<p>At a time when women’s voices are being raised, <strong><em>Woman Walk The Line: How The Women of Country Music Changed Our Lives</em></strong> continues resonating. With recent appearances on SiriusXM’s Debatable, Emmy-nominated “Pickler &; Ben,” <em>Rolling Stone</em> and <em>Mojo</em>, the collection of personal essays by 27 women of varying ages, races, occupations and orientations has won the prestigious Belmont Book Award. Presented on June 1 during the International Country Music Conference held annually at Belmont University, the conference is the foremost academic gathering devoted to country, roots and bluegrass music in the nation.<br />
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35512" src="http://www.countrymusicnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/Woman-Walk-The-Line.jpeg" alt="Woman Walk The Line on Country Music News Blog" width="358" height="576" /><br />
“I was startled and thrilled for all of the writers and the artists they celebrated,” editor and contributor Holly Gleason said of the news. “I know how academically accomplished those judges are, and it speaks volumes about the work each of these women did. How music impacts a life, changes a person or even empowers an individual is something we don’t pay enough attention to. At a time when #MeToo and TimesUp matters, this book – and the response to it &#8212; is proof that positive women <em>do</em> listen to women’s art, and find within that art a sense of strength, comfort, inspiration and validation. What’s amazing is how many men did, too.”</p>
<p>Named one of <em>No Depression</em>’s Top 10 Books of 2017 and a selection of Minneapolis’ Public Radio’s Rock &; Roll Book club, <em>Rolling Stone</em> proclaimed, “There’s probably no better time for <em>Woman Walk The Line</em>… the groundbreakers continue to strike many chords,” <em>Santa Fe New Mexican</em> declared, “a sisterhood — even a whisper network — in the genre that predates #MeToo by decades,” and Britain’s <em>MOJO </em>offered, “The stylistic line from Maybelle Carter through Dolly Parton on up to <a title="Taylor Swift" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSTSwift/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Ftaylor-swift-tickets%2F">Taylor Swift</a> isn’t a straight on, and the intention of this absorbing anthology isn’t to pretend that it is…intimate, inspirational essays.”</p>
<p><em>Fixin’ To Write</em> also put the anthology <em>PASTE </em>called “truly stunning” on their 2017 Books We Loved list with Roxanne Gay’s <em>Hunger</em>, Lidia Yuknavitch’s <em>The Misfit’s Manifesto, </em>Marie Howe’s <em>Magdalene</em>, Sasha Steensen’s <em>House of Deer,</em>Ariel Levy’s <em>The Rules Do Not Apply</em>, Jennifer Weiner’s <em>Hungry Heart </em>and Sarah Vowell’s <em>Lafayette in the Somewhat United States.</em></p>
<p>“I think women’s art is never as respected as it should be,” Gleason continued. “That’s why this anthology was important to me. Ronni Lundy, who won the top James Beard Award, on the power of Hazel Dickens as a voice of protest <em>and</em> a woman in the 70s? A transgendered writer on Rosanne Cash seeing past the transition to embrace who was going to be as the embodiment of what her music held? Even 17-year old <a title="Taylor Swift" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSTSwift/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Ftaylor-swift-tickets%2F">Taylor Swift</a> on Brenda Lee illuminating superstardom as a true artist when she was a young girl? It adds up, and it says, ‘Hell, yeah, we’re here, and we don’t just matter, we manifest!’ This honor recognizes those things in such a profound way.”</p>
<p>As <em>The New York Times </em>wrote, “Each of the 27 essays focuses on the experience of when music was a savior, an inspiration or an acknowledgment of a deep and personal truth.” <em>People </em>seconded that notion with “A rhapsodic, moving look at music’s transformative power” and <em>Oxford American </em>offered, “an exploration of that liminal space between the artist’s intention and the listener’s reception.”</p>
<p>Part of the Rock &; Roll Hall of Fame’s Author Series, Gleason will be part of a panel in late July in Cleveland. In addition, dates are also being sorted out for a panel at the Country Music Hall of Fame this summer. After appearing at the Southern Festival of Books, the Miami Book Fair, a rogue South by Southwest panel, <em>Woman Walk The Line</em> has also gone to Texas State and the University of Florida.</p>
<p>Even noted memoirist Pamela Des Barres, known for <em>I’m With The Band</em> and <em>Lets Spend The Night Together</em>, enthused, “Awesomely important book.”</p>
<p>“It’s the writers and the way music shaped them,” Gleason explained. “It’s undeniable, and it reminds us how pivotal music is in our lives. In the rush of tech and the convenience of streaming, it’s easy to forget.</p>
<p><u>Full List of Essays and Authors below: </u></p>
<p>Maybelle Carter: <em>The Root of It All </em>by Caryn Rose<br />
Lil Harden: <em>That’s How I Got to Memphis</em> by Alice Randall<br />
Wanda Jackson: <em>When She Starts Eruptin’ </em>by Holly George-Warren<br />
Hazel Dickens: <em>The Plangent Bone </em>by Ronni Lundy<br />
June Carter Cash: <em>Eulogy of a Mother</em> Rosanne Cash<br />
Brenda Lee: <em>Rare Peer</em> by <a title="Taylor Swift" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSTSwift/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Ftaylor-swift-tickets%2F">Taylor Swift</a><br />
Bobbi Gentry: <em>Let the Mystery Be</em> by Meredith Ochs<br />
Loretta Lynn: <em>The Pill </em>by Madison Vain<br />
Dolly Parton: <em>Long Island Down Home Blues </em>by Nancy Harrison<br />
Emmylou Harris: <em>Common Ground in an Uncommon Love </em>by Ali Berlow<br />
Barbara Mandrell: <em>Lubbock in the Rearview Mirror </em>by Shelby Morrison<br />
<a title="Tanya Tucker" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/tanya-tucker-concert-tour-dates/">Tanya Tucker</a>: <em>Punk Country and Sex Wide Open </em>by Holly Gleason<br />
Rita Coolidge: <em>A Dark-Eyed Cherokee Country Gal </em>by Kandia Crazy Horse<br />
Linda Ronstadt: <em>Canciones de Corazon Salvaje</em> by Grace Potter<br />
Rosanne Cash: <em>Expectations and Letting Go </em>by Deborah Sprague<br />
<a title="The Judds" href="https://ticketmaster.evyy.net/c/1224809/264167/4272?subId1=WPScmnbWynona&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.com%2Fwynonna-judd-tickets%2Fartist%2F769783&partnerpropertyid=5213910&MediaPartnerPropertyId=5213910">The Judds</a>: <em>Comfort Far from Home </em>by Courtney E. Smith<br />
k.d. lang: <em>Flawless, Fearless </em>by Kelly McCartney<br />
Lucinda Williams: <em>Flesh &; Ghosts, Dreams + Marrow </em>by Lady Goodman<br />
Mary Chapin Carpenter: <em>Every Hometown Girl </em>by Cynthia Sanz<br />
Patty Loveless: <em>Beyond What You Know </em>by Wendy Pearl<br />
<a title="Shania Twain" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSShania/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fshania-twain-tickets%2F">Shania Twain</a>: <em>But the Little Girls Understand</em> by Emily Yahr<br />
<a title="Alison Krauss" href="https://ticketmaster.evyy.net/c/1224809/264167/4272?subId1=WPScmnbAKrauss&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.com%2Falison-krauss-tickets%2Fartist%2F731928&partnerpropertyid=5213910&MediaPartnerPropertyId=5213910">Alison Krauss</a>: <em>Draw Your Own Map</em> by Aubrie Sellers<br />
<a title="Taylor Swift" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSTSwift/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Ftaylor-swift-tickets%2F">Taylor Swift</a>: <em>Dancing on Her Own </em>by Elysa Gardner<br />
<a title="Kacey Musgraves" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSMusgraves/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fkacey-musgraves-tickets%2F">Kacey Musgraves</a>: <em>Follow Your Arrow </em>by Dacey Orr<br />
Rhiannon Giddens: <em>A Gift Past the Songs </em>by Caroline Randall Williams<br />
Patty Griffin: <em>Remembering to Breathe </em>by Kim Ruehl</p>