A gifted fiction writer whose reputation has steadily grown for the past two decades, Lee Smith peoples her stories with real-life characters who struggle for meaning in their lives. Much of her fiction entails experimentation with narrative voice and structure. From the humorous and outrageous to the serious and epiphanic, Smith's work consistently probes the crises of identity that plague so many contemporary Americans, particularly women. Her female characters reflect the complexity and contradiction inherent in a Southern heritage and demonstrate Smith's vision of hope for the future.

Born November 1 1944, in the small coal-mining town of Grundy, Virginia, in the Southwest part of the state, Lee Smith was an only child and

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First published 22 January 2003

Citation: Byrd Cook, Linda J.. "Lee Smith". The Literary Encyclopedia. 22 January 2003.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4119., accessed 9 February 2010.]