Writings
Ohio and Ohio Valley writers and writing, literary and cultural history with occasional ventures into the greater Midwest and Upper South.
Born August 23, 1868: Edgar Lee Masters
Because this blog touches on larger topics—Midwestern literature in general, and to some degree the literature of the upper South and Appalachia—I’ve decided to occasionally venture beyond the geographical boundaries of the Ohio Valley region. Today is such an occasion. August 23 is the birthday of poet, novelist, and biographer Edgar Lee Masters, who was…
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Annie Oakley: Little Sure Shot.
In the “About” section of this blog I mention doing occasional “Beyond The Books” special features concerning historical and cultural topics outside of literature. I’m kicking off that feature today with a quick look at an important Ohioan, whose birthday is today: legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley, born Phoebe Ann Mosey on August 13, 1860 in…
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Mary Lee Settle: Searching For The Roots of Freedom.
The recent date of July 29 marks the birthday of distinguished West Virginia novelist Mary Lee Settle. Although she wrote numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, she is probably best known for her cycle of novels known as the “Beulah Quintet,” which trace the histories of several West Virginia families from their origins in the…
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Hart Crane: Torment and Triumph.
The recent date of July 21 marks the birthday of American poet Hart Crane, born in Garrettsville, Ohio in Portage County in 1899. In his short lifetime—he lived to be only 32 years old—Crane created two memorable collections of poetry. Like so many artists who die young, the details of his life have become legendary.…
CONTINUE READINGSugar-Boy
“He always sat up front with Sugar-Boy and looked at the speedometer and down the road and grinned to Sugar-Boy after they got through between the mule’s nose and the gasoline truck. And Sugar-Boy’s head would twitch, the way it always did when the words were piling up inside of him and couldn’t get out,…
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May-June 1850: Emerson Tours The Heartland.
June, 1850. In the deep quiet of Mammoth Cave, a group of men and women look at the weird formations around them revealed by lantern light. They have walked nine miles into the cave, and they will walk the same distance out only to be greeted in the night by a heavy spring rain falling…
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Jim Tully: The Wild Irish Son of St. Marys
Jim Tully—novelist, memoirist, journalist, boxer, hobo—was born on June 3, 1886 in St. Marys, Ohio. He wrote fourteen books, many of them about the dark realities of poverty and the gritty underbelly of American life. Tully knew this world firsthand. Jim Tully was the son of Irish immigrants. His father was an alcoholic ditch digger…
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May 25, 1850: Ralph Waldo Emerson Visits Ohio’s Fort Ancient.
On May 25, 1850, Ralph Waldo Emerson—essayist, poet, lecturer, and Transcendentalist–turned forty-seven years of age. He was in the midst of a lecture tour in the Midwest, and had just finished a series of engagements in Cincinnati. On this day Emerson joined a group of young men on a trip to the ancient earthworks now…
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