West was a poet, preacher, teacher, and political activist from North Georgia. In 1965, he and his wife, Connie, moved to Pipestem (Summers County) to start the Appalachian South Folklife Center. He wanted people to respect Appalachian culture and history and often spoke out against negative "hillbilly" stereotypes.

West believed the U.S. economic system caused much of the region’s poverty. Many people visited the Folklife Center to learn about mountain life, music, and politics. He held summer camps for low-income youth and hosted a yearly mountain music festival.

West’s poems reflected his mountain roots and political beliefs. He studied at Lincoln Memorial University and Vanderbilt University, and he spent a year in Denmark, where he was inspired by the Danish Folk School Movement. He also helped start the Highlander Folk Center in Tennessee, which trained civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. In the 1950s, he refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee.

His best-known books include O Mountaineers (1974) and In a Land of Plenty (1982).