Scholars, writers, and teachers from across the region gathered in the mountains of Southeast Kentucky this week as Union Commonwealth University (UCU) hosted the 54th Annual Kentucky Philological Association Conference.

Held March 6–7 on the UCU campus in Barbourville, the conference brought together leading voices in language, literature, and creative writing to explore this year’s theme: “Survival.” Through panels, readings, and scholarly discussion, participants examined how stories, ideas, and language endure across time and cultures.

The conference featured a plenary address by acclaimed Appalachian writer Marianne Worthington, author of The Girl Singer. Worthington’s work has appeared in publications including Oxford American, CALYX, Salvation South, and Southern Humanities Review. Her collection The Girl Singer earned the Weatherford Award in 2021, and her next book, Water.Witness.Word, is forthcoming in 2026.

“The Kentucky Philological Association is Kentucky’s premier organization for the study of language and literature,” said Shayne Confer, UCU Professor of English and Reading and Executive Director of KPA. “For over fifty years we have brought together outstanding scholars and creative writers from around the region for stimulating critical discussions of literature and readings of original literary works.”

Confer added that the organization’s annual journal, Kentucky Philological Review, publishes the best creative and scholarly work presented at the conference and is indexed by the Modern Language Association.

During the conference banquet, Joseph Pearson, Associate Provost and Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, welcomed attendees ahead of the presidential address by Thomas Bragg.

“Poor kids should have poetry, too,” Pearson said, noting the shared mission between KPA and Union. “The crossroads where KPA’s mission and Union’s mission meet is helping possibility find opportunity. KPA is at once a rigorous scholarly gathering of deeply learned men and women who offer serious work on important topics;and one of the kindest, most welcoming academic conferences that I know. So, too, Union stands on the frontier offering pathways for learning, career advancement, and scholarly inquiry that are equal parts challenging and attainable.”