Writers by the River: Reflections on 40+ Years of the Highland Summer Conference edited by Donia S. Eley and Grace Toney Edwards

The river in this title is the New River, and the writers (and readers and educators) by it are those attracted to the Highland Summer Conference (HSC) held for the last 40+ years at Radford University not far from the unique and beautiful New River. This book offers a great way to get a feel for Appalachian literature from the time it first became known as a sub-genre until the present because the HSC is one of the most vital anchors of the super structure of Appalachian literature. What a good place to gain perspective on its tragedies and triumphs, its scintillating and occasionally just a little scurrilous repartee, and its overall development. Each summer, those who want to teach and learn Appalachian literature, make it part of school curricula, and write it have gathered for a couple of weeks on the Radford University campus to concentrate on every aspect of it. Grace Toney Edwards, who ran the HSC for twenty-seven years, is the kind of person who others gravitate toward, so whe