Kathrine Stripling Byer

The fifth North Carolina Poet Laureate, Katherine Stripling Byer was born in Georgia and now lives in Cullowhee, N.C. She has taught at various colleges, including Western Carolina University and maintains the blog she began as poet laureate. Byers nine collections of poetry include Wildwood Flower, Black Shawl and the recent Descent (LSU, 2012). She has received the SIBA Book Award in Poetry twice and is a member of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.  “Tobacco” originally appeared in Shenandoah 45/3.