Native Music to Kentucky, Inner Mongolia Featured in 'Appalachia in the Bluegrass' Concert Series
by Whitney Hale & Grace Liddle
appalachia
Kentucky's Poet Laureate Frank X Walker
Kentucky has a rich literary history, and the new Poet Laureate of the Bluegrass State, Frank X Walker, has a deep respect and knowledge of those great writers before him.
Frank’s Kentucky roots have integrally shaped his perspective as a writer and teacher. The Danville native has said "One of the things I know, having lived in other states than Kentucky, is that it means something to be a Kentucky writer."
Frank created the word “Affrilachia,” which identified the African American experience in the Appalachian region.
UPK Books Offer Readers a Taste of Kentucky
Kentucky may be horse-racing and basketball country, but when it comes to your taste buds, the Bluegrass State is a foodie haven with a rich culinary tradition. From the famed mint juleps of the Kentucky Derby to slow-smoked mutton in the western part of the state, bourbon and barbecue have deep roots in the Bluegrass State.
Sociologist to Talk on 'Early Mortality, Stigma, & Social Suffering in Appalachia'
Matt Wray, a sociologist from Temple University, has been researching suicide across the United States. He will visit UK to give a talk called "Early Mortality, Stigma, & Social Suffering in Appalachia" March 27 in the UK Student Center Small Ballroom.
UPK Book by bell hooks Wins National Poetry Award
University Press of Kentucky (UPK) author bell hooks has been named the recipient of the 2013 Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s (BCALA) Best Poetry Award for her book "Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place."
Shaunna Scott named Editor of the Journal of Appalachian Studies
Scott is a former president of the Appalachian Studies Association – which publishes the journal – and becomes the second sociologist from UK to serve as editor of JAS.
James S. Brown 2013 Graduate Student Award
The James S. Brown Award is given to honor the memory of Professor James S. Brown, a sociologist on the faculty of the University of Kentucky from 1946 to 1982, whose pioneering studies of society, demography, and migration in Appalachia (including his ethnography of “Beech Creek”) helped to establish the field of Appalachian Studies at U.K. and beyond.
Charting Economic Terrain in Appalachia: Amanda Fickey
Amanda Fickey, a University of Kentucky doctoral candidate was recently granted a year long research fellowship by the Central Appalachian Institute in Research and Development. The Institute, located in Pikeville, Kentucky, focuses heavily on improving educational access and issues of economic development in the Central Appalachian region.
Intervention Proves Successful in Protecting Appalachian Women From Cervical Cancer
An intervention created by a group of University of Kentucky faculty has proven successful in encouraging young women in an area of eastern Kentucky to complete the series of HPV vaccines to guard against cervical cancer. In 2012, cervical cancer affected approximately 12,000 women in the United States and was responsible for another 4,200 deaths.
Appalachian Center and UPK Celebrate Appalachian Literature
The Appalachian Center and University Press of Kentucky are hosting three events to celebrate Appalachia-related books published during this academic year.
