The following links will get you started on your research in Appalachian literary studies, but this is nothing close to an exhaustive list. The reference desk at Reese Library is an excellent resource, too!
Online Search Aides
Drawn from the collections of member libraries of the Appalachian College Association, the DLA provides access to archival/historical materials related to Appalachia (south and central).
Annotated Bibliography on Appalachian English
From Virginia Tech’s Library, this bibliography includes many of the same articles and books as in Montgomery’s bibliography (below), but here they are organized into useful categories.
Annotated Bibliography: Southern and Central Appalachian English
Compiled by Michael Montgomery at the University of South Carolina, this bibliography lists more than 500 resources in the study of Southern and Central Applachian English.
Tina Hanlon at Ferrum College curates this resource of articles, bibliographies, lesson plans, and other resources related to Appalachian literature for children and young adults.
From the Center for Appalachian Studies & Services at East Tennessee State University, the Archives include manuscripts, sound recordings, and photographs. Most of the archives’ collection is not available online, but they have digitized many photographs and other images.
Reference Books
*Encyclopedia of Appalachia. Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 2006.
*Farr, Sidney Saylor. Appalachian Women: An Annotated Bibliography. Lexington: U P of Kentucky, 1981.
Montgomery, Michael, and Joseph S. Hall. Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English. Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 2004.
Major Texts
Batteau, Allen. The Invention of Appalachia. Tucson: U of Arizona P, 1989.
Billings, Dwight B., Gurney Norman, and Katherine Ledford, eds. Backtalk from Appalachia: Confronting Stereotypes. Lexington: U P of Kentucky, 1999.
Caudill, Harry. Night Comes to the Cumberlands: A Biography of a Depressed Area. Boston: Little, Brown, 1963.
Campbell, John C. The Southern Highlander and His Homeland. 1921. Lexington: U of Kentucky P, 2004.
Dyer, Joyce, ed. Bloodroot: Reflections on Place by Appalachian Women Writers. Lexington: U P of Kentucky, 1998.
Fisher, Stephen L. Fighting Back in Appalachia: Traditions of Resistance and Change. Philadelphia: Temple U P, 1993.
Harkins, Anthony. Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon. Oxford: Oxford U P, 2003.
Kephart, Horace. Our Southern Highlanders. New York: Outing, 1913.
Puckett, Anita. Seldom Ask, Never Tell: Labor and Discourse in Appalachia. Oxford: Oxford U P, 2000.
Shapiro, Henry D. Appalachia on our Mind: The Southern Mountains and Mountaineers in the American Consciousness, 1870-1920. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1978.
Turner, William, and Edward J. Cabell, eds. Blacks in Appalachia. Lexington: U P of Kentucky, 1985.
Whisnant, David. All That Is Native and Fine: The Politics of Culture in an American Region. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1983.
*Williams, John Alexander. Appalachia: A History. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2001.
Williamson, J. W. Hillbillyland: What the Movies Did to the Mountains and What the Mountains Did to the Movies. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1995.
Wolfram, Walt. Appalachian Speech. Arlington, VA: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1976.
Journals
Journal of Appalachian Studies
Scholarly Organizations
Appalachian Studies Association
The ASA publishes the Journal of Appalachian Studies and hosts the annual Appalachian Studies conference. Their web site includes bibliographies, a timeline, and many other very useful resources.