The blossoming of Appalachian studies began some thirty years ago. Thousands of young people from the hills have since been made aware of their region’s rich literary tradition through high school and college courses. An entire generation has discovered that their own landscapes, families, and communities had been truthfully portrayed by writers whose background was similar to their own.

An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature is an anthology of literary criticism of Appalachian novelists, poets, and playwrights. The book reprises critical writing of influential authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, Cratis Williams, and Jim Wayne Miller. It introduces new writing by Rodger Cunningham, Elizabeth Engelhardt, and others.

Many writers from the mountains have found success and acclaim outside the region, but the region itself as a thriving center of literary creativity has not been widely appreciated. The editors of An American Vein have remedied this, producing the first general collection of Appalachian literary criticism. This book is a resource for those who teach and read Appalachian literature. What’s more, it holds the promise of introducing new readers, nationally and internationally, to Appalachian literature and its relevance to our times.

Danny L. Miller is the chair of the Department of Literature and Language at Northern Kentucky University. He is the author of Wingless Flights: Appalachian Women in Fiction.

Sharon Hatfield is an award-winning journalist and nonfiction writer. Her interest in Appalachian letters and history led to her writing Never Seen the Moon: The Trials of Edith Maxwell and coediting An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature. She lives in Athens, Ohio, with her husband.

Gurney Norman is a novelist and short story writer whose works include Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories and Divine Right’s Trip. He is the director of the creative writing program at the University of Kentucky and coeditor of Back Talk from Appalachia: Confronting Stereotypes.