinating subject. (1999: Worldcomm, 65 Macedonia Road,
Alexander, NC 28701; 256 pp.; paper, $14.95; ISBN 1-56664-135-7.)
Great Adventures in North Carolina by Lynn Setzer tells you how
and where to do everything from rock climbing in the moun-
tains to hang gliding at the beach, with race car driving and
enjoying wildflowers in between. (1999; Menasha Ridge Press,
700 South 28th Street, Suite 206, Birmingham, AL 35233; 209
pp.; paper, $15.95; ISBN 0-89732-262-2.)
Historic Asheville, by Bob Terrell, covers 200 years of the cityTs his-
tory, bringing it from ohard-crusted frontier� to modern city.
Includes black and white photographs, but has no index. (1997;
WorldComm, 65 Macedonia Road, Alexander, NC 28701; 256
pp.; paper, $14.95; ISBN 1-56664-124-1.)
oA Rising Star of Promise�: The Civil War Odyssey of David Jackson
Logan, is the story of a South Carolinian who served in
Wilmington and Kinston, North Carolina, among many other
posts. Edited by Samuel N. Thomas, Jr., and Jason H. Silverman.
(1998; Savas Publishing Company, 1475 S. Bascom Avenue, Suite
204, Campbell, California 95008; 255 pp.; cloth, $32.95; ISBN
1-882810-29-5.)
Letters to the Home Circle: The North Carolina Service of Pvt. Henry
A. Clapp, an articulate young soldier from Massachusetts, is ed-
ited by John R. Barden and is part of a popular series. It is illus-
trated with maps, sketches, and photographs, and includes in-
dex and bibliography. (1998, Historical Publications Section,
Division of Archives and History, 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh,
NC 27601-2807, 252, paper, $28.00, ISBN 0-86526-270-5.)
Sal Kapunan, a Philippine-born philosopher who lives in Boone,
North Carolina, and Cape Coral, Florida, has written My Taoist
Vision of Art in response to the interest generated by the dozens
of large and fanciful handmade sculptures that adorn his yards.
Color photographs by William A. Bake, David S. Hamilton, and
the author will appeal to students and collectors of visionary and
outsider art. (1999; Parkway Publishers, Inc., Box 3678, Boone,
NC 28607; 45 pp.; paper, $14.95 plus 6% sales tax and $3.00 ship-
ping and handling; ISBN 1-887905-12-X.)
Reprints include The Hinterlands, Robert MorganTs first novel of
four generations of Appalachian folk. Originally published by
Algonquin Books in 1994. (1999; John EF. Blair, 1406 Plaza Drive,
Winston-Salem, NC 27103; 335 pp.; paper, $17.95; ISBN 0-
89587-178-5.) Also TeachTs Light, a childrenTs novel about
Blackbeard by Nell Wise Wechter originally published in 1974
by John Blair and out of print for the last ten years. (1999; Uni-
versity of North Carolina Press, Post Office Box 2288, Chapel Hill,
NC 27515-2288; 146 pp.; paper, $9.95; ISBN 0-8078-4793-3.)
Tired of making opermanent loans?�
CheckpointT
Ralph M. Davis, Sales Representative
P.O. Box 144
Rockingham, NC 28379
1-800-545-2714
Tomorrow's Technology for TodayTs Libraries�"�
550 Grove Road ¢ P.O. Box 188 * Thorofare, New Jersey 08086
(800) 257-5540 ¢ TELEX: 84-5396 * FAX: (609) 848-0937
82 " Summer 1999
North Carolina Libraries
The 98,550 sq. ft. new
Greensboro Central Library Le 0 p
opened October 21, 1998. With two floors, ¢ ~
the facility provides 184% more space 7 x
for the public than the previous location.
The decor of Book TiMe, the 6,000 sq. ft. childrenTs
area, reflects the imaginative input of the children
who use the library. Murals, a clock tower, an
Internet tree, and a video wall provide a whimsical
environment that can turn kids on to books.
Conveyor belts running above the ceiling
connect the exterior and interior book
drops to the processing room. Pictured
here is the processing room where
materials are checked in, desensitized,
and sorted onto one of ten standard
book carts, each shelf of which can be
programmed as a separate category.
Thanks to Sandy Neerman, Director, Greensboro Public Library, for the above photographs and captions.
If you have suggestions for photographs of library buildings or activities that could be shared with others through this column, please contact
Joline Ezzell at (919) 660-5925 or joline.ezzell@duke.edu
North Carolina Libraries Summer 1999 " 8%
I Oe eS Se ee ee ee ee ee a ee�
Whither State Documents?
by Maurice C. York
delighted by the amount of information being made available on the World
Wide Web by state agencies in North Carolina. At the same time, I fear that the
growing interest in electronic access to information, while a great benefit at the
moment, could in years to come jeopardize knowledge of our past. Librarians and
state agencies should work together to balance the equally important goals of access to
and preservation of knowledge of our state.
Documents librarians and the State Library have agreed upon a core collection of
state documents that should be available in libraries of varying size and scope. These
include compilations of statistics pertaining to agriculture, crime, education, and
population; directories of businesses and public officials; and such legal materials as
the General Statutes. Large libraries often collect session laws, court reports, and other
important documents. Current or very recent years of some of these sources are now
available through the World Wide Web. This trend greatly improves access to impor-
tant information.
What happens, though, when agencies begin to complain about the costs in-
volved in publishing these documents? Recently I heard the publications officer of a
major state agency propose that a very basic document be made available only in an
electronic version. This useful source of information is found in most libraries; our
collection contains issues dating to the early part of this century. Would the agency be
willing in the future to mount scores of past issues on its Web site? I
doubt it. If such an attitude prevails, then we might be in danger of
losing ready access to knowledge of our past.
: etTs keep our heads as we plan for our glorious electronic future. I constantly am
Tho Sse of US who regularly work Librarians should think hard about why libraries exist before
allowing this to happen. In addition to providing access to current
with sta te documents and information, libraries traditionally have sought to preserve a record
~ of the past. People who actually visit libraries often discover trea-
understand their current and sures of which they had no knowledge, but that are of great value to
them. Librarians often play an important role in this process. The
h istorica / val ue sh Ou l d resist architecture or decor of some libraries inspires users to want to
3 learn. Certainly all libraries foster a sense of community that would
efforts b My state ag encies to be hard to duplicate on the Web.
i ; Those of us who regularly work with state documents and
abandon p nn ted versions of understand their current and historical value should resist efforts by
key pub lications. state agencies to abandon printed versions of key publications. We
must reach a consensus about titles that should continue to appear
in print and partner with state agencies to insure that this goal is
accomplished, much as librarians did years ago when the North
Carolina State Depository System was established by the General
Assembly. Which documents are easier to use in printed rather than
electronic form? Which ones must always be available, regardless of
seemingly capricious changes in computer hardware and software?
These and other questions must be thoughtfully considered.
Let the World Wide Web, through indexes, databases, and other means continue
to improve lives by providing faster access to information we all need. Let libraries,
while fostering this trend, continue to serve as stewards of our cultural heritage.
84 " Summer 1999 North Carolina Libraries
NortTH CAROLINA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
April 16, 1999
Benton University Center
Wake Forest University
Attending: Beverley Gass, Al Jones, Diane Kester, Vanessa Work-Ramseur, Martha Davis, Teresa McManus,
Bobby Wynn, Mary Horton, Rhoda Channing, Phillip Banks, Carolyn Price, Kevin Cherry, Patrick Valentine,
Ross Holt, George Taylor, Dave Fergusson, Gwen Jackson, Catherine Wilkinson, Frances Lampley, Ann
Burlingame, Tracy Babiazs, Susan Smith, Eleanor Cook, Peggy Quinn, Karen Gavigan, Melinda Ratchford,
Liz Jackson, Maureen Costello
The meeting was called to order at 10:00
by President Gass.
Corrections to minutes
A motion to accept the minutes as writ-
ten passed.
PresidentTs Report
Julie Hersberger, a faculty member in the
School of Library and Information Sci-
ence at UNCG, has agreed to chair a
committee to consider the impact of
charter schools and home schooling on
the stateTs libraries. George Taylor of the
Forsyth County Public Library has agreed
to chair the committee to plan the 2000
NCLA Leadership Institute.
A reminder was given that committee
chairs are not voting members of the
Board.
Maureen Costello has spent consider-
able time collecting committee rosters.
Committee chairs who have not supplied
names of committee members are urged
to do so as soon as possible. Maureen has
also completed Guidelines for Workshop
Planners.
TreasurerTs Report
A budget report for the first quarter was
distributed. Sections who wish individual
reports may contact Diane Kester. Two
special grants NCLA is administering in
cooperation with the State Library are
reflected on the budget report. NCLA
receives a percentage of project profits. A
motion to accept the report as written
passed.
Section/Round Table Reports
ChildrenTs Services Section
Confirmation on keynote speaker
Johanna Hurwitz for the CSS breakfast
meeting is being awaited. Programming,
North Carolina Libraries
library services to Hispanic children, and
a panel discussion of the successful State
Library grant-funded program oMother
Goose and More� are part of the agenda
for the NCLA conference.
College and University Section
Committee minutes are posted to the Web.
Community and Junior College Section
At this time, CJCLS plans to sponsor two
sessions at the NCLA conference and to
co-sponsor a third session with the Col-
lege and University Section. oRedesign-
ing Libraries for the 21st Century� is
scheduled for Wednesday, September 22,
1999. On Thursday, September 23, CJCLS
will sponsor a program on oIntellectual
Freedom Issues Surrounding Internet
Use.� Some consideration is being given
to making this a panel discussion and
including other presenters. The co-spon-
sored session will be entitled oCopyright
and the Digital Age.�
Douments Section
Final arrangements for the spring work-
shop oTechnical and Medical Literature
on the Web� are being made. The work-
shop will be held May 21 at the
McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Addi-
tional information on registration is
available at: http:/www.metalab.unc.edu/
reference/docs/ncladocs/index.html.
The Biennial Conference program will
cover state, federal and international sta-
tistics in such areas as demographics,
health, business and education. The pro-
gram is scheduled for Wednesday, Sep-
tember 22.
Library and Management Section
The LAMS Board has been communicat-
ing via email. The brochure for the
Mentoring program was sent to Maureen
Costello for printing and distribution.
Sessions have been planned for partici-
pants at the Biennial Conference.
A second Special Interest Group has
been proposed for circulation librarians.
Robert James of UNCG is interested and
is being assisted by Debbie Lambert, who
was involved in getting the SIG for Per-
sonnel and Staff Development off the
ground. The Personnel and Staff Devel-
opment SIG will have a luncheon/round
table at the Biennial Conference.
NC Association of School Librarians
Section
Karen Perry has been appointed to serve
on the Library Services and Technology
Act Committee, a 3 year commitment.
Current membership stands at 389.
Laura Williams is working on the Web
page. Links will be added for member-
ship and other conferences.
NC Book Award voting took place in
March.
Karen Gavigan represented NCASL at
the Affiliate Assembly. There is new lead-
ership with new officers. Nineteen states
were represented.
A five-day conference sponsored by
ALA will be held in Las Vegas to explain
the changes in Information Power. Fur-
ther, ALA will offer a one day training
session at their conference this summer,
which Karen Gavigan will attend. Frances
Bradburn will present a conference on
Information Power next fall at NCETC.
Summer workshops are being planned
in Greenville, Rowan Community Col-
lege, and Asheville. Topics will include
new materials, flexible scheduling, NC
Book Award and Battle of the Books.
It was decided that concerns about
financial arrangements with NCLA were
Summer 1999 " 89
to be brought to the NCLA Executive
Board for discussion.
NC Library Paraprofessional Round
Table
Sue Mellott is the new liaison with
ChildrenTs Services Section.
NCLPA will co-sponsor with PLS and
CSS their sessions at the Biennial Con-
ference. Additionally, a luncheon/busi-
ness meeting and a workshop on refer-
ence for children will be held.
NC Public Library Trustee Association
There was no report. However, discus-
sion was held about the role of trustees,
including the idea of joining the trustees
with the Friends group.
New Members Round Table
Conference plans are being made. Plans
to hold a grant writing/fundraising work-
shop this summer are being firmed up
and brochures are being prepared.
A newsletter is due out in May.
The mentoring committee has com-
pleted and sent brochures about this pro-
gram.
The letter to new members now re-
quests them to contact Tracy regarding
involvement in NCLA. Several contacts
have been made. Also, the Web page ad-
dress is on the welcome letter.
Public Library Section
There was no report.
Reference & Adult Services Section
Plans for the Biennial Conference are to
have Maggie Jackson, Associated Press
agent in New York City, to talk about
oOur Patrons in the New Millennium�
during the September 23rd luncheon.
Maggie was chosen because of an article
she wrote concerning GenXers that ap-
peared in the Winston-Salem Journal. On
Wednesday, September 22nd, RASS will
co-sponsor with RTSS a workshop featur-
ing John Webb on oElectronic Re-
sources.�
Philip Banks is the representative to
the Continuing Education Committee.
Nominations are being determined
for the 1999-2001 biennium.
Resources & Technical Services
The main focus of current activities is
planning for the NCLA biennial confer-
ence. The major program is being co-
sponsored with RASS. RTSS is sponsoring
four table talks that feature topics being
addressed in the major program. Librar-
ians who have experience dealing with
the topics are facilitating each session.
The awards committee is charged
with determining those to be presented
the student award, the significant contri-
butions award, and the award for the
best article on resources and technical
services in North Carolina Libraries.
Awards will be presented at the biennial
86 " Summer 1999
conference. Nominations are being
sought for the first two awards on the
RTSS Web page http://www.unc.edu/
~ldsmith/rtss/rtsshomepage.htm.
The board has been involved in the
planning of the fall issue of North Caro-
lina Libraries, being edited by Page Life,
the RTSS board member on the NC Li-
braries editorial board. The issue entitled
oLife and Limb� will feature articles on
health and safety issues in the library
setting.
The membership committee is initiat-
ing a RTSS membership drive and survey-
ing the RTSS members to update the di-
rectory. The committee in conjunction
with the board will be developing public-
ity materials for conference programs.
Round Table for Ethnic Minority Con-
cerns
There was no repott.
Round Table on Special Collections
A session at the Biennial Conference en-
titled oDocumenting the African-Ameri-
can Experience: African-American Ar-
chives in North Carolina� will be spon-
sored.
The South Carolina State Library has
picked up a local history collection pro-
gram that had been presented two years
ago. Also, a previous workshop on oral
history has been requested by the state
again.
Round Table on the Status of Women
in Librarianship
There was no report.
Technology & Trends Round Table
Spring workshops will be held at GTCC
on April 22, 1999. Speakers will discuss
computer care and future trends.
William Terry has been formally con-
tacted to speak at the Biennial Conference.
Committee Reports
Administrative Office and Personnel
Advisory Committee
There was no report.
Archives Committee
There was no report.
Conference Committee
Plans for the Biennial Conference are
proceeding according to the planning
time line.
A Web page for the conference has
been developed by Bao-Chu Chang and
is available at http://www4.ncsu.edu/
~bechang/ncla.html. Copies of minutes
of the Conference Committee and the
latest information about exhibits, rooms,
registration, program, placement/recruit-
ment and local arrangements have been
posted for perusal.
Program planners from the various
sections, round tables and special groups
have been in contact with Phil Barton,
Program Chair. Preliminary and interim
plans have been received and forwarded
to Barbara Anderson, Local Arranements
Chair, for assignment of meeting rooms.
Program planners are reminded to sub-
mit photographs for the conference pro-
gram booklet.
The opening session speaker on
Wednesday, September 22 will be Sally
Helgesen, futurist. Maureen Sullivan,
ACRL President and consultant with the
State Library on interlibrary cooperation
in North Carolina, will present the
Ogilvie Lecture on Thursday afternoon,
September 23. The North Carolina Story-
tellers will provide entertainment for the
September 24 Friday morning breakfast.
Information has been sent to over
500 potential exhibitors. About one-third
of the 120-exhibit booths have been
rented.
Registration forms and supporting
materials will be mailed in the summer
well in advance of conference reservation
deadlines.
Gerald Holmes, Recruitment and
Placement Chair, is planning a program
on recruitment of minorities to the pro-
fession as well as scholarship opportuni-
ties for minority candidates through the
Spectrum Initiative of ALA.
Al Jones, Conference Chair, will be
attending an ALA preconference program
in New Orleans on recruitment and reten-
tion of members for state organizations.
Constitution, Codes and Handbook
Committee
The Executive Board received handbook
updates. Revisions will also go up on the
Web. Chairs not present will receive up-
dates by mail from Maureen.
Continuing Education Committee
Some changes in the concepts initially
presented were noted. Most specifically,
the CE Committee will take a proactive
role in education. Feedback from previ-
ous workshops can provide a needs as-
sessment for further education. NCLA
must make the best use of our resources
including shared resources and services,
but when there is a significant demand
for information, various workshops
would be most effective. State libraries,
university libraries and technologies
available should provide support in the
continuing education endeavor.
A calendar page on the web site has
offerings of the association. Discussion
was held on whether this could be ex-
panded to include new opportunities.
Development Committee
The Development Committee has negoti-
ated with the NCCF for a contract that
more clearly protects the interests of
NCLA. The committee is awaiting word
from the NCCF about the acceptability of
the modified contract.
A resolution was presented to the
North Carolina Libraries
Board allowing NCCF to receive endow-
ment start-up funds from NCLA. The
resolution was passed.
The Development Committee chair
will meet with Anne Steele on April 20 to
learn about marketing and publicity that
the NCCE can provide for our endow-
ment.
Future meetings will address
fundraising efforts for the endowment.
The Development Committee chair
moved that the Executive Board send a
by-laws amendment to the membership
at the Biennial Conference that will
make the Development Committee a
standing committee. This will ensure the
growth of the endowment from bien-
nium to biennium. The motion passed.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee brought a rec-
ommendation to the Board that NCLA
implement the use of credit cards to col-
lect membership dues. Payment of dues
by credit card on the Web requires use of
secure server and some other issues and
that was not recommended. It was de-
cided that $4.00 be returned from mem-
bership to sections for every member
whether their membership has been paid
for by credit card or not, but that all sec-
tions will share in the expenses of the
credit card.
4.06% of each credit card transaction
is returned to the credit card vendor. In-
quiries have been made about using
credit cards to pay for conference regis-
tration. Computer software that costs
$60.00 can help the association keep
those records accurately. For the one year
that NCLA studies this concept, the orga-
nization will pay the credit card fees. The
Finance Committee will deliver a report
of the findings to the Board in one year.
A motion was made to accept this recom-
mendation and was passed. A reminder
was made that membership forms will
need to be revised to show this option.
Governmental Relations Committee
This committee is organizing an ALA
Legislative Day trip to Washington.
Discussion was held regarding whether
NCLA has considered the passage of a
lottery in NC and the impact it might
have on libraries in NC. A possible lobby
to have NC LIVE included in the benefits
of the lottery was suggested. Before the
lottery is passed, decisions will have al-
ready been made regarding how proceeds
would be spent. This committee has been
asked to watch the legislative committees
that would be charged with determining
expenditures from the results of the lottery.
Intellectual Freedom Committee
Activities of this committee were shared.
Among those were maintaining contacts
and information regarding Intellectual
Freedom issues.
Titles causing problems in North
North Carolina Libraries
Carolina are Babysitter Three, Lights Out,
Monster Soup & Other Spooky Poems, Play-
boy magazine and We All Fall Down.
This committee is soliciting nomina-
tions for the NCLA/SIRS Intellectual Free-
dom Award, which recognizes biennially
the contribution of an individual or
group who has actively promoted intel-
lectual freedom in North Carolina.
Nominations should be sent with sup-
porting documentation to Dr. Gene D.
Lanier, IFC Chair, Dept. of Broadcasting,
Librarianship & Educational Technology,
East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
27858-4353. They can be faxed to 252-
328-4368 or e-mailed to
lanierg@mail.ecu.edu. Nominations
must be received by July 30, 1999.
Leadership Institute
The call has been sent to 1996 and 1998
participants to plan the next Institute. So
far, 12 people have responded. In a May
meeting, a timeline will be developed
and discussion about the issues surround-
ing the next institute will begin. Major
topics will include marketing, location,
and facilitators. The committee will in-
vestigate some of the issues that were
presented in the recommendation report
from the 1998 Institute.
Literacy Committee
There was no report.
Membership Committee
Nominations for NCLATs Life, Honorary,
and Distinguished Library Service Awards
have been solicited via NCLA and NC
LIVE listservs. Nominations are being for-
warded to President Gass. Awards are pre-
sented at the Biennial Conference. This
committee will report back on the status
of awards at the next board meeting.
As per the membership plan, tabletop
displays are being considered. The com-
mittee will also investigate and report at
the next board meeting.
Membership renewal was questioned.
The history has been to have member-
ship renewed on the calendar year for
bookkeeping purposes. However, com-
puter technology has changed this issue.
A motion was made and passed to send
a request to the Constitution, Codes and
Handbook Committee to bring a re-
worded by-law change to the July board
meeting. Part of this motion was to cre-
ate the wording for a possible mail vote.
The membership brochure is prom-
ised for the end of April.
Peggy Quinn attended the Career Fair
at the UNCCH Library School on Febru-
ary 17, 1999. She spoke with about 25
students about the benefits of NCLA,
many of whom were specifically inter-
ested in the mentoring program.
An updated membership plan priority
list was presented to Board members as
well as a list of members by section/
round table.
Nominating Committee
Candidates for the 1999-2001 biennium
of NCLA are:
Vice-President/President Elect: Jordan
Scepanski, TPHI
Secretary: Sue Cody, UNCW, Carrie
Nichols, Meredith
Director " East: Sherwin Rice, Bladen
IDEN (a lsxe)a)
Titles, Inc.
Supplying Libraries with
Books and Other Media
for Children & Adults
Davidson Titles, Inc.Ts exclusive products and various
publishers are presented to schools and libraries by sales
people throughout most of the United States. Most of our
sales personnel have professional and efficient access to
all of our titles and prices through laptop computers; they
can provide fast and convenient ordering.
¢ Distributor for over 100 publishers.
¢ Publisher of 4 creative and exciting childrenTs series:
The Illustrated Rules of the Game
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"
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Davidson Titles, Inc.
101 Executive Drive * P.O. Box 3538 * Jackson, TN 38303-3538
(800) 433-3903 * Fax: (800) 787-7935 * Email: dtitles@usit.net
Summer 1999 " 87
County Public Library, Patrick Valentine,
Wilson County Public Library
Director-West: Phil Barton, Rowan
County Public Library, Rex Klett,
Mitchell Community College
SELA: Louvenia Summerfield, UNCC,
John Via, Forsyth County Public Library
The Board was asked to consider ex-
isting NCLA leadership for an additional
candidate for Vice-President/President-
Elect and submit names of possible can-
didates to Gwen Jackson.
Ballots will be mailed to the NCLA
membership by May 1, 1999 with the
deadline for returning them June 1,
1999. The nominating Committee will
count ballots the week of June 7 and no-
tify the president of the results by June
1 sh999,
Non-Conference Year Event Planning
Committee
Ideas brought to the Board focused on off
year mini-conferences, an NCLA leisure/
social retreat, and a technology mini-
conference. Mini-conferences could be
held in the east and west and follow ma-
jor topics of interest to the membership.
A leisure event would provide opportuni-
ties for recreation with fellow members
along with possible literary program
themes. A technology mini-conference
could possibly be built into existing con-
ferences as a pre-conference.
A request was made for Board mem-
bers to take the information distributed
back to their sections and give feedback
to Dave Fergusson.
Publications and Marketing Committee
There was no report.
Scholarship Committee
Committee minutes are posted to the Web.
Special Projects
Project Grants Committee
This committee has been charged to look
at grant applications and determine if
they are aligned with NCLA objectives.
Sections, round tables, or committees of
NCLA are eligible to apply for a grant.
Single libraries or single members are
not. The limit for a single grant is $1500
and conferences, publications, Web
projects and workshops are fundable
through grants. Chairs must sign grant
requests before being submitted.
Grant applications can be found on
the NCLA Web site. Grant application
deadlines are May 1, June 1, July 1, August
1, September 1, and December 1, 1999.
Home school ad-hoc committee
Committee members were noted for this
new task force. The committee will meet
over the summer and formulate a report
prior to the Biennial Conference. The
committee is charged with considering
library service to charter schools and de-
termining the impact on public libraries.
Other Reports
North Carolina Libraries
The projected mailing date for the Spring
issue of North Carolina Libraries, Out-
reach, is May 1. The journal received its
first royalty check from H.W. Wilson.
Although it was only $19, it is significant
in that it is another revenue source, help-
ful since universities began cutting peri-
odical budgets.
Upcoming issues:
Summer 1999 " North Carolina Writers,
FOREIGN BOOKS and PERIODICALS
CURRENT OR OUT-OF-PRINT
Specialties:
Search Service
Irregular Serials
International Congresses
_ Building Special Collections
ALBERT J. PHIEBIG INC.
Box 352, White Plains, N.Y. 10602 * FAX (914) 948-0784
88 " Summer 1999
Alice Cotten, Guest Editor;
Fall 1999, Life and Limb, Page Life, Guest
Editor;
Winter 1999 " Conference Issue;
Spring 2000 " Back to the Future:
Digitizing Resources, David Ferriero,
Guest Editor;
Summer 2000 - Preserving Local History,
Plummer Alston Jones, Jr. and Thomas
Kevin B. Cherry, Guest Editors;
Fall 2000 " Research and Librarianship;
Winter 2000 " The Call of Story.
ALA Councilor
This report covered events of the 1999
ALA Midwinter Conference. President
SymonsT resolution on oLibraries: An
American Value� was passed. NCLA had
endorsed this resolution. Resolutions en-
dorsing the Government Secrecy Reform
Act of 1999 and supporting increased
funding for the GPO were passed. A reso-
lution directing ALA units to report on
implementation of the 1990 policy on
oLibrary Services to Poor People� was
passed. A resolution asking that ALA
withdraw its support of National TV
Turn-off Week passed. Mention was made
of the review of the ALA Endowment
investments.
Much discussion was held at ALA re-
garding the Outsourcing Task Force report.
SELA Councilor
There was no report from the councilor.
However, discussion was held regarding
continued membership in SELA. Nomi-
nees for the position of SELA councilor
have been notified that the position
could possibly be abolished. NCLA has
already paid SELA dues for 1999. It was
decided that our SELA councilor will help
determine the long-term viability of the
organization and report back to the
NCLA board at the April 2000 Executive
Board meeting. Withdrawal from SELA
will take a by-law change. It was also sug-
gested that NCLA invite the president of
SELA to the Biennial Conference.
North Carolina State Library
Commission
There was no report.
Old business
The July Executive Board Meeting will be
held July 30 over the Web. Reports are to
be submitted to the Web site 2 weeks
prior to the meeting.
A suggestion was made to restructure
the meeting agenda, placing items that
require Board action at the beginning of
the meeting. President Gass will investi-
gate this idea.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:20 PM.
" Respectfully submitted,
Liz Jackson
Secretary
North Carolina Libraries
a
NortH Caro ina Liprary ASSOCIATION 1997-1999 ExEcUTIVE BOARD
PRESIDENT
Beverley Gass
M.W. Bell Library
Guilford Technical College
P.O. Box 309
Jamestown NC 27282-0309
Telephone: 336/334-4822
x2434
Fax: 336/841-4350
GASSB@GTCC.CC.NC.US
VICE PRESIDENT/
PRESIDENT ELECT
Plummer Alston oAl� Jones, Jr.
Catawba College
2300 W. Innes Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
Telephone: 704/637-4449
Fax: 704/637-4304
PAJONES@CATAWBA.EDU
SECRETARY
Elizabeth J. Jackson
West Lake Elementary School
207 Glen Bonnie Lane
Apex, NC 27511
Telephone: 919/380-8232
Fax: 919/662-2313
LIZ@WLE.APEX.K12.NC.US
TREASURER
Diane D. Kester
East Carolina University
105 Longview Drive
Goldsboro, NC 27534-8871
Telephone: 919/328-6621
Fax: 919/328-4638
KESTERD@EMAIL.ECU.EDU
DIRECTORS
Vanessa Work Ramseur
Hickory Grove
7209 E. W.T. Harris Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28227
Telephone: 704/563-9418
Fax: 704/568-2686
VWR@PLCMC.LIB.NC.US
Ross Holt
Randolph Public Library
201 Worth Street
Asheboro, NC 27203
Telephone: 336/318-6806
Fax: 336/318-6823
RHOLT@NCSL.DCR.STATE.NC.US
ALA COUNCILOR
Jacqueline B. Beach
Craven-Pamlico-Carteret
Regional Library
400 Johnson
New Bern, NC 28560
Telephone: 919/823-1141
Fax: 919/638-7817
JBEACH@NCSL.DCR.STATE.NC.US
SELA REPRESENTATIVE
(election pending)
EDITOR, North Carolina Libraries
Frances Bryant Bradburn
Educational Technologies
NC Dept. of Public Instruction
301 N. Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-2825
Telephone: 919/715-1528
Fax: 919/733-4762
FBRADBUR@DPLSTATE.NC.US
PAST-PRESIDENT
David Fergusson
Forsyth County Public Library
660 W. Fifth Street
Winston-Salem NC 27101
Telephone: 336/727-2556
Fax: 336/727-2549
D_FERGUSSON@FORSYTH.LIB.NC-US
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Maureen Costello
North Carolina Library Association
c/o State Library of North Carolina
4646 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4646
Telephone: 919/839-6252
Fax: 919/839-6252
MOOSTELLO@NCSLDCRSTATENCUS
SECTION CHAIRS
CHILDRENTS SERVICES SECTION
Susan Adams
Southeast Regional Library
908 7th Avenue
Garner, NC 27529
Telephone: 919/662-6635
Fax: 919/662-2270
SADAMS@CO.WAKE.NC.US
COLLEGE anp UNIVERSITY SECTION
Shirley Gregory
Hackney Library, Barton College
Box 5000
Wilson, NC 28893-7000
Telephone: 252/366-6501
Fax: 252/399-6571
SGREGORY@BARTON.EDU
COMMUNITY anp JUNIOR
COLLEGE SECTION
Martha E. Davis
Davidson Co. Comm. College
P. O. Box 1287
Lexington, NC 27293-1287
Telephone: 336/249-8186
Fax: 336/248-8531
MDAVIS@DAVIDSON.CC.NC.US
DOCUMENTS SECTION
Ann Miller
Perkins Library
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708-0177
Telephone: 919/660-5855
Fax: 919/660-2855
AEM@MAIL.LIB.DUKE.EDU
LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION anp
MANAGEMENT SECTION
Rhoda Channing
Z. Smith Reynolds Library
Box 7777
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7777
Telephone: 336/759-5090
Fax: 336/759-9831
CHANNING@WFU.EDU
NORTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION
OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS
Malinda Ratchford
Gaston County Schools
366 W. Garrison Blvd.
Gastonia, NC 28052
Telephone: 704/866-6251
Fax: 704/866-6194
MELEIS@AOL.COM
NORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC
LIBRARY TRUSTEES ASSOCIATION
Peter Keber
Public Library of Charlotte/
Mecklenburg County
310 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
Telephone: 704/386-5086
Fax: 704/386-6444
PK@PLCMC.LIB.NC.US
PUBLIC LIBRARY SECTION
Steve Sumerford
Glenwood Branch Library
1901 W. Florida Street
Greensboro, NC 27403
Telephone: 336/297-5002
Fax: 336/297-5005
GLENWOOD@NR.INFI.NET
REFERENCE anp ADULT SERVICES
Carolyn Price
Forsyth County Public Library
660 W. Fifth Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Telephone: 336/727-8456
Fax: 336/727-2549
C_PRICE@FORSYTH.LIB.NC.US
RESOURCES anp TECHNICAL
SERVICES SECTION
Ginny Gilbert
Perkins Library
Duke University
230C Box 90191
Durham, NC 27708
Telephone: 919/660-5815
Fax: 919/684-2855
VAG@MAIL.LIB.DUKE.EDU
ROUND TABLE CHAIRS
NEW MEMBERS ROUND TABLE
Tracy Babiasz
Durham County Library
300 N. Roxboro Street
PO Box 3809
Durham, NC 27702-3809
Telephone: 919/560-0191
Fax: 919/560-0137
TBABIASZ@NCSL.DCR.STATE.NC.US
NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY
PARAPROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
Frances Lampley
Southeast Regional Library
908 7th Street
Garner, NC 27259
Telephone: 919/662-2262
Fax: 919/662-2270
FLAMPLEY@CO.WAKE.NC.US
ROUND TABLE FOR ETHNIC
MINORITY CONCERNS
Barbara Best-Nichols
Reichold Chemicals, Inc.
6124 Yellowstone Drive
Durham, NC 27713-9708
Telephone: 919/990-8054
Fax: 919/990-7859
BARBARA.BEST-NICHOLS
@REICHHOLD.COM
ROUND TABLE ON SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS
Maury York
Joyner Library
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858
Telephone: 252/328-6601
YORKM@MAIL.ECU.EDU
ROUND TABLE ON THE STATUS
OF WOMEN IN LIBRARIANSHIP
Marilyn Miller
4103 Friendly Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27410
Telephone: 336/299-8659
Fax: 336/334-5060
M_MILLER@HAMLET.UNCG.EDU
TECHNOLOGY AND TRENDS
ROUND TABLE
Eleanor I. Cook
Belk Library
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28606
Telephone: 828/262-2786
Fax: 828/262-2773
COOKEI@APPSTATE.EDU
NCLA
North Carolina Library Association
North Carolina Libraries
Summer 1999 " 89
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor
FRANCES BRYANT BRADBURN
Educational Technologies
NC Dept. of Public Instruction
301 N. Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-2825
(919) 715-1528
(919) 733-4762 (FAX)
fbradbur@dpi.state.nc.us
Associate Editor
ROSE SIMON
Dale H. Gramley Library
Salem College
Winston-Salem, NC 27108
(336) 917-5421
simon@salem.edu
Associate Editor
JOHN WELCH
State Library of North Carolina
4640 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4640
(919) 733-2570
jwelch@library.dcr.state.nc.us
Book Review Editor
DOROTHY DAVIS HODDER
New Hanover Co. Public Library
201 Chestnut Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
(910) 772-7858
dhodder@co.new-hanover.nc.us
Lagniappe Editor
PLUMMER ALSTON JONES, JR.
Corriher-Linn-Black Library
Catawba College
2300 W. Innes Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 637-4449
pajones@catawba.edu
Indexer
MICHAEL COTTER
Joyner Library
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
(252) 328-0237
cottermi@mail.ecu.edu
Advertising Manager
HARRY TUCHMAYER
New Hanover Co. Public Library
201 Chestnut Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
(910) 772-7857
htuchmayer@co.new-hanover.nc.us
Between Us Editor
KEVIN CHERRY
Rowan Public Library
P.O. Box 4039
Salisbury, NC 28145-4039
(704) 638-3021
cherryk@co.rowan.nc.us
90 " Summer 1999
ChildrenTs Services
MELVIN K. BURTON
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg
North County Regional Library
16500 Holly Crest Lane
Huntersville, NC 28078
(704) 895-8178
mburton@plcmc.lib.nc.us
College and University
ARTEMIS KARES
Joyner Library
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
(252) 328-2263
karesa@mail.ecu.edu
Community and Junior College
LISA C. DRIVER
Pitt Community College
PO Drawer 7007
Greenville, NC 27835-7007
(252) 321-4357
Idriver@pcc.pitt.cc.nc.us
Documents
MICHAEL VAN FOSSEN
Reference Documents
Davis Library CB #3912
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
(919) 962-1151
mike_vanfossen@unc.edu
Library Administration and
Management Section
JOLINE EZZELL
Perkins Library
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708-0175
(919) 660-5925
joline.ezzell@duke.edu
New Members Round Table
RHONDA FLORENCE
Florence Elementary School
High Point, NC 27265
(336) 819-2120
rholbroo@guilford.k12.nc.us
N.C. Asso. of School Librarians
DIANE KESSLER
Durham Public Schools
808 Bacon St.
Durham, NC 27703
(919) 560-2360
kesslerd@bacon.durham.k12.nc.us
North Carolina Library
Paraprofessional Association
SHARON NOLES
Southeast Regional Library in Garner
908 7th Avenue 5
Garner, NC 27529
(919) 894-8322
snoles@co.wake.nc.us
Public Library Section
JOHN ZIKA
Person County Public Library
319 S. Main St.
Roxboro, NC 27573
(336) 597-7881
jzika@ncsl.dcr.state.nc.us
Reference/Adult Services
SUZANNE WISE
Belk Library
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
(828) 262-2798
wisems@appstate.edu
Resources and Technical Services
PAGE LIFE
Davis Library CB#3914
UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
(919) 962-0153
page_life@unc.edu
Round Table for Ethnic Minority Concerns
BRIGITTE BLANTON
Greensboro Public Library
PO Box 3178
Greensboro, NC 27402-3178
(336) 373-2716
ncs0921@interpath.com
Round Table on Special Collections
MEGAN MULDER
Wake Forest University Library
PO Box 7777 Reynolda Station
Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7777
(336) 758-5091
mulder@wfu.edu
Round Table on the Status of Women
in Librarianship
JOAN SHERIF
Northwestern Regional Library
111 North Front Street
Elkin, NC 28621
(336) 835-4894
jsherif@ncsl.dcr.state.nc.us
Technology and Trends
DIANE KESTER
Library Studies and Ed. Technology
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
(252) 328-4389
Isddkest@eastnet.educ.ecu.edu
Wired to the World Editor
RALPH LEE SCOTT
Joyner Library
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
(252) 328-0235
scottr@mail.ecu.edu
Trustees
ANNE B. WILGUS
N.C. Wesleyan College
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
(252) 442-2662
(252) 977-3701 (FAX)
North Carolina Libraries
ith ¢ Emily Herring Wilson
| FOREWORD BY DORIS BETTS
North Carolina Women
Making History
MARGARET SUPPLEE SMITH
AND EMILY HERRING WILSON
Foreword by Doris Betts
The only book that charts the influence
of women on the stateTs economy and
character.
oThis readable and carefully researched
history is a joyful circumstance for all
readers, who will realize anew how much
better our shared future becomes when
we learn from the shared past.�
"Doris Betts, from the Foreword
8.5 x 11, 12 color / 238 bé&w illus.
(0-8078-2463-1) Apr $29.95 cloth
now back in print!
Mary
An Autobiography
MARY �,�. MEBANE
oA painful, funny, romantic, tragic,
intensely personal account of a young
black woman coming of age in the back
country of North Carolina.�
"Harrison �,�. Salisbury
(0-8078-4821-2) Mar $16.50 paper
A Chapel Hill Book
Mary, Wayfarer
An Autobiography
MARY &. MEBANE
Mary moves on: acquires a Ph.D., becomes
a participant in the Black freeedom
struggle, and discovers what she calls othe
gulf stream� of her life"writing.
(0-8078-4822-0) Mar $17.95 paper
A Chapel Hill Book
The Outer Banks
ANTHONY BAILEY
The memorable coastal adventures of a
British travel writer.
(0-8078-4820-4) Apr $16.95 paper
A Chapel Hill Book
TeachTs Light
A Tale of Blackbeard the Pirate
NELL WISE WECHTER
This popular time-travel fantasy reveals
the story of Blackbeard the Pirate. For
young adults.
(0-8078-4793-3) May $9.95 paper
A Chapel Hill Book
ShermanTs Civil War
Selected Correspondence of William
T. Sherman, 1860-1865
BROOKS D. SIMPSON
AND JEAN V. BERLIN, EDS.
The long-awaited edition of ShermanTs
wartime correspondence includes more
than 400 personal and official letters.
(0-8078-2440-2) May $45 cloth
Civil War America
lron Confederacies
Southern Railways, Klan Violence,
and Reconstruction
SCOTT REYNOLDS NELSON
Uses the history of southern railways to
explore statesT rights, racial violence,
labor strife, and big business during
Reconstruction.
(0-8078-2476-3) May $39.95 cloth
(0-8078-4803-4) May $18.95 paper
Hiring the Black Worker
The Racial Integration of the Southern
Textile Industry, 1960"1980
TIMOTHY J. MINCHIN
Based on oral history interviews and
never-before-used legal records, this
book reveals how African American men
and women fought to integrate the
SouthTs largest industry.
(0-8078-2470-4) May $49.95 cloth
(0-8078-4771-2) May $19.95 paper
back in print in paperback
One of LeeTs Best Men
The Civil War Letters of
General William Dorsey Pender
WILLIAM W. HASSLER, �,�D.
NEW FOREWORD BY BRIAN WILLS
oPenderTs letters to his wife provide a moving
human document recording the response of
a young, talented, sensitive officer to his
war experiences,�"Choice
(0-8078-4823~-9) Apr $16.95 paper
new in paperback
CatesbyTs Birds of
Colonial America
ALAN FEDUCCIA, ED.
Foreword by Russell W. Peterson
oReproduces [CatesbyTs] complete text
plus all his bird paintings and many of
the plants. ... Highly recommended.�
Library Journal
oBefore Audubon, there was Mark Catesby.�
"Roger Caras, president of the ASPCA
8'/2x 11, 19 color / 92 b&w illus.
(0-8078-4816-6) Feb $24.95 paper
Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies
CA Guide to the
HISTORIC
ARCHITECTURE
of WESTERN
NORTH
CAROLINA
CATHIPRINE Wo BISHITR. MICHAEL TF SOUTHERN, &
JENNIFER PF MARTIN
A Guide to the Historic
Architecture of Western
North Carolina
CATHERINE W. BISHIR, MICHAEL T.
SOUTHERN, AND JENNIFER F. MARTIN
From log farmsteads to hydro-electric
dams, this book includes 1,200 sites in the
25 counties of the foothills and mountains.
oAn indispensable volume for resident and
tourist alike, [it] is also great fun simply
to read!�"Fred Chappell
313 photos, 30 maps
(0-8078-2465-8) Apr $34.95 cloth
(0-8078-4767-4) Apr $19.95 paper
Richard Hampton Jenrette Series in Architecture
and the Decorative Arts
Blue Ridge 2020
An OwnerTs Manual
STEVE NASH
oA book that needed to be written if we
are to have the public awareness that
will cause us to do the right things to
perpetuate the beauty and charm of
the mountains.�"Hugh Morton
8 color / 22 béw illus.
(0-8078-4759-3) Mar $19.95 paper
EmpireTs Nature
Mark CatesbyTs New World Vision
AMY R. W. MEYERS AND MARGARET
BECK PRITCHARD, EDS.
Interdisciplinary essays reveal CatesbyTs
important influence on the development
of art, natural history, and scientific
observation in the 18th century.
16 color / 42 b&w illus.
(0-8078-2459-3) Mar $60 cloth
(0-8078-4762-3) Mar $24.95 paper
Published for the Omohundro institute of Early
American History & Culture, Williamsburg, Va.
call for a free catalog!
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Plummer Alston Jones, Jr. and Thomas Kevin B. Cherry,
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Fall 2000 Research and Librarianship
Winter 2000 The Call of Story
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