Archive for October 2014
Autumn in the Country
“All the signs of the autumn came, the heavy plush-like asters, buckberries and frostflowers, everlasting and chicory–all the last tokens of the living year. The mockingbird would sing a few notes, reminiscent of spring after the quiet of the late summer, and on moonlight nights the cocks would crow all night long. Ellen bought a…
Read MoreDaunted by NaNoWriMo? Try “NaNovellaWriMo” instead
The month-long frenzy of novel writing called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is soon to begin. This has become a phenomenon in recent years, an event complete with not only the requisite website, but also support systems, group writing sessions, merchandise, and so on. The goal is to produce, if not a finished first draft…
Read MoreSprucevale, Ohio–October 22, 1934: End of the Road for Pretty Boy Floyd
October, 1934. In the farmland of Columbiana County in southeastern Ohio, farmers and hired hands are busy with the harvest season. Hard times have held the country in their iron grip for nearly five years. But now the sleepy rural landscape is astir. In this world of hazy autumn hills, weathered barn buildings, and trees aflame…
Read MorePoet Richard Hague To Read At Northern Kentucky University
On Thursday, October 23, 2014, noted poet Richard Hague will read from and discuss his new book of poems During The Recent Extinctions: New and Selected Poems 1984-2012 (Dos Madres Press, 2012). Hague is an award-winning poet and essayist in Cincinnati. Born and raised in Steubenville, Ohio, he has published fifteen collections of poetry, as…
Read MorePublished Eighty Years Ago: Jesse Stuart’s “Man with a bull-tongue Plow.”
Today—October 14, 2014–marks the eightieth anniversary of the publication of Jesse Stuart’s rambling and powerful collection of 703 sonnets called Man with a bull-tongue Plow. Yes, you read that number correctly—703! Stuart was a tall and robust man from the hills of Kentucky who wrote like a force of nature. He was born in Greenup…
Read MoreBooks By The Banks: A Celebration of Books and Reading
Book lovers turned out in force on Saturday, October 11 for Books By The Banks: Cincinnati USA Book Festival. For six hours the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati was abuzz with activity as fans met their favorite authors, listened to panel discussions and author presentations, and met staff from local sponsors, which included…
Read MoreCincinnati’s Books By The Banks: October 11, 2014
The eighth annual Books By The Banks: Cincinnati USA Book Festival will be held from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 11 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati. More than 100 authors will be there to sign copies of their books and talk with interested readers. Categories of books represented…
Read MoreThe Children’s Books of Elizabeth Spires
This marks the fiftieth post to appear on Buckeyemuse, so I wanted to write something a little different. Today I’m featuring some of the children’s books by the distinguished poet Elizabeth Spires, who was born in Lancaster, Ohio in 1952, grew up in Circleville, Ohio, and later attended Vassar College and Johns Hopkins University. She…
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