The Alabama Writers’ Forum
The Alabama Writers’ Forum, a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, works to cultivate our state’s literary culture. We do that through supporting writers at all stages. We encourage our young writers to find their creative voice through the Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids!–and through our Alabama High School Literary Arts Awards. We support the work of our state’s literary community through our Alabama Authors Directory, First Draft magazine, and other programming and opportunities for writers across the state. And we celebrate our state’s rich literary legacy through the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. We are, above all, a community of writers united by our desire to advance the literary arts in Alabama. If that describes you — join us! There are many ways to get involved.
The Literary Legacy of Jimmy Carter
The Literary Legacy of Jimmy Carter: Essays on the President’s Books Edited by Mark I. West and Frye Gaillard Rowman and Littlefield, 2024 Hardback: $120.00; eBook: $50.00 Genre: Essays, History, Literary Criticism Reviewed by Edward Journey During the recent state funeral for President Jimmy Carter, his White House domestic policy advisor, Stu Eisenstat, declared his intention to “lay to rest the myth that his greatest achievements came only as a former president.” As we ponder the impressive and lasting accomplishments Carter made to the world in his century of life, a compendium of essays about his many publications is newly available, edited by Mark I. West and 2025 Alabama Writers Hall of Fame inductee Frye Gaillard. Jimmy Carter, who did not use ghostwriters, published more books in his lifetime than any other president except Theodore Roosevelt. Reading The Literary Legacy of Jimmy Carter: Essays on the President’s Books, I felt that I had experienced an intensive and rewarding symposium on the writer and his life. West and Gaillard have compiled twenty-three essays, beginning with editor Mark I. [...]
