Archive for January, 2012

Stone fence in the woods, Woodford County, Kentucky

Nightwoods, by Charles Frazier

Like Dante’s Inferno, Charles Frazier’s Nightwoods begins in a dark forest, ends on a mountain, and passes through nearly every form of sin in between.  The hero of this third novel by the author of Cold Mountain and Thirteen Moons is no middle-aged poet, though.  She’s a young woman named Luce, most of whose life has been a recurrent dark night of the
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Snow on stone fence, Woodford County, Kentucky

And There Went 2011

How to account for this year?  The time flew like leaves in a hard wind. I put in another year of work in my profession, looked after the creatures in my care, traveled a little, went to exercise classes and book club meetings, celebrated some victories, weathered some disappointments, enjoyed much beauty, and sadly surrendered some attachments to the quiet
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Bison herd, Wyoming

Postscript re A Woman Homesteader

In July 2010, I wrote a blog post about Letters of a Woman Homesteader, by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, whose wonderful letters, written in the early 20th century, described her life as a Wyoming rancher.  The book had been one of my longtime favorites, and writing the post gave me great pleasure. I’ve always admired Elinore Stewart, not only for the obvious
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