Kephart Biography wins Wolfe Award
Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography has been announced as the winner of the 2019 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Written by George Ellison and Janet McCue, edited by Frances Figart and published by Great Smoky Mountains Association, the book is the 64th winner of this annual
recognition of distinction for qualifying works of fiction, nonfiction, drama or poetry.
The award is announced by the Western North Carolina Historical Association.
Aldo Leopold wrote: “There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot,” and Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography is an account of a man who could not. Kephart came to North Carolina after having endured a breakdown of his health and his marriage. It was in the Smokies that he pieced together a life as an author and an advocate. Kephart believed that the mountain wilderness saved his life — a conviction that led him to champion the establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“Although there was interest from a commercial publisher, we selected GSMA to publish the biography,” McCue said. “Given Kephart’s dedication to the Smokies, we felt that the park should be the beneficiary of proceeds from the book.”
For decades, McCue and Ellison followed separate yet parallel paths in their research, which took them to universities such as Cornell and Brown, McClung Library in Knoxville, St. Louis Mercantile Library, and the National Archives in Beltsville, Maryland. Not until 2009 did the two meet at Kephart Days, a celebration initiated by Libby Kephart Hargrave, the great-granddaughter of Horace Kephart. Their first collaboration — an 80-page introduction to Kephart’s Camping and
Woodcraft — led to co-authoring the first full-length biographical treatment of Kephart. For five years, the two researched, wrote and revised the manuscript.
Key to the endeavor was a community archiving project launched by Hargrave. Her commitment to unearth letters, photographs, manuscripts and ephemera in family files and boxes scattered from the east coast to the west revealed new details about Kephart’s relationships and writing process. Much of this Kephart family material has been donated either to Western Carolina University or to Great Smoky Mountains Association. Many of the images discovered are included in Back of Beyond, which was designed by Lisa Horstman, GSMA’s lead publications specialist.
"Without the patience and professionalism displayed by the GSMA staff on all levels during the past decade there would be no Back of Beyond biography to celebrate," Ellison said. "GSMA’s editor Frances Figart worked closely with Janet and myself, always stressing the importance of keeping the narrative moving so as to create a text that is not only substantive but also pleasurable to read."
A prize of $2,500 and trophy will be presented to the authors at an awards ceremony Saturday, November 16, from 4–6 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel, 31 Woodfin Street, Asheville, directly
across the street from the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site. Admission is $15 for the general public and $10 for WNCHA members, and the ceremony will be followed by a reception.
Novelist Charles Frazier, who won the Thomas Wolfe Award in 1997 for Cold Mountain and again in 2018 for Varina, wrote of Back of Beyond: “This meticulously researched and carefully considered book is a great contribution to the history and culture of the Southern Appalachians.”
The competition between this year’s finalists was fierce, according to Brandon Johnson, chair of the award committee and instructor at Mars Hill University. “The committee was especially struck by the depth of research and the objective and nuanced perspective that Ellison and McCue show in their work,” he said. “This book will long serve as a comprehensive picture for a casual reader and a wealth of sources and information for researchers.”
2019 finalists, chosen from 21 nominations, are:
· Robert Beatty, Willa of the Wood
· David Joy, The Line That Held Us
· Meredith McCarroll, Unwhite: Appalachia, Race and Film
· Terry Roberts, The Holy Ghost Speakeasy and Revival
Great Smoky Mountains Association’s publications are designed to enhance greater public understanding, enjoyment and appreciation for the national park. A national park partner, GSMA has provided more than $44 million to support the park’s educational, scientific and historical programs since its inception 66 years ago. Support for the association is achieved primarily from sales of educational publications and from annual membership dues.
For more information about Back of Beyond, other GSMA publications, membership and volunteer opportunities, visit SmokiesInformation.org.