Dyer's collection of short essays by some 35 'Appalachian women writers' makes a fairly riveting witness to the whole process of deciding that you are from anywhere, and what that means anyway.
The writers here represent some of the most unique and often unsung talent in literature. These essays will carry you to a far mountain place and whet your appetite for more
LA) Magazine (Baton Rouge
After reading the essays, the reader should come away with a much better concept of this place we call home, Appalachia.
A marvel of a book, one whose significance far exceeds the boundaries of the mountains.
The seed for an intriguing nonfiction collection was planted with one simple question: 'What were the influences on your writing?'
Hats off to Joyce Dyer for such a grand idea for a book.
A volume rich with unexpected gifts.
Although the stories in the collection are diverse, the authors' shared connection to the region stands out and speaks of a part of America's literary history that has been unexplored for too long.
Although all of the writers discuss their writing and its ties to their Appalachian experience in some fashion, the book should appeal to audiences who have little or no knowledge of the Appalachian region as well as those who are particularly interested in it and its literature.
Gratitude permeates this collection, making it a warm invitation to experience Appalachian country.
The Appalachian Quarterly
Contained in this book are a collection of memories as rich, strong, and unforgiving as the land from which they came.
The contributors are an impressive group, distinguished international lecturers and respected scholars, winners of numerous grants and literary awards.
Wherever your own roots lie, you will find Bloodroot moving, inspiring—and a reminder that we are all shaped by the landscape we spring from, the place we call home.
Charlotte Observer Chicago Tribune
This is a book about how living amidst scenic beauty gives a person a sense of place that tends to affect that person's writing, and about how different the people, the places, and the writing can be. I personally think these brief memoirs make a fascinating read.
Priscilla's Zine & Bookstore
In Bloodroot are the real mountains and their prolific and grateful offspring.
Taken together, these essays articulate the difficult beauty, history, culture, and deep-rootedness of the 'Southern Appalachian region, the section that forms the book's focus'.
In voices that are honest and true, these women celebrate the rich cultural mother lode of the Appalachians.
A worthy addition of any collection of Appalachian literature.
From the well-known, like Dykeman, Sharyn McCrumb and Denise Giardina, to the lesser known, these essayists, in one way or another, write of what it means to come to fully appreciate one's native tongue; to be inspired by the courage and fortitude of their Appalachian foremothers; and to glory in their profound attachment to the natural beauty of the Appalachian hills, hollers and trails.
Each essay is like sitting on the porch and drinking a cool lemonade while each writer weaves a story of a grandmother or uncle or describes some homeplace long abandoned, but never forgotten.
It's a book that speaks in the many voices of Appalachia's women writers. Sometimes their voices sing. Sometimes they tell a story or a fragment or a memory. but always they offer a piece of their soul. It's a gift worth accepting.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel
This is a wonderful book. Not the kind you can't put down, not the kind for which you take copious notes. This is a book you can read for awhile and then come back to. It's a book that makes you start thinking about your own life.
Journal of Appalachian Studies
Each essay is filled with illuminating honesty and allows the reader to glance into the writer's soul. The conclusions of most of the essays are exquisite gems.
A rich and outstanding contribution.
Winner of the 1999 Book of the Year Award given by the Appalachian Writer's Assoication.
A broad sampling of deeply impressive writings—essays, memoirs, poetry, letters, storiesþby women from the Southern Highlands, edited by Dyer (In a Tangled Wood, not reviewed). If the word Appalachia conjures little more for you than mining disasters and Walker Evans photos, turn these pages and discover the remarkable storytelling tradition that flourished there, and thrives still. Every one of these 35 pieces goes down smooth as a glass of Georgia peach, even when it bites. A few of the names of the contributors will be familiarþNikki Giovanni and Gail Godwin, Jayne Anne Phillips, whose offering is a terrific out-of-time remembrance of her hometown, circa 1962þbut most of the women here (all were born in the 20th century) have toiled long and hard, often in obscurity, their love of words keeping the storytelling art aliveþand high art it is. Each writer was asked to address how the Appalachias had affected them (whites, African-Americans, and Native Americans are represented). There are good doses of the stubborn, rooted poetry of attachment by Kathryn Stripling Byer, Rita Sims Quillen, and others. Lou V.P. Crabtree, a certified old soul, tenders a stark, lyric portrait of Price Hollow; Hilda Downer's depiction of Bandanaþ"named for the red bandana Clinchfield Railroad tied to a laurel branch to denote an imaginary train station"þis more sensuous. Denise Gardinia tells of losing her innocence to grammar, and Ellesa Clay High takes readers on a tour of her home patch through a "soft female rain that can last for days hereþsomething we share with Seattle and other places." There are 26 others, each as deserving of mention as the next.This collection won the 1997 Appalachian Studies Award—likely hands down, and deservedly so. (b&w photos, not seen)
