Phillip Douglas Howerton - The Literature of the Ozarks: An Anthology

Numerous studies focus upon Americas regional literature, but only limited attempts have been made to order and study the large and varied body of Ozarks-based writing. The Literature of the Ozarks: An Anthology begins essential work that has not been done by introducing a broad sampling of Ozarks literature, placing this writing in chronological and thematic order, and offering critical discussion of this work.

This anthology is not intended to be a greatest hits album. Such collections often suggest that a career is ending, but the career of Ozarks studies is only beginning. As the historian Brooks Blevins has stated, The Ozarks has a past; now it is beginning to have a history. The survey between these two covers, far from pretending to be the last word on Ozarks literary history, is intended to be a broad invitation, much like opening both front doors of a church for an old-fashioned revival.

I am deeply indebted to the several anthologists who came before. Some of the key anthologies I consulted include Octavius Cokes The Scrapbook of Arkansas Literature (1939), Vance Randolphs An Ozarks Anthology (1940), Sarah Fountains Arkansas Voices (1976), Miller Williamss Ozark, Ozark: A Hillside Reader (1985), William Baker and Ethel C. Simpsons Arkansas in Short Fiction (1986), John Caldwell Guildss two-volume Arkansas, Arkansas (1999), and Anthony Priests Yonder Mountain: An Ozarks Anthology (2013). An indispensable source has been the two-volume bibliography of Ozarks writing, Ozark Folklore: An Annotated Bibliography, by Vance Randolph and Gordon McCann, which provided annotated lists of most every novel, play, poem, song, tall tale, and short story written about the Ozarks before 1987.

I am forever thankful to Dr. Tom Quirk, my dissertation director at University of MissouriColumbia, for suggesting a version of this anthology as a dissertation project and to Brooks Blevins for prompting me to submit this volume as a selection in the Ozarks Studies series. I also send special thanks to the wonderful staff at the University of Arkansas Press, Mike Bieker, D. S. Cunningham, Molly Rector, Liz Lester, and Deena Owens, for their guidance and patience.

Several people read early drafts or answered my several queries concerning authors and texts that might be included, and I send them a sincere thank-youfor sharing their expertise: Craig Albin, Brooks Blevins, Brian Hardman, Frank Priest, Brian Walter, Steve Wiegenstein, Steve Yates, and the anonymous readers selected by the University of Arkansas Press.

Due to my background as a farm kid, a blue-collar worker, and a union member, I would be first in line to shout that people should be compensated for their work. Although most writers love to write, writing is hard work, and they should receive maximum reward for their intellectual property. Therefore, I especially wish to thank the authors who graciously granted permission for their work to appear in this volume: Craig Albin, Christopher Crabtree, Katie Estill, Michael Mahoney, James William Miller, Steve Wiegenstein, Daniel Woodrell, and Steve Yates. I sincerely hope that these writers are pleased with the manner in which they and their work are presented.

My sincere and hearty thanks go to publishers who granted gratis reprint rights: Arkansas Times (special thanks to Lindsey Millar), Blank Slate Press (special thanks to Kristina Blank Makansi), Hachette Book Group (special thanks to Rose Whitlock), Press 53, University of Arkansas Press, and University of Massachusetts Press (special thanks to Yvonne Crevier).

I also wish to thank the university presses, commercial publishers, and literary agencies that granted rights at reasonable and fair rates: Donald Maass Literary Agency (special thanks to Cameron McClure), Louisiana State University Press (special thanks to MaryKatherine Callaway), Spectrum Literary Agency (special thanks to Marie Anello), Penguin Random House (special thanks to Mary Sullivan and Allison Jakobovic), and University of Oklahoma Press. Unfortunately, the work of a few authors originally selected does not appear here due to prohibitive permissions costs and unreasonable reprint restrictions.

I also wish to sincerely thank the many librarians at North Arkansas College, Missouri State UniversitySpringfield, Missouri State UniversityWest Plains, and University of MissouriColumbia who copied, ordered, located, and transported numerous articles and books that I ordered through interlibrary loan.

I hope that every reader will in some way challenge my omissions, inclusions, and conclusions, for such disputes will inform and prompt the work that needs to be done within the field of Ozarks studies.

BENJAMIN F. ADAMS: What the Negro Must Do from Springfield Republican, 1906.

C. D. ALBIN: Hard Toward Home from Hard Toward Home. Copyright 2016 by Craig D. Albin and Press 53. Reprinted by permission of Craig D. Albin. Cicero Jack Considers the Cougars Return firstpublished in Cave Region Review. Copyright 2015 by Craig D. Albin. Reprinted by permission of Craig D. Albin.

GEORGE BALLARD: A Broken Promise and Invitation from Ozark Ballards. Copyright 1928 by George Ballard.

IRENE CARLISLE: Sonnets to Strength from Music by Lamplight. Copyright 1945 by The Dierkes Press.

CHRISTOPHER CRABTREE: For a Better Life first appeared in volume four of Elder Mountain: A Journal of Ozarks Studies. Copyright 2012 by Christopher Crabtree. Reprinted by permission of Christopher Crabtree. Romance first appeared in Midwestern Gothic. Copyright 2013 by Christopher Crabtree. Reprinted by permission of Christopher Crabtree.

KATIE ESTILL: Excerpt from Dahlias Gone. Copyright 2007 by Katie Estill. Reprinted by permission of Katherine Estill-Woodrell.

FRIEDRICH GERSTCKER: In the Backwoods from In the Arkansas Backwoods: Tales and Sketches by Friedrich Gerstcker. Edited and translated by James William Miller. Copyright 1991 University of Missouri Press. Reprinted with permission of University of Missouri Press and James William Miller.