7th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Time: 1:30 PM
Rm 224
Presenter(s): Austin Maynor
Title: Expanding the Southern Canon: The Case for Jim Wayne Miller
Developed under the guidance of Dr. Gina Peterman , English

In his lifetime, Jim Wayne Miller - poet, novelist, essayist born in Leicester, NC - produced an impressive body of literature contributing to the field of Appalachian Culture Studies. However, he has yet to find his place within the larger canon of Southern literature. Through original research that includes personal interviews with Miller's wife and sister, Austin Maynor assesses the current state of Miller scholarship - a wide-open field for exploring topics such as Miller's unorthodox approach to Protestantism, the loss of a grandfather on his artistic process, and the persona of the Brier through which Miller voiced many of his ideals.