Byron Herbert Reece (1917-1958). Renowned Appalachian poet, novelist, and farmer, Byron Herbert Reece lived most of his life on a farm. There he composed, to critical acclaim, four volumes of poetry and two novels. Reece was a five-time recipient of the Georgia Writers Association literary achievement award and was nominated for a Pulitizer Prize in poetry. He was twice the recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Award. Reece served as poet-in-residence at the University of California at Los Angeles, Emory University, and Young Harris College. Suffering from tuberculosis, Reece took his own life three months before his forty-first birthday on the campus of Young Harris College.