- Zirconia Poems. Northwood Narrows, N.H., Lillabulero Press, 1969.
- The Voice in the Crosshairs. Ithaca, N.Y.: Angelfish Press, 1971.
- Red Owl. New York: Norton, 1972.
- Land Diving: New Poems. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1976.
- Trunk & Thicket. Fort Collins, Colo.: L’Epervier Press, 1978.
- Groundwork. Frankfort, Ky.: Gnomon Press, 1979.
- Bronze Age. Emory, Va.: Iron Mountain Press, 1981.
- At the Edge of the Orchard Country. Middletown, Conn.; Scranton, Pa.: Wesleyan University Press; Distributed by Harper & Row, 1987.
- The Blue Valleys: A Collection of Stories. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 1989.
- Sigodlin: Poems. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1990.
- Green River: New and Selected Poems. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1991.
- Watershed. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 1991.
- The Mountains Won’t Remember Us and Other Stories. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 1992.
- Good Measure: Essays, Interviews, and Notes on Poetry. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1993.
- The Hinterlands: A Mountain Tale in Three Parts. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1994.
- The Truest Pleasure. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 1995.
- Wild Peavines. Frankfort, Ky.: Gnomon, 1996.
- The Balm of Gilead Tree: New and Selected Stories. Frankfort, KY: Gnomon, 1999.
- Gap Creek: A Novel. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1999.
- Topsoil Road: Poems. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000.
- This Rock: A Novel. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2001.
- Brave Enemies: A Novel. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2003.
- The Strange Attractor: New and Selected Poems. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004.
- Boone: A Biography. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2007.
- October Crossing: Poems. Frankfort, KY; Asheville, NC: Broadstone Books; The Captain’s Bookshelf, 2009.
- Terroir. New York: Penguin Group, 2011.
- Lions of the West. North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2011.
- The Road from Gap Creek. North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2014.
- Dark Energy. New York: Penguin Random House, 2015.
- Chasing the North Star. New York: Workman Publishing, Hachette Book Group, 2016.
- As Rain Turns to Snow and Other Stories. Kentucky: Broadstone Books, 2017.
- Contributing Writer to A Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia. South Carolina: Hub City Press, 2019.
- The Oratorio That Was Time. New York: Audubon Terrace Press, 2022.