The Kentucky Arts Council announced today that Gov. Steve Beshear has appointed Gurney Norman, director of the University of Kentucky Creative Writing Program, as Kentucky Poet Laureate for a two-year honorary term. Norman will be formally inducted on Kentucky Writers' Day at 11 a.m. Friday, April 24, 2009, in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort. Norman succeeds 2007 - 2009 Kentucky Poet Laureate Jane Gentry Vance, who is a professor in the UK Department of English and the Honors Program.

For 30 years, Norman has been a force to be reckoned with in the literature of Appalachia and the South. He was instrumental in the founding of the Appalachian Poetry Project and the Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative. A charter member of the faculty of the Hindman Settlement School's Writers Workshop, he continues to serve as a senior writer in residence for the annual event.

Norman's first novel, "Divine Right's Trip" was originally published in the margins of the "Last Whole Earth Catalog," which sold 2 million copies worldwide. "Divine Right's Trip: A Folk Tale" was subsequently published by Dial Press and Bantam Books in 1972 and Gnomon Press in 1990. Norman also wrote "Book One From Crazy Quilt: A Novel in Progress," (Larkspur Press, 1990) and "Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories," (Gnomon Press, 1977). Recent fiction from Norman has appeared in Appalachian Heritage magazine.

As a writer and editor of non-fiction literary criticism, Norman joined forces with co-editors Dwight Billings of the UK Department of Sociology and Katherine Ledford of Appalachian State University to edit "Confronting Appalachian Stereotypes: Back Talk from an American Region," (University Press of Kentucky, 1999). Norman also co-edited "An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature" (Ohio University Press, 2005). Norman has also written and narrated three documentary films about Kentucky's Appalachian region for KET: "Time on the River," "From This Valley" and "Wilderness Road."

Norman's short story "Fat Monroe" was made into a film starring Ned Beatty in 1990. Production was handled by Appalshop of Whitesburg, Ky. The film was shown at the New York Film Festival. Andrew Garrison, the director of the film based on "Fat Monroe," directed two other films based on short stories by Norman: "Night Ride" and "Maxine." "Night Ride" was screened at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.

Norman was born in Grundy, Va. in 1937 and was raised alternately by his maternal grandparents in Western Virginia and his paternal grandparents in Eastern Kentucky. After graduating from Stuart Robinson School in Letcher County, Ky., he attended the University of Kentucky from 1955-1960 majoring in journalism and English. He then studied writing at Stanford University as a Stegner Creative Writing Fellow. Other Kentucky writers who went to Stanford in that era include Wendell Berry, James Baker Hall and Ed McClanahan. Norman lived in the San Francisco Bay area from 1967 to 1979, until he returned to UK as a member of the English Department faculty. Norman will soon complete his thirtieth year teaching at UK.

In addition to his literary and academic roles, Norman acts as an advisor to schools and community-based arts groups in Kentucky and the Appalachian region. He is a frequent presenter at education conferences and enjoys visiting rural schools to discuss Kentucky literature and culture. That experience connecting with local populations will likely come in handy, as the Kentucky Poet Laureate is appointed by the governor to promote the literary arts in Kentucky through readings and public presentations throughout the Commonwealth.

The Kentucky Arts Council coordinates the process by which Poet Laureate candidates are nominated and recommended to the governor. The Kentucky Poet Laureate must be a long-time resident of Kentucky and have received critical acclaim for their literary work. The word "poet" in the position's title is interpreted in its broadest sense to include persons whose accomplishments are in any literary form - thus including not only writers of poetry, but also novelists, writers of short fiction and other men and women of letters.

The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet that creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Allison Elliott - UK Public Relations