After Stanford, Norman spent two years in the U.S. Army. He returned to eastern Kentucky 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 as a fire lookout in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon in the summers of 1966 and 1967.[4] In 1971, his novel Divine Right's Trip was published in The Last Whole Earth Catalog and subsequently by the Dial Press and Bantam Books.[5] Norman was one of the founders of the Briarpatch Network in 1974, with Richard Raymond and Michael Phillips.[6] In 1977, his book of short stories Kinfolks, which received Berea College's Weatherford Award, was published by Gnomon Press.[7]
In 1979, Norman joined the faculty of the University of Kentucky as an associate professor of English. He served as Director of the English Department's Creative Writing Program from 2000 to 2014.[8] In 1996 his work as a fiction writer, filmmaker, and cultural advocate was honored at the Fifteenth Annual Emory and Henry College Literary Festival, which celebrates significant writers in the Appalachian region.[9] In 2002 he was honored by the Eastern Kentucky Leadership Conference for outstanding contribution to the advancement of regional arts and culture.[10] 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.[11] He serves as Senior Writer-in-Residence at Hindman Settlement School's annual Appalachian Writers Workshop.[12] Norman was selected to serve as the 2009–2010 Poet Laureate for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was officially installed as Laureate on April 24, 2009.[13] On May 8, 2011, Norman was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Berea College.[14] 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.[15][16][17][18] He lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
Writingedit
Divine Right's Trip follows DR Davenport and Estelle, a pair of hippie stoners who leave California for eastern Kentucky, where they settle on a farm raising rabbits. The novel was originally serialized in The Last Whole Earth Catalog.
Kinfolks is a book of short stories concerning young Wilgus Collier and his relationships with his family members.[19]
Ancient Creek is a satirical folktale about a rebellion by mountain people against an absurd and oppressive king in a mythical American region.[20]
Filmographyedit
As writer and presenteredit
1987 - Time on the River - A historical look at the important role the Kentucky River played in the settlement of the state. KET production.[21]
1989 - From This Valley - Explores the Big Sandy region of Eastern Kentucky, including its trails, people, history, and literary heritage. KET production.[22]
2000 - The Wilgus Stories - Dramatization of three Norman short stories--"Fat Monroe," "Night Ride" and "Maxine"—by filmmaker Andrew Garrison.[24]
Publicationsedit
Fictionedit
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), 1972. ISBN 0-917788-42-7
Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories (Frankfort, KY: Gnomon Press), 1977. ISBN 0-917788-07-9
Ancient Creek: A Folktale (Lexington, KY: Old Cove Press), 2012. ISBN 0-967542-42-1
Nonfictionedit
An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature with Danny Miller and Sharon Hatfield (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press), 2005. ISBN 0-8214-1589-1
Confronting Appalachian Stereotypes: Back Talk from an American Region with Dwight B. Billings and Katherine Ledford (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky), 1999. ISBN 0-8131-2099-3
Referencesedit
^ abElliott, Allison (March 14, 2009). "Gurney Norman Named Kentucky Poet Laureate". University of Kentucky. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"Stuart Robinson School Collection | Special Collections: Hutchins Library - Berea College". Berea.edu. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"Gurney Norman | Appalachian Heritage - Berea College". Community.berea.edu. July 22, 1937. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^Mendes, Guy (November 28, 2001). "Living by Words – Gurney Norman Interview". Kentucky Educational Television. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^Jones, Malcolm (March 18, 2007). "Baby Boomers and Books: A Love Affair With Literature". Newsweek.com. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^Claude Whitmyer (January 1, 2007). "History of The Briarpatch Network aka The Briarpatch Society aka The Briarpatch". Briarpatch.net. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"Past Winners | Appalachian Center : Weatherford Award - Berea College". Berea.edu. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^Courier, The (March 16, 2009). "Local News | The Courier-Journal". courier-journal.com. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"The Wilgus Stories: The Author – Gurney Norman". Independent Television Service. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009.
^"Eastern Kentucky Leadership Awards – 2002 recipients". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011.
^"Past Award Winners :: ASA ::". Appalachianstudies.org. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"Gurney Norman New Kentucky Poet Laureate | Hindman Settlement School". Hindmansettlement.org. April 24, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"Kentucky.gov: Kentucky Arts Council Home Page". Artscouncil.ky.gov. January 31, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^Buckner, Jay (May 8, 2011). "Appalachian author Gurney Norman tells Berea College graduates to find wisdom in unexpected places". Bcnow.berea.edu. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame Inductees 2019". carnegiecenterlex.org. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
^Piercy, Lindsey (January 30, 2019). "Norman, McClanahan, Vance Join Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame". uknow.uky.edu. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
^Eblen, Tom (December 11, 2018). "They wrote from heart of California counterculture. Now they'll join Kentucky hall of fame". kentucky.com. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
^"Ed McClanahan and Gurney Norman Make the Kentucky Hall of Fame". aceweekly.com. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
^webeditor. "April 2000 bookclub@ket". Ket.org. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"Ancient Creek". Old Cove Press. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
^"Time on the River". KET. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"From This Valley". KET. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"Wilderness Road". KET. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
^"The Wilgus Stories". itvs.org. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
Further readingedit
Chaney, Candace "A Man of His Words", Lexington Herald-Leader, Page E1, April 26, 2009.
Arnold, Timothy W. "Hero Trip: Divine Right's Journey of Self", Border States: Journal of the Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association, No. 9 (1993).
Holbrook, Chris. "Gurney Norman Remembers His 'Kinfolks'", Lexington Herald-Leader, April 26, 1992.
Ward, William S. A Literary History of Kentucky (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press), 1988. ISBN 0-87049-578-X