It is hard not to think of Nebraska without thinking of its greatest writer. Here is a marvelous piece by Capote, Remembering Willa Cather . I remember seeing a stage production of O Pioneers! and being deeply moved by its raw emotions. I had read My Antonia before, and soon found myself hooked, like Capote was by the simple elegance of her prose and the way she was able to evoke so many feelings through her characters. Much of it came from the fact that she had lived those experiences herself. Her father dragged the family from Virginia to Nebraska in 1883, when it was still a young state, settling in the town of Red Cloud. named after one of the great Oglala chiefs. Red Cloud was still alive at the time, living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, in the aftermath of the "Great Sioux Wars" of 1876-77. I don't know whether Cather took any interest in the famous chief, although it is hard to imagine not. Upon his death in 1909, he was eulogi
Thanks for this link, Gintaras. I'll use this and Wood until my book arrives. I made the mistake of ordering it with Game Change and it's currently out of stock (already). Must be quite the book!
ReplyDeleteIn Revolutionary Characters, Wood talks about the "Madison problem" -- which as I recall relates to how to reconcile his anti-democratic feelings towards the states.
But sounds like Wills is dealing with more international questions, so I'll have to see what Adams says.
Wills definitely takes the broader view here, focusing heavily on the War of 1812, often to comic effect. Young America was lucky to have come out of that war in one piece.
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