The Star of Grundy: A Writer in the Making
Lee Smith's interest in writing began when she was very young; her first story was about Adlai Stevenson and Jane Russell heading west in a covered wagon to become Mormons. View Story written in 1956 (PDF Format) Smith says that the story contains themes that concern her even today: "religion and flight, staying in one place or not staying, containment or flight." The young author wrote stories and sold them to neighbors for five cents each.
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Lee Smith sitting on Santa's lap, 1964. |
Her experiences growing up in Grundy, Virginia, influenced her writing significantly. In The Devil's Dream Katie Cocker describes her youth in the Virginia mountains: "Those were the most important years, and I didn't even know it." Certainly, Smith's early experiences shaped her career. Her novels reveal deep insight and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia. Smith left Grundy to attend high school in Richmond, Virginia, and Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia. College provided her with an intellectually and socially stimulating environment. She says of her college days that she "had this kind of breakout period — I just went wild." She became a go-go dancer for an all-girl rock band called the "Virginia Woolfs." |
Cover of The Washington Post Magazine, 1982. |
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