In the Middle of the Middle West: Literary Nonfiction from the HeartlandBecky Bradway The 42 essays in this collection take their inspiration from the Midwest—not just from its physical terrain but from its emotional terrain as well. They come from writers of diverse backgrounds: poets, novelists, filmmakers, and journalists; some who came and stayed, some who came and left, and some who were born and raised in this place. The essays revolve generally around issues of conflict between place and identity, and the theme of diversity—be it religious, sexual, racial, artistic, cultural, occupational, or geographical—runs throughout. Writers featured in this collection include Maxine Chernoff, Stuart Dybek, Michael Martone, Cris Mazza, James McManus, Scott Russell Sanders, Mary Swander, and many others of national reputation. |
Contents
Midwest | 3 |
That Glorious Time of Old | 8 |
Your What Hurts? | 14 |
Fag | 19 |
Little Man in the Woods | 28 |
One Tentative Taxonomy of a Region | 47 |
Big Trees Still Water Tall Grass | 54 |
A Walking Tour of the Chicago Lakefront with Detours | 63 |
A Hard Saw | 162 |
Boilermen | 165 |
Bits of Glass | 171 |
Momentary Stay against Confusion | 177 |
The Poet as John Nachtigal | 182 |
Midwestern Dramas | 186 |
Being Midwestern | 191 |
Rural Writers | 200 |
Back Home in Indiana | 71 |
What You Can See MidWinter in the Midwest | 74 |
Walking the Prairie Rail Trail Thinking about Loss | 76 |
Railroad Crossings | 81 |
Connections | 89 |
A Chicago Story | 98 |
Abracadabra | 101 |
Michael Jordans Lips | 117 |
Not From Here | 119 |
Displaced | 130 |
Desperately Seeking Blue Mound | 136 |
Still on Cortland Street | 149 |
The Pluses and Minuses of Life in the Midwest | 153 |
My Father in White Above the Royal Blue | 157 |
Excerpts from Americas Magic Mountain | 207 |
No Queens on Pickett Street | 214 |
How Does It Feel? | 219 |
JW | 228 |
The Baby Shower | 236 |
Remembering Canute | 245 |
Positively 4th Street | 253 |
The Basement | 262 |
Welcome to the Land of Freedom | 267 |
A Menagerie of Mascots | 279 |
The Basement | 291 |
Contributors | 299 |
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In the Middle of the Middle West: Literary Nonfiction from the Heartland Becky Bradway No preview available - 2003 |