Kentucky's contribution to the perennially popular American craft of quiltmaking is a rich and varied one. Mary Clarke examines here the state of the craft in Kentucky and finds it as lively today as it was 150 years ago. Like a fingerprint, every Kentucky quilt differs from all others in some respects, whether it is an original creation or a variation of one of the traditional patterns long popular in the United States. And many Kentucky quilts reveal much about the individual maker—her disposition, taste, and lifestyle, the familiar objects that bring joy to her daily life, and her response to events beyond the confines of family and home. Taken as a whole, Kentucky quilts and quilt names reflect the history of the Commonwealth, at every turn showing the intermingling of old and new in the grassroots continuity of an ancient craft that responds to fads and fashions by absorbing and refining them.

The oral tradition of Kentucky is one of the most rich and interesting in the nation and has attracted a number of outstanding men and women—scholars and writers, teachers and singers—who have devoted their energies to Kentucky's folk and their ways. Some have collected examples of the state's unique speech patterns and word usages. Others have recorded local place names and the legends that surround them, or the yarns and tall tales transmitted from one generation to the next. Musicians have sought the authentic mountain folk songs, both old and new, and gifted writers have woven details of their Kentucky upbringing into poems, novels, and stories. The Harvest and the Reapers illuminates the work of those who labor tirelessly to preserve Kentucky's oral history and traditions.