James Still (1906-2001) was the author of several works of fiction and poetry, including River of Earth, The Wolfpen Poems, and From the Mountain, From the Valley: New and Collected Poems. Ted Olson, a professor of Appalachian studies at East Tennessee State University, has edited books exploring the work of James Still, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Sherwood Anderson. The author of Blue Ridge Folklife, Breathing in Darkness: Poems, and Revelations: Poems, Olson coedited The Bristol Sessions: Writings about the Big Bang of Country Music and A Tennessee Folklore Sampler.