The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume III: Contemporary Appalachia: Contemporary Appalachia Volume 3

＂The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume III, second edition, edited with passion and precision, in collaboration with TRP, transcends the stereotypes surrounding Appalachia, revealing the true diversity and complexity of Appalachia’s poetic voices. Commitment to showcasing the rich and rewarding literary landscape reflects the evolving spirit of this beautiful region. This anthology serves as a testament to the resilience and beauty found in the works of Appalachian poets, painting a vivid picture of a culture that defies easy categorization.

Through carefully selected poems, this edition weaves a tapestry that is as vibrant as it is complicated, offering readers a deeper understanding of Appalachia’s multifaceted identity: nuances, complexities, and sheer beauty that define Contemporary Appalachia.

Embark on a literary journey that honors tradition while embracing the contemporary, as The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume III, invites readers to explore the heart and soul of a region that defies stereotypes and resonates with authenticity.＂

--William Wright, Series Editor

WILLIAM WRIGHT is author or editor of twenty-three nationally and internationally distributed books: seven full-length books, including Grass Chapels: New & Selected Poems (Mercer University Press, 2021) and four chapbooks, including April Creatures (Blue Horse Press, 2016). He also has two books, a novel and a distinct book of poems, under contract.

J. BRUCE FULLER is the author of How to Drown a Boy (LSU Press, 2024). His chapbooks include The Dissenter’s Ground, Lancelot, and Flood, and his poems have appeared at The Southern Review, Crab Orchard Review, McNeese Review, Birmingham Poetry Review, and Best New Poets 2022, among others. He has received scholarships from Bread Loaf, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and Stanford University, where he was a Wallace Stegner Fellow. He teaches at Sam Houston State University where he is Director of TRP: The University Press of SHSU.

JESSE GRAVES was raised in Sharps Chapel, Tennessee, where his ancestors settled in the 1780s. He has published four poetry volumes, including Tennessee Landscape with Blighted Pine, Basin Ghosts, Specter Mountain (co-authored with William Wright), and Merciful Days, as well as Said-Songs: Essays on Poetry and Place. His work received the James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South from the Fellowship of Southern Writers and two Weatherford Awards for Appalachian poetry. Graves served as co-editor for several collections of poetry and scholarship, including The Complete Poems of James Agee. He teaches at East Tennessee State University.

PAUL RUFFIN (1941-2016) was Founding Editor of the Texas Review, Founding Director of TRP, Texas State University System Regents Professor, and Distinguished Professor of English at Sam Houston University, as well as the author of many books of poetry, essays, and fiction. Ruffin served as the 2009 Texas Poet Laureate.