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Kathryn Stripling Byer

キャスリン・ストリップリング・バイヤー

Kathryn Stripling Byer

Aliases: Kay Byer

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1944-11-25 （Camilla, Georgia, United States）
Died
2017-06-05 （Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States） age 72
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Camilla, Georgia (birthplace) → Mountains of North Carolina; Cullowhee (last residence)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Teacher, University professor
Active Years
2017
Affiliations
Western Carolina University (poet-in-residence), University of North Carolina at Greensboro (visiting/poet-in-residence), Lenoir-Rhyne College (poet-in-residence)
Influenced By
Allen Tate, Fred Chappell, Robert W. Watson
Influenced
Katherine Indermaur

Education

Wesleyan College (Macon, Georgia)
Undergraduate (English) / Department of English
Degree: B.A.
Country: United States
Received B.A. in English
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Graduate (M.F.A.) / Creative Writing (Poetry) program
Degree: M.F.A.
Country: United States
Studied under Allen Tate, Fred Chappell, and Robert W. Watson

Awards

Lamont Poetry Selection (Academy of American Poets)
1992
Category: 詩
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: 受賞
Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry
1998
Category: 詩
Organization: Unknown
Result: 受賞
Emory and Henry College's Kathryn Stripling Byer Literary Festival (honor)
2001
Organization: Emory and Henry College
Result: 名誉
North Carolina Award in Literature
2001
Category: 文学
Organization: State of North Carolina
Result: 受賞
SIBA Book Award (Poetry)
2003
Work: Catching Light
Category: 詩
Organization: SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance)
Result: 受賞
North Carolina Poet Laureate
2005
Category: 詩人桂冠
Organization: Governor of North Carolina (appointment)
Result: 任命（2005–2009）
North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame (induction)
2012
Organization: North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame
Result: 殿堂入り
SIBA Book Award (Poetry)
2013
Work: Descent
Category: 詩
Organization: SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Girl in the Midst of the Harvest

1986 Poetry

Early collection of poems focusing on rural life, family memory and labor, with recurring harvest imagery.

rural lifememorywomen's experiences

Wildwood Flower

1992 Poetry

A collection intertwining nature, regional culture, and personal history with strong Southern landscapes.

natureSouthern landscapegenerations

Black Shawl

1998 Poetry

Poems addressing loss, family history, and women's narratives with lyrical and emotionally deep expression.

lossfamily historywomen's narratives

Catching Light

2002 Poetry

A poetry collection using light and memory as symbols to capture everyday and interior scenes. Recipient of a SIBA award.

memorylighteveryday life

Coming to Rest

2006 Poetry

Works that examine land, family, and loss from a mature perspective.

landmaturityloss

Descent

2012 Poetry

A collection deeply depicting roots, generational inheritance, and mountain community life. Recipient of a SIBA award.

rootsgenerationsmountain communities

The Vishnu Bird

2015 Poetry

A late-career collection including mythic and symbolic imagery.

symbolismmythspirituality

Bibliography

  • The Girl in the Midst of the Harvest (1986)
  • Wildwood Flower (1992)
  • Black Shawl (1998)
  • Catching Light (2002)
  • Wake (chapbook, 2003)
  • Coming to Rest (2006)
  • The Movable Nest: A Mother/Daughter Companion (co-editor, 2007)
  • Southern Fictions (sonnet chapbook, 2011)
  • Descent (2012)
  • The Vishnu Bird (2015)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, strongly regionalist poetryrealistic attention to persons and place
Recurring Motifs
mountain lifewomen's experiencesmemory and generationsnature and light

Health

  • Lymphoma
    2017
    Died of lymphoma in 2017. Likely affected late-life creative activity.

Legacy

Kathryn Stripling Byer is known for poetry depicting mountain North Carolina and the lives of Southern women. Appointed North Carolina Poet Laureate (2005–2009) as the first woman to hold the post, she contributed to the promotion of poetry in the state and left a legacy through SIBA awards and induction into the state literary hall of fame.

Academic Societies

  • North Carolina Writers' Network

In Popular Culture

  • Kathryn Stripling Byer Literary Festival at Emory and Henry College (named in her honor)

Trivia

  • Appointed the fifth North Carolina Poet Laureate in 2005 and the first woman to hold the position.
  • Maintained a blog called "My Laureate's Lasso" to highlight North Carolina poets and poetry.
  • Emory and Henry College hosts a literary festival named for her.