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Denise Giardina

デニース・ジャルディナ

Denise Giardina

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1951-10-25 （Bluefield, West Virginia, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Episcopal Church (United States)
Residence History
Black Wolf, McDowell County, West Virginia, United States → Charleston, West Virginia, United States → Washington, D.C., United States → Durham, North Carolina, United States → Charleston, West Virginia (residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Activist, Episcopal deacon, Teacher, Political candidate
Active Years
1984-
Affiliations
West Virginia State University (faculty), Hollins University (Writer-In-Residence), Mountain Party (West Virginia)
Memberships
Mountain Party (West Virginia)
Influenced By
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Emily Brontë, Appalachian oral storytelling traditions, George Garrett
Nominations
International Dublin Literary Award (semifinalist) – Saints and Villains

Education

West Virginia Wesleyan College
History / Department of History
Degree: BA
Period: 1969–1973
Year of Graduation: 1973
Country: United States
Virginia Theological Seminary
Divinity/Theology / Department of Theology
Degree: Master of Divinity
Period: 1976–1979
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: United States
Completed seminary training and ordained as a deacon; served briefly in West Virginia

Awards

W. D. Weatherford Award
1987
Work: Storming Heaven
Organization: W. D. Weatherford Award committee
Result: 受賞
Appalachian Book of the Year
1988
Work: Storming Heaven
Organization: Appalachian book awards
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts grant
1988
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 助成
National Endowment for the Arts grant
1996
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 助成
Weatherford Award for Significant Appalachian Work
1992
Work: The Unquiet Earth
Organization: Weatherford Award committee
Result: 受賞
American Book Award
1993
Work: The Unquiet Earth
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
Lillian Smith Book Award
1992
Work: Storming Heaven
Organization: Lillian Smith Book Award committee
Result: 受賞
Fisk Fiction Prize
1999
Work: Saints and Villains
Organization: Fisk University
Result: 受賞
Boston Book Review Fiction Prize
1999
Work: Saints and Villains
Organization: Boston Book Review
Result: 受賞
Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing
2000
Work: Saints and Villains
Organization: Morehead State University
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Good King Harry

1984 Historical fiction (medieval subject) / experimental novel

A first-person narrative told as King Henry V. Giardina's early novel exploring voice and historical perspective.

Power and moralityHistorical perspective

Storming Heaven

1987 Appalachian regional fiction / historical novel

Covers coalfield labor struggles from 1890 to 1921, climaxing with the Battle of Blair Mountain; a multi-voiced regional epic using Appalachian dialect.

Labor movementsCapital vs. laborCommunity disruption

The Unquiet Earth

1992 Appalachian regional fiction / generational novel

Explores life in West Virginia coal communities from the 1930s into the 1980s across generations, addressing labor and environmental crises, including a fictionalized flood echoing the Buffalo Creek Disaster.

Intergenerational legacyEnvironmental destructionLabor and justice

Saints and Villains

1998 Historical novel / fictionalized biography

A fictionalized retelling of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life, exploring moral decisions, the acceptability of sin to prevent greater evils, and theological ambiguity.

Moral dilemmaFaith and politicsResistance and conscience

Fallam's Secret

2003 Magic realism / mystery

A time-travel murder mystery set in Appalachia that employs elements of magical realism.

Memory and the pastLocal loreSupernatural elements

Emily's Ghost

2009 Fictionalized biography

A fictionalized biography of poet and novelist Emily Brontë, blending biography and imaginative reconstruction.

Artistic creation vs. realityIsolationInner life of artists

Bibliography

  • Good King Harry (1984)
  • Storming Heaven (1987)
  • The Unquiet Earth (1992)
  • Saints and Villains (1998)
  • Fallam's Secret (2003)
  • Emily's Ghost (2009)

Adaptations

  • Documentary appearance: Mountaineer (West Virginia Public Broadcasting / PBS)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Use of regional dialect and multi-voice narrationRealism infused with theological and ethical reflectionOccasional incorporation of magical realist elements
Recurring Motifs
Labor and justiceConflict of faith and conscienceCommunity and environmental degradation

Legacy

Denise Giardina is a significant contemporary Appalachian writer whose novels about coal mining, labor and environmental issues have earned critical recognition. She is also known as an activist and political candidate; her work is studied in academic contexts.

Academic Societies

  • West Virginia Library Association

Archives

  • West Virginia & Regional History Center, West Virginia University (Denise Giardina papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Appearance in the documentary 'Mountaineer' (West Virginia Public Broadcasting / PBS)

Quotes

  • “They have the nerve to say to us they should be allowed to destroy our mountains because they create jobs. The mafia creates jobs. The Colombian drug cartel creates jobs, pimps create jobs, and they're the same kind of jobs that destroy communities and even exploit the people that they employ. King Coal is dead. Long live the people of West Virginia.”
    Source: Living on Earth (interview), October 13, 2000 (2000)

Trivia

  • Ran for governor of West Virginia in 2000 as the Mountain Party's statewide nominee.
  • Her novels address coal-mining life, environmental issues and theological reflection and are taught in university courses.
  • Papers (notebooks, manuscripts, correspondence) are held at the West Virginia & Regional History Center at West Virginia University.
  • Was reinstated as an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church in 2007.