Gurney Norman (born 1937) is an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

documentarian A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Biography

Gurney Norman was born in

Grundy, Virginia Grundy is a town in Buchanan County, Virginia, United States, an area located within the Appalachian Mountains region. It is the county seat of Buchanan County. The town is home to the Appalachian School of Law. The population was 875 as of the ...

, in 1937. He grew up in the southern

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

and was raised alternately by his maternal grandparents in

Southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Vir ...

and his paternal grandparents in

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

in several towns, but primarily in the small community of Allais, near

Hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg giv ...

, in Perry County. He attended

Stuart Robinson School Stuart Robinson School was a settlement school in Blackey, Letcher County, Kentucky, established in 1913 as a Presbyterian mission. It closed in 1957, after graduating its last class in 1956. Establishment Stuart Robinson School was established i ...

Letcher County, Kentucky Letcher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,548. Its county seat is Whitesburg. The county, founded in 1842, is named for Robert P. Letcher, Governor of Kentucky from 1840 to ...

, from 1946 to 1955. Norman attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

from 1955 to 1959, graduating with a degree in journalism and English. In 1960, he received a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Creative Writing at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

where he studied with literary critic

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...

and the Irish short story writer

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on a ...

After Stanford, Norman spent two years in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. He returned to eastern

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in 1963 to work as a reporter for his hometown newspaper, '' The Hazard Herald''. Leaving newspaper work to concentrate on his fiction writing, Norman took a job with the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

as a fire lookout in the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in the summers of 1966 and 1967. In 1971, his novel ''

Divine Right's Trip ''Divine Right's Trip: A Novel of the Counterculture'' is a 1972 novel by Gurney Norman. Plot The plot is set in the 1960s, which chronicles the awakening of the hippie stoner Divine Right (alter ego of the main character D.R. (David Ray) Daven ...

'' was published in ''

The Last Whole Earth Catalog The ''Whole Earth Catalog'' (WEC) was an American counterculture magazine and product catalog published by Stewart Brand several times a year between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. The magazine featured essays and artic ...

'' and subsequently by the Dial Press and Bantam Books. Norman was one of the founders of the Briarpatch Network in 1974, with Richard Raymond and Michael Phillips. In 1977, his book of short stories ''Kinfolks'', which received

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every adm ...

's Weatherford Award, was published by Gnomon Press. In 1979, Norman joined the faculty of the

as an associate professor of English. He served as Director of the English Department's Creative Writing Program from 2000 to 2014. In 1996 his work as a fiction writer, filmmaker, and cultural advocate was honored at the Fifteenth Annual

Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry College (E&H or Emory) is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Virginia. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College is ...

Literary Festival, which celebrates significant writers in the

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n region. In 2002 he was honored by the Eastern Kentucky Leadership Conference for outstanding contribution to the advancement of regional arts and culture. In 2007 the Appalachian Studies Association awarded Norman the Helen M. Lewis Community Service Award, which recognizes exemplary contributions to Appalachia through involvement with and service to its people and communities. He serves as Senior Writer-in-Residence at

Hindman Settlement School Hindman Settlement School is a settlement school located in Hindman, Kentucky in Knott County, Kentucky, Knott County. Established in 1902, it was the first rural settlement school in America.

's annual Appalachian Writers Workshop. Norman was selected to serve as the 2009–2010

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was officially installed as Laureate on April 24, 2009. On May 8, 2011, Norman was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Berea College. On February 13, 2019, he was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame, which recognizes distinguished Kentucky writers whose work reflects the state's rich literary heritage. He lives in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

Writing

'' follows DR Davenport and Estelle, a pair of

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

stoners who leave

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

for eastern Kentucky, where they settle on a farm raising

rabbits Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...

. The novel was originally serialized in ''

''. ''Kinfolks'' is a book of short stories concerning young Wilgus Collier and his relationships with his family members. ''Ancient Creek'' is a satirical folktale about a rebellion by mountain people against an absurd and oppressive king in a mythical American region.

Filmography

As writer and presenter

* 1987 - ''Time on the River'' - A historical look at the important role the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentuc ...

played in the settlement of the state. KET production. * 1989 - ''From This Valley'' - Explores the Big Sandy region of Eastern Kentucky, including its trails, people, history, and literary heritage. KET production. * 1991 - ''Wilderness Road'' - Retraces the route of the famous pioneer trail from

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...

, to

Boonesborough, Kentucky Boonesborough is an unincorporated community in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by famed frontiersman Daniel Boone in 1778 as one of the first English-speaking settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains, Boonesborough lies in ...

. KET production.

Based on Norman's work

* 2000 - ''The Wilgus Stories'' - Dramatization of three Norman short stories--"Fat Monroe," "Night Ride" and "Maxine"—by filmmaker Andrew Garrison.

Publications

Fiction

* ''Book One From Crazy Quilt: A Novel in Progress'' (Monterey, KY: Larkspur Press), 1990. * ''Divine Right's Trip: A Folk-Tale'' (New York:

Dial Press The Dial Press was a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with ''The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. R. Bu ...

), 1972. * ''Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories'' (Frankfort, KY: Gnomon Press), 1977. * ''Ancient Creek: A Folktale'' (Lexington, KY: Old Cove Press), 2012.

Nonfiction

* ''An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature'' with Danny Miller and Sharon Hatfield (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press), 2005. * ''Confronting Appalachian Stereotypes: Back Talk from an American Region'' with Dwight B. Billings and Katherine Ledford (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky), 1999.

References

External links

Faculty page from the University of Kentucky
from Appalachian Books

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Gurney 1937 births Living people People from Grundy, Virginia 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Appalachian writers Novelists from Virginia University of Kentucky alumni Writers from Lexington, Kentucky People from Perry County, Kentucky Poets Laureate of Kentucky American male short story writers 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets American male poets 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Kentucky