In the tradition of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, and Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, each of the 222 poems in this collection is narrated by a different resident of the fictional small town of Alliance, Illinois. Their voices, individual and yet familiar, describe the ordered simplicity of life in the American small town during the second half of the twentieth century. Dave Etter's themes and images come from the very lifeblood of prairie Illinois-rivers, trees, cornfields, wildlife, county fairs, railroads and, always, the people and the ever-changing seasons. Deceptively, invitingly simple on their surface, Etter's poems reveal upon careful examination a remarkable psychological insight and a careful craftsmanship. Alliance, Illinois is truly one of the great monuments of rural American literature.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Strongly influenced by Masters, Lindsay, and Sandburg, he is a chronicler of Midwest prairie towns and the disappearing race of semi-rural people, with their inarticulate dreams and dark secrets." -Poetry
"Dave Etter. . .one of the best poets in America. His poems are at once gentle and incisive; they contain universal truths." -Poetry Now
"Etter's work is a joy to read, because he is, above all else, honest with himself and his attitude toward the world." -Library Journal
Book Description
A new edition of a major work by "one of the best poets in America."
In the tradition of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio and Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, each of the 222 poems in this collection is narrated by a different resident of the fictional small town of Alliance, Illinois. Their voices, individual and yet familiar, describe the ordered simplicity of life in the American small town during the second half of the twentieth century. Dave Etter's themes and images come from the very lifeblood of prairie Illinois-rivers, trees, cornfields, wildlife, county fairs, railroads and, always, the people and the ever-changing seasons. Deceptively, invitingly simple on their surface, Etter's poems reveal upon careful examination a remarkable psychological insight and a careful craftsmanship. Alliance, Illinois is truly one of the great monuments of rural American literature.
In the tradition of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio and Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, each of the 222 poems in this collection is narrated by a different resident of the fictional small town of Alliance, Illinois. Their voices, individual and yet familiar, describe the ordered simplicity of life in the American small town during the second half of the twentieth century. Dave Etter's themes and images come from the very lifeblood of prairie Illinois-rivers, trees, cornfields, wildlife, county fairs, railroads and, always, the people and the ever-changing seasons. Deceptively, invitingly simple on their surface, Etter's poems reveal upon careful examination a remarkable psychological insight and a careful craftsmanship. Alliance, Illinois is truly one of the great monuments of rural American literature.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Midwest pauses at the edge of the 20th century...,
By A Customer
This review is from: Alliance, Illinois (Hardcover)
I love Dave Etter! A resident of Illinois all my life, but a Chicago-surburb dweller, I really appreciate Mr. Etter's honest and imaginative vision of living in the ag and industrial small towns and cities lying in the shadow of Chicago.... it's kind of a Spoon River Anth. revisited, but I think he does it better than Masters did...Sandburgian in grit and honesty...a great group of poems.
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