A Sense of Place: A Conversation with Perk Vickers

by Joe Wise

Perk Vickers was born in Lake City, Colorado in 1914 and has lived there all his life, never desiring to be anywhere else. His father, John, arrived in Lake City in 1888 when Grover Cleveland was president and Colorado had only been a state for twelve years. Perk has always felt a connection with, and a deep respect for, this special place, which he has described as being "about as close to heaven as a man can get." Perk Vickers is a student of history and a consummate Irish storyteller. He has been a rancher, miner, politician, business owner, heavy machinery operator, developer, and much more. A Sense of Place is the story of a special man, a close-knit family, a way of life, the changes experienced throughout an entire century, and a special place in the beautiful San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Mary]

Just lovely. We share an affinity to the American West. The way he described the Salt Lake City of his youth just captivated me.

[Reema]

im starting to fall out of love with stegner--i dont agree with all his straitjacket views about land in the West (its too close to anti-immigration sentiment)--but he is a very good writer, and he writes exceptionally about "place." what it means to call somewhere home, what a landscape does to an individual, what you carry away with you and what you may/may not find when you return. there are some beautiful metaphors in here that touch me--i understand the feelings he's fundamentally describing when it relates to nyc or to a few other places ive spent time in and love--even though he speaks of prairies and southwest mountain landscapes ive never seen. and that, in my book, is one mark of good writing. also, he has a deep, languid voice that makes this, my first experience in audio reading, pleasurable.