Phyllis
Wilson Moore has
firmly established herself as one of the leading experts of West
Virginia’s literature and its authors. In 1995, Fairmont State College’s scholarly publication, Traditions, published her groundbreaking study of the state’s literature,
“Yes, We Have Authors: Reclaiming Our Literary History,” which the
WV Humanities Council later paid to re-publish and distribute 6000
copies of statewide as a free educational resource, and has since become
the definitive reference source—for students, scholars, and librarians
alike—concerning WV’s fiction and its creators. Not one to rest on her laurels, Phyllis then approached the
Bridgeport Public Library with her, literally, “mountains” of
materials, looking for more ways to disseminate her research. Shortly thereafter, MountainLit was born. Unrivalled as a free, online source of all things literary in
West Virginia, MountainLit boasts Phyllis’ original essay, plus
additional sections on award winners, WV’s African American authors,
and WV Children’s literature as well as links to individual authors’
websites. Phyllis’ awards
and honors are numerous. She
has won the John Henry Award, served as literary historian for the WV
Humanities Council’s Speaker’s Bureau, been honored by Appalachian
Heritage magazine with the Denny G. Plattner Award, and spent a year
as a Scholar-in-Residence for Harrison Co. schools. In 2000, the city of Fairmont’s Arts & Humanities
Commission designated Phyllis as one of its Patron of the Arts, “in recognition of [her]
outstanding leadership and devotion to the enhancement of the arts and
humanities in Fairmont and surrounding areas.” She serves on the Advisory Board of the WV Folklife Center of
Fairmont State College, and is a member of the WV History Association,
The Center for Black Culture and History at West Virginia University,
and three different library Friends organizations.
