University of North Carolina at Asheville
D. Hiden Ramsey Library
Special Collections

Kermit Hunter
(1910-2001)

Southern Appalachian Writers Collection

M2005.05.02-08



 

 

 

 

 

Title Kermit Hunter
Creator Southern Highlands Research Center
Alt. Creator D. H. Ramsey Library
Identifier http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/southern_appalachian_writers/hunter_kermit/hunter_kermit.htm
Subject Keyword Kermit Hunter ; Southern Appalachian Writers ; Appalachia
Subject LCSH Hunter, Kermit, 1910 - 2001
American literature -- Appalachian Region, Southern -- History and criticism
American literature -- Appalachian Mountains -- History and criticism
Appalachians (People) in literature
Appalachian Region, Southern -- Description and travel
Description The collection contains letters of correspondence and anecdotal information on the writer.  These materials were gathered as part of an exhibition of Southern Appalachian Writers held at UNCA in the early 1980's and sponsored by D. H. Ramsey Library and the Southern Highlands Research Center.
Publisher D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
Contributor Annette Hatley
Date 2005-08-23
Type Collection ; text 
Format 1 folder ; text
Source M2005.05.02-8
Language English
Relation The Heritage of Western North Carolina, D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 
Coverage 1900's - present ; North Carolina ;
Rights Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.  Some materials in collections are electronic rights only. Please ask for assistance from Special Collections staff.
Donor 240
Acquisition  2004-03-
Citation Kermit Hunter in Southern Appalachian Writers Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
Processed by Special Collections staff,  2005
Last update 2008-09-22
Statement on writing The artist "cannot afford to sacrifice art for morality, but by the same token, he must not think purely in terms of art, because he needs to keep contact with life and human realities.  Therefore, it seems logical to me that the artist must have a point of view which embraces the personality of man, the position of man in the universe, a sense of order and design in the world....  To me it is more important to keep the ideals and never publish or stage a single written word, because it is more important o keep art on a plane of idealism and integrity than to get a check from a publisher or a producer."
Biography

Kermit Hunter, born 1910 in West Virginia, had already earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and moved between several career paths before joining the Army in 1940.  After serving in World War II, he entered graduate studies in the Department of Dramatic Art at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1947.  Beginning with “Unto These Hills” in 1949 (which also served as his M.A. thesis), Hunter authored more than 40 historical dramas, most of which were written for outdoor performance (and of those, Hunter wrote the majority for specific locations).  During his writing career, Hunter also complete his Ph.D. at Chapel Hill in 1955 and went on to teach at the university level—first at Hollins College in Virginia, then at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and finally at the University of Texas at Arlington.  He passed away in 2001 in Dallas.  Of his outdoor dramas, two are still in production: “Horn in the West” is still performed in Boone, North Carolina and “Honey in the Rock” is still performed in Beckley, West Virginia.  “Unto These Hills,” though it underwent an extensive re-write in 2006, remains the most widely-attended of Hunter’s productions. 

Bibliography OUTDOOR PERFORMANCES BY

1950

"Unto These Hills", Cherokee, North Carolina.

1951

"Forever This Land", New Salem, Illinois.

1952

"Horn in the West", Boone, North Carolina.

1954

"The Bell and the Plow", Tucson, Arizona.

1955

"Voice in the Wind", Ruskin, Florida.

1956

"The Eleventh Hour", Staunton, Virginia.

"Chucky Jack", Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

1957

"Thy Kingdom Come", Salem, Virginia.

1958

"Heart of a City", Roanoke, Virginia.

1959

"Dawn of Promise", Roanoke, Virginia.

"The Home Road", Bethania, North Carolina.

"Mistress of the Inn", Roanoke, Virginia.

"Homecoming in Magdala", Hollins, Virginia.

"The Golden Crucible", Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1960

"The Third Frontier", New Bern, North Carolina.

"The Golden Prairie", Decatur, Illinois.

"The Golden Land", Dillon, South Carolina.

"This Burning Hour", Louisville, Kentucky.

1961

"Honey in the Rock", Beckley, West Virginia.

"Thunder on the River", Peoria, Illinois.

"Bound for Kentucky", Louisville, Kentucky.

1962

"Next Day in the Morning", Jacksonville, Florida.

1963

"Stars in My Crown", Murray, Kentucky.

1965

"That Untraveled World", Charleston, West Virginia.

1968

"The Liberty Tree", Columbia, South Carolina.

1969

"Walk Toward the Sunset", Sneadville, Tennessee.

"The Trail of Tears", Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

1974

"Wings of the Morning", St. Mary's, Maryland.

1975

"Beyond the Sundown", Livingston, Texas.

1976

"Daniel Shay's Rebellion", Northampton, Massachusetts.

"The Maintosh Trail", Peachtree City, Georgia.

"Philander", Peoria, Illinois.

"Come Sing Tomorrow", Fulton, Missouri.

"Dust On Her Petticoats", Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1978

"Bright Hope", Briarfield, Alabama.

1979

"Hernando De Soto", Hot Springs, Arkansas.

1983

"Pocahontas No. 3", Bluefield, West Virginia.