Georgia’s Appalachian poet

Byron Herbert Reece (1917-1958) produced two novels and four volumes of poetry. Hailed now as Georgia’s Appalachian poet/novelist, he wrote most of his works at his home near Blairsville. (Photo courtesy Special Collections, Duckworth Library, Young Harris College.)

Ramble along mountain byways that inspired Byron Herbert Reece

BY JACKIE KENNEDY

If ever a writer’s work was tied to his home, the creations of Georgia’s mountain poet, the late Byron Herbert Reece, were rooted in the very soil he tilled.

Born 1917 in the shadow of Blood Mountain near Blairsville, Reece is heralded as Georgia’s official “Appalachian Poet/Novelist,” a title bestowed by the state legislature in 2005. The author of four volumes of poetry and two novels drew heavily from his rural farm upbringing and the Bible, earning a Pulitzer Prize nomination in poetry for his book, “Bow Down in Jericho,” and winning the Georgia Writer’s Association literary achievement award five times. He served as poet-in-residence at three universities: the University of California at Los Angeles, and in Georgia, Emory University in Atlanta and Young Harris College in Young Harris.

“In his time, Reece was highly regarded as a literary figure,” says John Kay, retired Young Harris College religion/philosophy professor and chair of the Byron Herbert Reece Society. “He was widely recognized and got outstanding reviews on his poetry and two novels.”

Jesse Stuart, Kentucky poet and writer, was first in the literary world to recognize Reece’s potential and encouraged the Georgia writer to publish his poetry in volumes, says Kay. Revered Atlanta Constitution Editor Ralph McGill was another Reece fan, along with Constitution writer Celestine Sibley who often referenced him in her columns.

After graduating from Blairsville High School, Reece attended Young Harris College where he later taught to make ends meet at his family’s North Georgia farm. His first volume of poems, “Ballad of the Bones,” was published by H.P. Dutton in 1945.

While his literary works garnered critical acclaim, they never brought in much money, according to Kay who says Reece—who considered himself a farmer first and a writer second—would rather have farmed full time.

“He was teaching part time at Young Harris when illness and depression wore him down and he took his own life,” says Kay. The date was June 3, 1958, and Reece, 40 and suffering with tuberculosis, finished grading exams just before shooting himself in his dormitory apartment.

“We speculate that if his health had been good and he’d continued to live and do his work, there’s no telling what kind of stature Reece might have achieved in the literary world and on the American scene,” says Kay. “What he did produce is sufficient to establish his rightful place as an extraordinary poet, especially in the lyric and ballad traditions.”

Byron Herbert Reece. (Photo courtesy Byron Herbert Reece Society.)

To preserve the mountain poet’s literary and cultural legacy, the Byron Herbert Reece Society formed in 2003. While McGill and Sibley were among those who championed Reece during his lifetime, writers Terry Kay (John’s brother) and Philip Lee Williams, members of the Society’s Advisory Council, are among the poet’s advocates today.

Since the Society’s formation, a portion of U.S. Highway 129 from Blairsville to Neel’s Gap has been named for Reece, and a Georgia historical marker honoring him has been placed at his home site near Blairsville. In 2004, the remaining 9.3 acres of the Reece family farm, now owned by Union County, was leased to the Society to be developed as the Byron Herbert Reece Farm and Heritage Center, which is set to open within the next two years. Work to date includes restoring barns and outbuildings that will feature exhibits of Appalachian farm culture of the early 1900s.

“The corn crib and main barn were still intact and just needed shoring up a bit,” says Kay. “The new smokehouse was built from scratch, and the chicken coop is a replica. We plan to use animal stalls as exhibit rooms.” The self-guided exhibit will feature a video on Reece produced by the Society, according to Kay who says construction on the welcome center should begin this spring. “The welcome/visitor center will be a renovation of Reece’s home,” he adds. Garland Reynolds, a Gainesville architect and Reece fan, designed the farm venue.

John Kay and his wife, Patti, stand in front of the Byron Herbert Reece Society’s booth at the September 2007 Georgia Literary Festival in Blue Ridge. Reece’s life and works were showcased at the festival that year. (Photo by Byron McCombs.)

Additional Society projects are ongoing, including the collection of oral histories, highlighted by a video with interviews of those who knew Reece, such as his biographer Bettie Sellers, lifelong friends Mildred and Philip Greear and former Georgia governor and Young Harris colleague Zell Miller. The Reece in the Schools Project is devoted to promoting Reece’s works in the local school systems and beyond. Plus, a recently acquired “treasure trove” of unpublished Reece poems keeps the Society busy, according to Kay.

“Everything depends on funding, but it seems to be full steam ahead,” Kay concludes. “Because of the combined grassroots support of all the groups and individuals of Northeast Georgia, both public and private, this educational, cultural, historic and tourist venue will be successful.”

—Jackie Kennedy is a freelance writer living in LaGrange.

To assist with the Byron Herbert Reece project, Young Harris-based Blue Ridge Mountain EMC relocated power lines that crossed the farm. For more on Reece, visit www.byronherbertreecesociety.org.

Reece’s home is being converted into a visitors’ center for the Byron Herbert Reece Farm and Heritage Center, set to open within two years. (Photo courtesy Special Collections, Duckworth Library, Young Harris College.)

The Literary Ramble, a Reece driving tour

The Literary Ramble leads visitors to sites that were routinely visited by the poet. Stops include:

• Vogel State Park: Reece was born where Lake Trahlyta was later built at Vogel; the Reece family moved to a home down in the Wolf Creek valley in 1921. www.gastateparks.org

• Byron Herbert Reece Memorial Park: The memorial was created shortly after Reece’s death, and the park serves as a trailhead for the Appalachian Trail. www.georgiatrails.com

• Reece Farm and Heritage Center: Reece spent most of his life on the family farm where he often composed poems while working at the plow. www.byronherbertreecesociety.org

• Young Harris College: The Byron Herbert Reece Digital Library allows electronic access to various memorabilia including letters, manuscripts and Reece’s personal library. www.yhc.edu

• Old Union Church: Reece’s grave is in the church cemetery. www.oldunionchurch.org

• Union County Courthouse Museum: Built in 1899, the courthouse features a Reece exhibit. www.unioncountyhistory.org

For more, read “Mountain Singer: The Life and the Legacy of Byron Herbert Reece” by Raymond C. Cook ,“The Bitter Berry: The Life of Byron Herbert Reece” by Bettie M. Sellers and “Faithfully Yours, The Letters of Byron Herbert Reece” edited by Raymond A. Cook and Alan Jackson. The “Reach of Song,” an Appalachian-themed drama based on Reece’s life and staged at venues in Towns County each summer, bas been on hold several years due to financial constraints. Reece fans hope to see it revived.