New UA Press Book Collects Two Centuries of Ozark Literature

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Literature of the Ozarks: An Anthology, edited by Phillip Douglas Howerton ($29.95, paper), has been released by the University of Arkansas Press.

This new book includes 50 pieces that, together, challenge common assumptions about backwoods ignorance, debunks the pastoral myth, expands on the meaning of wilderness, and positions the Ozarks as a crossroads of human experience with meaningful ties to national literary movements.

The Literature of the Ozarks will be available for sale, signed by Howerton, at the following events:

• 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, Fayetteville Public Library
• 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, Dog Ear Books in Russellville

The events are free and open to the public.

The Literature of the Ozarks is the latest book in the UA Press’ Ozarks Studies series, which publishes books that expand understanding of the region and contribute to broader disciplinary fields and dialogues. The next book in the series, Hipbillies: Deep Revolution in the Arkansas Ozarks, by Jared Phillips, will be published this spring.

Phillip Douglas Howerton is a sixth-generation Ozarker and professor of English at Missouri State University–West Plains. He is co-editor of Cave Region Review, general editor of Elder Mountain: A Journal of Ozarks Studies, and the author of a poetry collection, The History of Tree Roots.

About the University of Arkansas Press: The University of Arkansas Press advances the mission of the University of Arkansas by publishing peer-reviewed scholarship and literature of enduring value. The Press publishes books by authors of diverse backgrounds writing for specialty as well as general audiences in Arkansas and throughout the world.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.