Editing Kentucky (section)

===Literature===

{{Main|Kentucky literature}}

Kentucky has played a major role in Southern and American literature, producing works that often celebrate the working class, rural life, nature, and explore issues of class, extractive economy, and family. Major works from the state include ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' (1852) by [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]], widely seen as one of the impetuses for the American Civil War; ''[[The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (novel)|The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come]]'' (1908) by [[John Fox Jr.]], which was the first novel to sell a million copies in the United States; ''[[All the King's Men]]'' by [[Robert Penn Warren]] (1946), rated as the 36th best [[Modern Library 100 Best Novels|English-language novel of the 20th century]]; ''[[The Dollmaker (novel)|The Dollmaker]]'' (1954) by [[Harriette Simpson Arnow|Harriette Arnow]]; ''[[Night Comes to the Cumberlands]]'' (1962) by [[Harry Caudill]], which contributed to initiating the U.S. Government's [[War on poverty]], and others.

Author [[Thomas Merton]] lived most of his life and wrote most of his books{{snd}}including ''[[The Seven Storey Mountain]]'' (1948), ranked on ''[[National Review]]''{{'s}} list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century{{snd}}during his time as a monk at the [[Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani]] near Bardstown, Kentucky. Author [[Hunter S. Thompson]] is also a native of the state. Since the later part of the 20th century, several writers from Kentucky have published widely read and critically acclaimed books, including: [[Wendell Berry]] ([[Floruit|fl.]] 1960–), [[Silas House]] (fl. 2001–), [[Barbara Kingsolver]] (fl. 1988–), poet [[Maurice Manning (poet)|Maurice Manning]] (fl. 2001–), and [[Bobbie Ann Mason]] (fl. 1988–).

Well-known playwrights from Kentucky include [[Marsha Norman]] (works include ''[['night, Mother]]'', 1983), [[Naomi Wallace]] (works include ''[[One Flea Spare]]'', 1995), and [[George C. Wolfe]] (works include ''[[Jelly's Last Jam]]'', 1992).
[[File:Hot Brown Kurtz.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.95| The Hot Brown]]