With a combination of song lyrics and reflective essays, Alabama author Frye Gaillard and recording artist Kathryn Scheldt pay tribute to the literary legacy of Alabama songwriters. Included here are reflections on the works of Hank Williams, Emmylou Harris, and W. C. Handy, among many others. Scheldt and Gaillard share Emmylou’s view that the Americana music coming out of Alabama has been “the literature of the people.” In addition to writing about this tradition, these two authors are part of it. In these pages and on an accompanying CD are songs cowritten by Scheldt and Gaillard.

“In Frye Gaillard and Kathryn Scheldt’s The Quilt and the Poetry of Alabama Music, stories of the rich and famous are shared alongside those of songwriters and musicians who never saw their names in lights.”

“The Quilt is not only about the poetry of song lyrics but also music’s role in bringing the races together, blurring the boundaries that once so strictly existed.”

“Gaillard and Scheldt write brilliantly of the passions that inspire the lyrical content of a tune. It’s one of the better books you’ll read about the fine art of songwriting”

Edward Reynolds, Alabama Writers’ Forum