Great Plains Literature

by Linda Ray Pratt

Great Plains Literature is an exploration of influential literature of the Plains region in both the United States and Canada. It reflects the destruction of the culture of the first people who lived there, the attempts of settlers to conquer the land, and the tragic losses and successes of settlement that are still shaping our modern world of environmental threat, ethnic and racial hostilities, declining rural communities, and growing urban populations.

In addition to featuring writers such as Ole Edvart Rölvaag, Willa Cather, and John Neihardt, who address the epic stories of the past, Great Plains Literature also includes contemporary writers such as Louis Erdrich, Kent Haruf, Ted Kooser, Rilla Askew, N. Scott Momaday, and Margaret Laurence. This literature encompasses a history of courage and violence, aggrandizement and aggression, triumph and terror. It can help readers understand better how today’s threats to the environment, clashes with Native people, struggling small towns, and rural migration to the cities reflect the same forces that were important in the past.

Genres: Nonfiction

186 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2018

Reviews

[Nick Thune · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good little primer on some famous writers and literary works on the Great Plains. Reading the stories or primary sources Pratt discusses would be ideal, but if you don't have time, start here. Pratt, although not a "neutral" voice, does a good job of looking at different aspects of Great Plains culture. Native Americans, religion, immigration, farming, and social class are just some of the subjects she spends chapters discussing. I definitely felt a sense of "this is so true of my experience" with some of the places and stories that are analyzed in this book.

[Thomas Isern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed this work in the weekly feature, Plains Folk. There are strong reflective commentaries on old standards - Rolvaag, Momaday, Cather - but Pratt also pushes beyond the customary canon, inviting discussion to define the field.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The strength of this book is the outline it provides to explore the genre of Plains literature. Sure, there sometimes can be a feel that you’re getting a Cliff Notes version - but this book covers a whole genre, multiple authors, and numerous books. It serves as a blueprint of where to start exploring, what the author considers to be the central works, and provides some literary analysis/insight/context as if one were reading for a class.

[Kelleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went in thinking I'd get to read excerpts of different Great Plains literature, but Ted Kooser is the only one whose work is presented exactly as he wrote it. The rest are summaries and how they fit into the history of the Great Plains.

It gave me several books I'm interested now in reading, but not an exciting read by itself.

[E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the major themes and some of the key authors writing about the Great Plains. Particularly liked her discussion of Black Elk Speaks.