Dedication

DEDICATION ". . . look under the ledge where the roots of those poplar trees are, and tell me if you ever set eyes on a bolder, finer spring than that?" —Lydia McQueen, in Wilma Dykeman's The Tall Woman Since the demise of the short-lived MAW (Magazine for Appalachian Women), which originated in West Virginia in the 1970s, the occasions have been few when the literary work of women writing in and about the mountains have been showcased. Yet the work of Appalachian women writers continues to come forth like clear water from fine mountain springs. We at the Heritage are proud of that work, as all of us should be, knowing as we do the literary benchmarks set by generation after generation of women writers of our region. Speaking personally as well as on behalf of Berea College, I am proud to see this issue of Appalachian Heritage devoted to the works of women writers, and it is with pride and a symbolic word of encouragement that this issue of the Heritage is dedicated to all those women , past and present, who have written about Appalachia and who continue to draw from bold, fine wellsprings. John B. Stephenson President, Berea College ...