Collected from publications as diverse as Esquire, Salon, Utne Reader, Orion, Troika and Road King, the essays in Big Rigs, Elvis & The Grand Dragon Wayne range through territory stretching from the Wyoming plains to the heart of Budapest. The itinerary includes stops in the basement of a burning building, a bunk room adjacent to a tenacious Central American prostitute, and a gospel shout in a granary. This is life observed from a country musicians tour bus, the cab of a careening Belizian sugarcane truck, and the back of a runaway cutting horse. Whether hitchhiking with truckers or simply writing to decline a handwritten invitation to a Ku Klux Klan rally, Michael Perry tells stories that are deceptively simple and abundantly wise.
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Editorial Reviews
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"Michael Perry exults in the power and elasticity of language. But not just of language, of the human spirit as well. Whether exhuming Elvis or staring down a convicted murderer, Perry's unerring, if bemused, eye paints all people as if their lives were epiphanies, which of course they are." -- Bill Friskics-Warren, The Nashville Scene
"The best writers take us in tow to experience fully what their subjects experience and then ask, What do we make of this? Michael Perry is such a writerhe guides us to confront meaning in seemingly mundane things. And, often, just to laugh, clap our hands and surrender to mystery altogether" -- Bill Hudgins, Road King Magazine
Language dances across Perrys pages, the clarity of poetry swinging one last time with the tough love practiced by those devoted to a dying art. -- Grant Alden, No Depression
Michael Perry is like a sensitive, new-age Hemingway. He is good. -- Karen Croft, Salon
Michael Perrys commentarieson Elvis, the seductions of summer, fighting fires in small towns, save-your-soul preachers, or anything else, are fun, smart, clear, and filled with good sense. Writing like this is hard to do. Perry makes it look easy. -- Dinty W. Moore, The Accidental Buddhist, Algonquin Books, 1997
"The best writers take us in tow to experience fully what their subjects experience and then ask, What do we make of this? Michael Perry is such a writerhe guides us to confront meaning in seemingly mundane things. And, often, just to laugh, clap our hands and surrender to mystery altogether" -- Bill Hudgins, Road King Magazine
Language dances across Perrys pages, the clarity of poetry swinging one last time with the tough love practiced by those devoted to a dying art. -- Grant Alden, No Depression
Michael Perry is like a sensitive, new-age Hemingway. He is good. -- Karen Croft, Salon
Michael Perrys commentarieson Elvis, the seductions of summer, fighting fires in small towns, save-your-soul preachers, or anything else, are fun, smart, clear, and filled with good sense. Writing like this is hard to do. Perry makes it look easy. -- Dinty W. Moore, The Accidental Buddhist, Algonquin Books, 1997
About the Author
Mike Perry was raised on a small farm in northwestern Wisconsin, where he remains a resident of the small town of New Auburn. His work has appeared in numerous publications including Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Salon, and Cowboy Magazine, and his essays and humor are frequently heard on both Wisconsin and Minnesota public radio. When he's not contributing articles to magazines, Perry contributes humor to the local fire department by being the first volunteer fireman in village history to miss the monthly meeting because of a poetry reading. [expanded biographical information available at www.sneezingcow.com]
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You won't be disappointed,
By Cathy McGraw (Strum, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Big Rigs, Elvis & The Grand Dragon Wayne (Paperback)
Michael Perry's essays are some of the best pieces of writing I have read. His insights always ring true and his words dance across the page in a rhythm that is never disappointing. I'm hoping this author will have more for me read.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
I was young when the streaking fad hit. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jack Elliott, Grand Dragon Wayne, Haul Road, Marty Stuart, Road Gang, The Pilgrim, Dave Sweetman, Jay Farrar, The Right Man For The Job, Bob Dylan, Eau Claire, Johnny Cash, Gunnar Lund, Son Volt, Townes Van Zandt, United States, Wide Swing Tremolo, Woody Guthrie, Bill Monroe, Brooks Range, Frank Smoot, Mike Magnuson, Prudhoe Bay, Western Star, Belize City New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
I was young when the streaking fad hit. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jack Elliott, Grand Dragon Wayne, Haul Road, Marty Stuart, Road Gang, The Pilgrim, Dave Sweetman, Jay Farrar, The Right Man For The Job, Bob Dylan, Eau Claire, Johnny Cash, Gunnar Lund, Son Volt, Townes Van Zandt, United States, Wide Swing Tremolo, Woody Guthrie, Bill Monroe, Brooks Range, Frank Smoot, Mike Magnuson, Prudhoe Bay, Western Star, Belize City New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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