Writings
Ohio and Ohio Valley writers and writing, literary and cultural history with occasional ventures into the greater Midwest and Upper South.
Allen Tate: The Man of Letters Confronts The Modern Wasteland
Today marks the birthday of John Orley Allen Tate, born in Winchester, Kentucky on November 19, 1899. In his lifetime, Tate made his mark as poet, critic, and novelist, although he never achieved the level of both critical and popular success achieved by his friend and fellow Kentuckian Robert Penn Warren. Tate attended both private…
CONTINUE READING
Plainsman from Ohio: Jack Schaefer, Author of “Shane.”
Jack Schaefer, author of the western classic Shane, was born on November 19, 1907 in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended local schools and went on to Oberlin College, where he studied English, then attended graduate school at Columbia University in New York City. He left grad school for a career in journalism, doing mostly editorial work…
CONTINUE READING
Published 70 Years Ago: Ernie Pyle’s “Brave Men”
There was no shortage of outstanding reporters in World War II. In the United States alone, journalists such as William L. Shirer, Edward R. Murrow, John Hersey, Quentin Reynolds, Martha Gellhorn, and Richard Tregaskis are still read today for their reporting of this titanic conflict of the twentieth century. Literary lights also served as war…
CONTINUE READINGRemembering Vachel Lindsay
The Midwestern poet Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was born on November 10, 1879. He is best known today—and was in his own time–for his poetry, but also wrote film criticism and essays. He was a visual artist as well. Lindsay was born in Springfield, Illinois, the home of Abe Lincoln, and the image and memory of…
CONTINUE READINGAutumn in the Country
“All the signs of the autumn came, the heavy plush-like asters, buckberries and frostflowers, everlasting and chicory–all the last tokens of the living year. The mockingbird would sing a few notes, reminiscent of spring after the quiet of the late summer, and on moonlight nights the cocks would crow all night long. Ellen bought a…
CONTINUE READINGDaunted by NaNoWriMo? Try “NaNovellaWriMo” instead
The month-long frenzy of novel writing called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is soon to begin. This has become a phenomenon in recent years, an event complete with not only the requisite website, but also support systems, group writing sessions, merchandise, and so on. The goal is to produce, if not a finished first draft…
CONTINUE READING
Sprucevale, Ohio–October 22, 1934: End of the Road for Pretty Boy Floyd
October, 1934. In the farmland of Columbiana County in southeastern Ohio, farmers and hired hands are busy with the harvest season. Hard times have held the country in their iron grip for nearly five years. But now the sleepy rural landscape is astir. In this world of hazy autumn hills, weathered barn buildings, and trees aflame…
CONTINUE READINGPoet Richard Hague To Read At Northern Kentucky University
On Thursday, October 23, 2014, noted poet Richard Hague will read from and discuss his new book of poems During The Recent Extinctions: New and Selected Poems 1984-2012 (Dos Madres Press, 2012). Hague is an award-winning poet and essayist in Cincinnati. Born and raised in Steubenville, Ohio, he has published fifteen collections of poetry, as…
CONTINUE READING
Published Eighty Years Ago: Jesse Stuart’s “Man with a bull-tongue Plow.”
Today—October 14, 2014–marks the eightieth anniversary of the publication of Jesse Stuart’s rambling and powerful collection of 703 sonnets called Man with a bull-tongue Plow. Yes, you read that number correctly—703! Stuart was a tall and robust man from the hills of Kentucky who wrote like a force of nature. He was born in Greenup…
CONTINUE READING