The National Award of the Governor’s Awards in the Arts honors a Kentucky son or daughter who has achieved national acclaim, and Barbara Kingsolver certainly meets the criteria. The 2001 National Award recipient, a native of Carlisle, is the award-winning author of novels such as The Bean Trees and The Poisonwood Bible.

Honors for Barbara’s work include several mentions on the New York Times Best Books lists, Book of the Year awards from the American Booksellers and the American Library Association, and nominations for both the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The author received the National Humanities Medal in 2000 and was recognized in 1999 by Writers Digest as one of its 100 Best Writers of the 20th Century.

Having lived in many parts of the world since graduating from Nicholas County High School, Barbara recognizes the need for strong support of the arts and literature in education and continually works to strengthen Kentucky’s literary community. In May 2001, she returned home to participate in What If All Kentucky Reads the Same Book?, a project of bookclub@ket built around her first novel, The Bean Trees.

Program 439

Profiles five recipients of the 2001 Governor’s Awards in the Arts, given each year to honor Kentucky individuals, businesses, and organizations that make outstanding and significant contributions to the arts in Kentucky. (#439)