His First, Best Country by Jim Wayne Miller

It was so much fun to read this novel because I had heard Jim Wayne tell so many of the episodes in this book as personal reminiscences. Jim Wayne Miller (1936-1996) was one of a bare handful of people who established the sub-genre of Appalachian Literature. A poetry book he published during President Jimmy Carter's fuel-saving 55 MPH era was actually entitled Nostalgia for 70 because he spent so much time traveling around the region promoting our literature. Jim Wayne's readings were unique - despite the fact that he had many books out, and was one of our foremost poets - what he read was the works of others, both well-known and obscure. One reason he drove so many miles was that his job was Professor of German at Western Kentucky University, quite a ways from the rural outskirts of Asheville where he grew up and Berea Coilege where he got his undergraduate degree. Jim Wayne Miller was one of a handful of people who really established the literary field of Appalachian Literature. When