The Dust of Everyday Life: An Epic Poem of the Pacific Northwest

by Jana Harris

The Dust of Everday Life is an epic poem of pioneer life in the Oregon and Washington Territories from critically acclaimed author Jana Harris. This groundbreaking creative work is the insightful and intimate account of two families and an unflinching, humanized portrait of Northwest history.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction

248 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty)]

This was a very enjoyable way to learn a little of the history of pioneer life in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. It also tells a little about people in the Midwest before they pushed on along the Oregon Trail.
The "poem" covers blocks of time from the mid-1850s through 1933. It follows several generations of families. Just plain everyday life for them is what we would today consider "hardship." These people endured one hardship after another: flood, fire, epidemic, drought, war, and freezing winters with no insulation.
This is the first epic poem I've ever read on purpose. :) (Of course I had to read those musty old things from centuries ago in high school and college.)
I'm very impressed with the skill of this poet in developing characters and telling a meaningful story using so few words.

[Sylvester Olson]

Reading this has been on my to-do list for fifteen years or so; I feel almost guilty about not reading it sooner. I'm happy that I finally got around to ordering a copy. I'm a sucker for epic poetry and love anything that involves the Northwest. It's apparent that Ms. Harris's work is meticulously researched. The free verse is easily approachable and is worth multiple readings. Life in the Old Northwest was rough, a foreign experience for most people in today's world with today's experiences.

I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 for this edition because there is a glaring error in the back cover description. The main character in the poem is "Helen Welch", not "Helen Walsh". I hope the author catches this and gets this typo corrected!

[Charlie]

The writing was good sometimes, but there was a ton of casual racism, and the characters weren't very compelling. I did like the old man who played the bagpipe to clams.

[Carol]

I appreciate the dedication and talent that created this book. This is totally individual to myself, but my attention wandered off after a while. I recommend it to those with an interest in history and an attraction for book length poems.