Jim Wayne Miller (1936-1996) was a prolific writer, a revered teacher and scholar, and a pioneer in the field of Appalachian studies. During his thirty-three-year tenure at Western Kentucky University, he helped build programs in the discipline in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio, and worked tirelessly to promote regional voices by presenting the work of others as often as he did his own. An innovative poet, essayist, and short story writer, Miller was one of the founding fathers and animating spirits of the Appalachian renaissance. In Every Leaf a Mirror, Morris Allen Grubbs and Mary Ellen Miller have gathered essential selections from the beloved author's oeuvre. Highlights from the volume include touchstone poems; seminal articles; a rare autobiographical essay; a commencement address; and an excerpt from the previously unpublished short story "Truth and Fiction." Revealing the scope and significance of Miller's contributions as an artist and cultural scholar, this reader captures the excitement that surrounded the birth of modern Appalachian literature. With commentary by Mary Ellen Miller, an introduction from well-known author Robert Morgan, and an afterword by the notable Silas House, Every Leaf a Mirror provides an unprecedentedly intimate look at Miller's writing. This long overdue collection not only celebrates the life of this revered ambassador of Appalachian literature and culture but also introduces a new generation of readers to his work.
"I cannot say when I have enjoyed reading a book as much. Every Leaf A Mirror fills a long needed gap in Appalachian Studies literature by celebrating the life and work of one of the region's most important scholars and writers. Jim Wayne Miller was not only a prolific poet, essayist, and short story writer, but he was one of the critical founders of the Appalachian Renaissance. This little reader
Ronald D Eller, author of Uneven Ground: Appalachia since 1945
"Jim Wayne Miller was the great ambassador for Appalachian Literature, and one of the pleasures of Every Leaf a Mirror is the celebration of that achievement, but, most of all, this superb volume affirms that Miller's most lasting legacy will be his poetry and fiction. Every Leaf a Mirror is indispensible for anyone who wishes to understand Appalachian Literature."
Ron Rash, author of Serena
"Jim Wayne Miller is truly an icon in the fields of Appalachian Literature and Appalachian Studies. Furthermore, he is certainly a universal poet of great substance and allure, one of the twentieth century Kentucky poets who deserve widespread attention. Thus, this book makes an important contribution to scholarship, now and for the foreseeable future."
George Brosi, coeditor of Appalachian Gateway: An Anthology of Contemporary Stories and Po
