Appalachian Today | Alumni Association

LaMonda Horton-Stallings ’98

“Mutha’ is Half a Word” has been described by reviewers as “a heroic feat,” and “pioneering in its scope.” Author LaMonda Horton-Stallings ’98, a graduate of Appalachian’s English master’s degree program, is in her fifth year as an assistant professor of African-American literature and culture at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

In August 2007, The Ohio State University Press published “Mutha’ Is Half a Word: Intersections of Folklore, Vernacular, Myth, and Queerness in Black Female Culture,” a study of sexual desire in black women’s culture.

Valerie Lee, a professor of English at The Ohio State University, writes that Horton-Stallings’ “examination of everything from lesbian slave mistresses to Lil’ Kim’s gritty lyrics is pioneering in its scope and daring in its execution.”