Author of I Listened, Momma, Darlene Franklin Campbell lives in Southern Appalachia, where she was born and spent her childhood. The country and people of that region color all of her memories. Proceeds from her poetry go to fighting mountaintop removal and improving the lives of the peoples of Southern Appalachia.   Darlene has a desire to see cancer become a thing of the past and has designated all her royalties from I Listened, Momma  to Relay for Life in an effort to aide in the fight against cancer.   Her articles on Mexican-American heritage and education have been published in New Madrid and Instructor Magazine. Her poetry has been published in multiple national and international magazines and journals as such as Other Voices International, StorySouth, Riverwalk Journal, Tipton Poetry Journal, Mid-South Review, Rogue Scholars, COAL: An Anthology by Blair Mountain Press, aimed at halting mountaintop removal. Her work is also to appear in Coal County: Rising up Against Mountain Top Removal, by Counterpoint press in conjunction with Sierra Productions as an accompaniment to the documentary [narrated by Ashley Judd], also entitled Coal Country.      Darlene is a graduate of Lindsey Wilson College and an alumnus of both Campbellsville University and Western Kentucky University. She holds a Master’s degree in Education in Rural Settings. In addition to being a poet and novelist, she is an accomplished artist whose murals are displayed on walls throughout the Upper Cumberland region.  

graduated Suma Cum Laude, recipient of Merit Scholarship, numerous awards for poetry, recipient of Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching,