Man Killed by Pheasant: And Other Kinships »

John T. Price, Professor of English at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, is the recipient of an NEA grant and the author of Not Just Any Land.

A memoir, both lyrical and witty, of kinships both wild and tame

Booklist

[A] humble, but no less soulful, memoir.Price easily navigates the episodes of his story, flashing back and forward, gracefully narrating the imagination of his youth.the exploration of new frontiers.and the return to familial and natural histories in western Iowa. He softly reveals the humor and uncertainty of youth and parenthood; the clarity of his nature writing exhibits the strength he finds in the ancient patterns of migratory birds and the flexibility of the Missouri River. Beyond his elegantly styled memoir, Price achieves a rich biographical portrait of the rural Midwest-its cultural and natural terrain-creating a character from the profound flatness of the region with as much life as he finds in his grandparents and children.

Acknowledgments

On Haskell Street (a prelude) 1

Part 1 Departures

The Robin Defense 15

What Kind of Light? 19

Mole Man Lives! 43

Nymph 67

Titan 81

Night Rhythms 101

Part 2 New Lands

Love Mountain 109

High Maintenance 123

Man Killed by Pheasant 143

Prairie Asinus 153

Shoveling 169

Part 3 Home

Dave and the Devil 179

Nuts 203

Why Geese Don't Winter in Paradise 215

Moon Kitty 235

On Kalsow Prairie (a postlude) 245

About the Author 263