Prairie Gold: An Anthology of the American Heartland

by Lance M. Sacknoff (Editor), Xavier Cavazos (Editor), Stefanie Brook Trout (Editor)

The American Midwest provides the ideal landscape for literature exploring the intricate evolution of American ideology and culture from the earliest frontiersmen and settlers to present day citizens. In celebration of this region's inherent importance to American identity, Prairie Gold: An Anthology of the American Heartland presents a myriad of Midwestern-focused literature in three sections of literary styles: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry with introductions contributed by admired and award-winning Midwestern authors: Dean Bakopoulos, Debra Marquart, and Iowa State Poet Laureate, Mary Swander. With an extensive roster of sixty-eight highly talented writers, this anthology presents an eclectic mix of short stories, flash fiction, lyric essays, autobiographies, and formal and experimental poems that delve into the nuances of Midwestern identity. Each writer herein investigates, challenges, and redefines the varied perceptions of the Midwest, and, most importantly, their literary art invites us to gaze with renewed appreciation on the environmental beauty, nourishing agriculture, and innovative and creative people of the American Heartland.

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2014

Reviews

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contributor Notes on "Letters After Achilles"

As the title suggests, my nonfiction essay is a series of letters written in the wake of Achilles, a big snowstorm that hit the Midwest in May of 2013. The letters are actually addressed to different aspects of the natural world, like the bees, the storm itself, and the tallgrass prairie.

When the storm hit, it had only been a few days since I - along with a group of other writers at Iowa State University - had established our very first beehives. In broad strokes, "Letters After Achilles" is about my fear that our bees wouldn’t survive their first week under our care, juxtaposed with the surprising beauty of a late spring snow. These were matters of life and death. But, at the same time, I was dealing with some body image issues, and even though it seemed rather petty compared to the drama going on in the natural world, it still felt important to me.