The Literary Trails
North Carolina has been hailed for being one of the most
writer-friendly states, with the rural and urban landscapes the best
sources of inspiration for the literary traveler. The Literary Trails of
North Carolina invite visitors and residents to explore the mountains of
the state, this time in the perspective of the writers who spent a
significant amount of their creative process in the region. The trail
consists of eighteen half-day and day-long tours that aim to let
travelers witness the importance of the place in a writer's life.
The Literary Trails in the Southern Mountains are where the oldest
mountains (the Appalachians), the highest town (Highlands), the oldest
inn (Woodfield), largest house (Biltmore) and one of the oldest rivers
(the French Board) can be found. The Southern Mountains are also the
place where a replica of the shoes of Thomas Wolfe can be traced, a
forest named after James Kilmer is named, just a reflection of how such
tales can be inspired from the most beautiful green surroundings.
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Included in the Southern Mountain Tours are the Black Mountain,
Montreat, and Swamnoa (inspiration for avant-garde and mystery writers
like Patricia Cornwell and Jill Jones), Canton, Cold Mountain, Lake
Logan and Balsam (inspiration by a future North Carolina Poet Laureate),
Sylva, Dillsboro, Cullowhee, Tuckasegee and Highlands (a popular
location for Hollywood storytellers), Franklin, Hayesville, Brasstown,
Murphy and Texana (inspiration for the folk school of writing),
Robbinsville, Cherohala Skyway, Fontana, Almond and Nantahala Gorge
(homes for story writers like Gail Godwin and Robert Morgan), Bryson
City, Cherokee and Great Smoky Mountains National Park (center of
mystery, magic and rich oral traditions), Waynesville, Hot Springs,
Marshall and Mars Hill (home of O. Henry and Elizabeth Daniels Squire),
Weaverville and North Asheville (home of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sidney
Lanier),
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Downtown and South Asheville (home of the first woman Pulitzer Prize
winner) and Brevard, Rosman, Green River, Zirconia, Flat Rock and
Hendersonville (home of the greatest poets and playwrights). The Northern Mountains and Foothills on the other hand is home to a
number of new and modern literary works. There is also a number of
outsider writers who went to the mountains simply for inspiration. Some
of the well-known men and women of literature in this area are poet
Hilda Downer, mystery writers Sharyn McCrumb, novelist Tony Earley and
North Carolina’s one-time poet.
Included in the Northern Mountain Tours are Burnsville, Micaville, Celo
and Mount Mitchell (home to Anne Tyler, Charles Price and Jonathan
Daniels), Old Fort, Chimney Rock, Lake Lure and Tryon (Ernest Hemingway,
Jules Verne and Peggy Payne), Rutherfordton, Shelby, Spindale and Forest
City (Tom Tucker and Kay Hooper), Lincolnton, Hickory and Moravian Falls
(home to an early feminist, award-winning biographer, poet laureate and
a UFO expert), Wilkesboro, Happy Valley, Blowing Rock, Linville Falls
and Morganton (Sam Earvin, Scott Nicholson and Christian Reid), Marion,
Little Switzerland, Spruce Pine, Penland, Bandana, Kona, Bakersville,
Roan Mountain and Banner Elk (home to Muriel Earley Sheppard and Carolyn
Sakowski), Grandfather Mountain, Crossnore, Valle Crucis, Vilas and
Boone (home to some of the most prolific and versatile writers) and
Todd, West Jefferson, Jefferson, Crumpler, Sparta and Roaring Gap
(Leland Cooper, Noah Adams and Tom Wolfe).
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