In the Middle of the Middle West: Literary Nonfiction from the Heartland

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.

Becky Bradway is the author of Pink Houses and Family Taverns (IUP, 2002). Her essays have appeared in DoubleTake; E: The Environmental Journal; North American Review; Troika; and elsewhere. She lives in Normal, Illinois.

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Introduction, by Becky Bradway

Outskirts

Stuart Dybek. Midwest.

Mary Swander. That Glorious Time of Old.

James McManus. Your What Hurts?

Benjamin Alvey. Fag.

Jaimy Gordon. Little Man in the Woods.

Geography

Janet Wondra. Mid.

Scott Russell Sanders. Big Trees, Still Water, Tall Grass.

Becky Bradway. What It Is and Used to Be

Reginald Shepherd. A Walking Tour of the Chicago Lakefront, With Detours.

Sonia Gernes. Back Home in Indiana.

Sheryl St. Germain. What You Can See Mid-Winter in the Midwest; Walking the Prairie Rail Trail, Thinking About Loss

Transit

Bonnie Jo Campbell. A Train Runs Through It.

S.L. Wisenberg. Connections.

Rosanne Nordstrom. A Chicago Story.

Sharon Solwitz. Abra Cadabra.

California, Midwest

Maxine Chernoff. Michael Jordan's Lips.

Erin McGraw. Not From Here.

Cris Mazza. Displaced.

Robert Grindy. Desperately Seeking Blue Mound.

Workers

Anne Calcagno. Still on Cortland Street.

Jon Anderson. The Pluses and Minuses of Life in the Midwest.

Doug Hesse. My Father in White, Above the Royal Blue.

Richard Holinger. A Hard Saw.

Richard Newman. Boilermen.

Jenna M. Polk. Bits of Glass.

Artists

Martha Modena Vertreace-Doody. In Hyde Park: Momentary Stay Against Confusion.

Keith Ratzlaff. The Poet as John Nachtigal.

David Radavich. Midwestern Dramas.

Dan Guillory. Being Midwestern.

Robert Hellenga. Rural Writers.

Houses

Curtis White. excerpt from America's Magic Mountain

Martha Miller. No Queens on Pickett Street.

Mary Troy. How Does it Feel?

John McCluskey, Jr. J.W.

Philip Graham. The Baby Shower.

Rewind

Sharon Darrow. Remembering Canute.

Mary Helen Stefaniak. Positively 4th Street.

Paulette Roeske. The Basement.

Ricardo Cortez Cruz and Rodney B. Cruz. Welcome to the Land of Freedom.

Michael Martone. A Menagerie of Mascots.

Maura Stanton. The Basement.