Epilogue

The epilogue describes James Still’s funeral in Hindman as a gathering of family, friends, and admirers to celebrate Still’s life and honor his literary accomplishments. Emanating from the hills of eastern Kentucky, news of his death spread through the region and the nation. This section documents Still’s posthumous honors and awards that helped establish his literary legacy and discusses publications by and about him that began appearing in 2001. Ted Olson edited Still’s poems and his stories and collected two volumes of critical essays and interviews. Still’s literary executors, Silas House, and University Press of Kentucky edited and published his novel Chinaberry in 2011.

At Home in This World

This chapter discusses the last decade of Still’s life during which he published five books, including The Wolfpen Notebooks; River of Earth celebrated its 50th anniversary; and Still was named Poet Laureate of Kentucky. He made an important new connection in Ted Olson who later would collect and edit his poems and stories. He strengthened friendships with writers Wendell Berry and Lee Smith, and influenced a range of younger writers including among others: George Ella Lyon, Chris Offutt, Maurice Manning, Crystal Wilkinson, and Silas House.

Pattern of a Writer in Pursuit of Publication

This chapter describes how in the last stage of his career Still turned his attention to publishing. Between 1965 and 1978, he published or reprinted eight titles, four of which were books for children published by Putnam’s. The turning points in his career were Pattern of a Man, a story collection published by Gnomon Press in 1976, and a new edition of River of Earth published by University Press of Kentucky in 1978.

On Dead Mare Branch

This chapter describes Still’s first year home after his discharge from the Army. One story “Cedar of Lebanon” is loosely based on his process of reintegration. Included in the chapter are excerpts from a 1947 diary in which he recorded daily activities. He preserved his independence but also experienced isolation. In 1950 and 1951 he returned to Yaddo but was not able to regain his pre-war levels of productivity and publication.

Mentors, Friends, and Patron

This chapter follows Still’s return to Lincoln Memorial and notes the positive change in his college experience during his last two years. He began his job as janitor in the library and became attached to his supervisor and mentor Iris Grannis and her husband Frank. Others influences at LMU were professors Lucia Danforth and Harrison Kroll, and fellow students Jesse Stuart and Don West. The most important connection Still made in his last year was the man who would become his patron, Guy Loomis.

Making Friends and Keeping Them

This chapter explores three of Still’s long-time friendships. The first is with fellow writer Jesse Stuart and is best described as uneven but enduring. The second is with Dean Cadle who for a time was Still’s promoter, bibliographer, and literary critic. That friendship unraveled. The third is with Albert Stewart who lived in Knott County. Their relationship was positive in the 1950s and 60s but mysteriously turned negative when Still returned to Hindman from Morehead in 1970.

Then-what Days

This chapter recounts Still’s transition from teaching at Morehead to living in Knott County where problems and change were increasingly evident. President Johnson’s War on Poverty put a national focus on the region’s economy and environment. Still continued to develop his public personality during the 1970s and built connections with people like Cratis Williams, Robert Higgs, Harry Caudill, Bill Weinberg, and Mike Mullins. He was inadvertently becoming part of the emerging Appalachian Studies movement that would lead eventually to the title unofficially bestowed on him: Dean of Appalachian Literature.

On to Morehead

This chapter describes Still’s image as a reclusive writer who wrote to make himself happy. In fact, he also wrote to publish but had little success in the 1950s. When “The Run for the Elbertas” appeared in 1959, Albert Stewart used its success to bring Still to Morehead State College and to establish the James Still Room. This move began his transition into a public figure, but he maintained his log house in Knott County and strengthened his relationship with the Perry family there.

Family Loss and Brotherly Love

This chapter tells of the death of his father, J. Alex Still, in October 1957 and the family drama that surrounded his decline. Still lost two other siblings, his oldest sister and his brother Tom. It was his youngest brother, Alfred, who caused him the most trouble and grief. Still supported Alfred financially and emotionally during his six-year tragic struggle with emphysema. The mounting bills from hospitals and care facilities were a major factor in Still’s taking a faculty position at Morehead State College in 1961.

Coming Home Again

This chapter follows Still for the six months he remained in the Army after returning to the United States. He reconnected with friends and family then was transferred from place to place doing a variety of office work while learning to work the military system. After being discharged on September 3, 1945, he returned to his house on Dead Mare Branch where he felt disoriented and lost for months. The chapter ends by exploring how his personal situation is partly reflected in two stories of the time, “Mrs. Razor” and “The Nest.”