First Published Novel by a Member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Receives 2021 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award

by Margaret D. Bauer, Editor

From an impressive slate of five finalists, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle’s first novel, Even As We Breathe (University Press of Kentucky, 2020), was selected for the 2021 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, given annually since 1955 by the Western North Carolina Historical Association for printed works that focus special attention on Western North Carolina. Catherine Frank, Chair of the selection committee, describes the award selection thusly:

Even As We Breathe immerses us in a specific place and time, Asheville’s Grove Park Inn when it was being used to house Axis diplomats and their families in 1942, and in the Qualla Boundary where Cherokee traditions are deeply embedded but in conflict with an ever encroaching outside world. But the story of Cowney Sequoyah and Essie Stamper is also timeless and universal, exploring what it means to lose innocence and to find “who we are supposed to be.” Most importantly, the book is beautifully written, with convincing, well-drawn characters and compelling imagery that tie the various stories together.1

Clapsaddle lives in Qualla, NC, and teaches at Swain County High School.

For the second year, due to the COVID pandemic, the Western Historical Association presented the awards virtually, with readings by the winner and other finalists. Frank began her introductions by explaining the committee’s process narrowing down from “almost forty works” to their finalists, which

included history, archaeology, memoir, guidebooks, anthologies, poetry, and all varieties of fiction for adults, young adults, and children. Each member of the committee donated hours and hours of time reading, thinking, and talking to carefully consider and weigh the merits of such a diverse group of authors and work. Our most challenging decisions involved narrowing the field, since there were so many intriguing and well-crafted offerings. For our finalists we sought and found books that depicted Western North Carolina or represented the talents of the writers and scholars of the region. We looked for books that were well-written and represented a fresh point of view, a voice that we wanted to hear more of or that we hadn’t heard before. We considered how best to balance all of these criteria. We feel we came up with a group of works that represent the ongoing effort to create a more accurate and complex view of our region, works that suggest the ways that the past continues to shape our present, and that show at every turn the ways the natural beauty of our region serves as comfort and inspiration and a reminder of the need to protect all of our people and resources to remain a unique place.

The final shortlist included two historical novels, two collections of poetry, and a memoir.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROB TAYLOR PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN; COURTESY OF ECU THOMAS HARRIOT COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

The memoir is Lige of the Black Walnut Tree: Growing Up Black in Southern Appalachia, published in 2020 by Mary Othella Burnette. Committee member Jim Stokely described this narrative, inspired by Burnette’s paternal grandmother who was born into slavery, as

a wonderful memoir of mid-20th century life in a closely knit African American community in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Mary Othella Burnette takes us on an episodic journey among neighborhood people, places and change as seen through the eyes of a curious child/teenager/ young woman. Whether she is describing an elderly laundry woman carrying her basket of newly cleaned and folded clothes on her head, or reflecting on the unequal educational opportunities between black and white, Ms. Burnette maintains a clear eye for the way things are as well as a stubborn sense of the power of individuals to imagine the way things might be.

Woodsmoke (Blair, 2021) is finalist Wayne Caldwell’s first collection of poetry. The Asheville native is known for his Cataloochee novels, including 2010 Wolfe Award winner Requiem By Fire. 2 Committee member Terry Roberts writes of Caldwell’s poetry volume:

Woodsmoke. Just that single word flirts profoundly with the senses: the rich, deep smell of burning wood; the radiant heat of a fireplace blaze close by; the rich memories conjured by staring into the flames. Come sit with Posey Green, Wayne Caldwell’s narrator in most of these wonderful poems, and you will live simultaneously in the past as well as the present. Read through this magical collection once to gain a feel for this haunting landscape. Then read each poem again separately, slowly, perhaps one per day, so that they have time to take root in your mind and heart. In so doing, you will learn much about the Appalachian mind and the music of the Appalachian voice. This collection should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand how and why the past lives on in these mountains.

The other poetry collection finalist is Matthew Wimberley’s first book, All the Great Territories (Southern Illinois University Press, 2020). This volume of elegies for the author’s estranged father has also received the Weatherford Award, granted annually by Berea College and the Appalachian Studies Association for a book that “best illuminates the challenges, personalities, and unique qualities of the Appalachian South.” Wimberley is an Assistant Professor of English at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC, and is serving as the 2021–22 Rachel Rivers-Coffey Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at Appalachian State University. Frank reported during her introduction of this finalist before his reading that committee member Gordon McKinney, who believes himself

the “least poetic person in Western North Carolina,” . . . found this book “engrossing” in its treatment of grief and loss. He called this “an outstanding piece of work set in the heart of Western North Carolina” and noted that it is particularly poignant to read such finely crafted expressions of loss at a time when we are all feeling isolated and disconnected.

After publishing a series of six Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries, Vicki Lane turned to historical fiction for the novel that added her to this auspicious list of finalists. And the Crows Took Their Eyes (Regal Publishing, 2020; reviewed in this issue) was inspired by the Shelton Laurel Massacre during the Civil War. Terry Roberts explained the impact of this event and the novel it inspired:

Many historians and fiction writers have written about the massacre, but in truth, the whole story has never been presented nor the deepest implications examined. Until now. Vicki Lane’s marvelous And the Crows Took Their Eyes is a fictional treatment of this bloody period in regional history that explores the details of the tragedy and why it still resonates, over 150 years later. Significantly, she does so from a variety of points-of-view, giving full play to all those involved. This is a vitally important book for anyone who desires to understand the long-divided loyalties that haunt these mountains.

Accepting the award for the winning novel, Annette Clapsaddle remarked that its being the first novel by a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians “is all the more astonishing” given that the Eastern Band has “the oldest written Native American language in the United States.” She expressed her appreciation “for the consistent recognition of diverse voices of this landscape,” reminding the audience that in 2020, the winner was Dr. Sandra Muse Isaacs for Eastern Cherokee Stories, which Clapsaddle asserted, “confirms that the Western North Carolina Historical Association and its selection committee truly embrace the breadth of narratives our region produces with equal regard.”

Following the readings, Frank concluded the award ceremony praising the finalists and winner for how their books help us to

understand the beauty and complexity of our region, for examining our past so that we may know what is important in the present and for helping us to face the future full of possibilities for new stories, for uncovering more of what is still mysterious and unknown in this beautiful landscape. Each of these books allows us to examine social, cultural, and ethnic divides in our personal and collective history as a way to see our present more clearly. n