Photo by Kenneth C. Flynn

Bookings Shelby and Linda Stephenson are available for gigs: country, gospel, poetry readings. We will perform at private parties, weddings, conferences. Contact us at 985 Sanders Road, Benson, NC 27504, 919 934-4713, shelbystephenson@mindspring.com Links • The Shelby Stephenson Papers. UNC-Chapel Hill. • Shelby Stephenson--A Life History. • University of North Carolina at Pembroke. • Pembroke Magazine. • North Carolina Writers' Network. • Pudding House Publications. • Official Hank Williams Sr. Web Site. • North Carolina Arts Council: Arts Directory. • The Poet and the Poem: Interview by Grace Cavalieri. • R.A. Fountain General Store. • Bellday Books. Publisher of Family Matters.

Comments & Reviews "Shelby Stephenson is the poet par excellence of the distinctive culture of Southeastern North Carolina. He sings the moods of mockingbird, ditch bank, tobacco field with an accuracy and fullness unavailable elsewhere, saving a way of life for us even as it is passing." --A.R. Ammons on Finch's Mash

Photo of Shelby and Linda by Jan G. Hensley

"The poet seeks to connect who he was with who he is--exploratory riffs that can surprise his understanding--and therefore ours. The result is a meditative complexity that at the same time is poignant, lyrical and philosophical." --Merrill Leffler on Fiddledeedee "He gives voice to his place and its people and does so unashamedly, with passion and precision, and, yes, with real country music." --Kathryn Stripling Byer on Fiddledeedee

"Whether writing of hog killings, raccoons, country kin or strangled goats, he is always fresh, clear-eyed, and unsentimental. His impeccable technique makes for a memorable achievement." --Guy Owen on Middle Creek Poems "Shelby Stephenson has few equals and no betters on the poetry scene--as I see it--today. I am baffled by and envious of his comprehensions and compassion." --Ron Bayes on Middle Creek Poems