A Son of the Middle Border Hamlin Garland 9781530019939 Books
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Hamlin Garland was a popular 20th century American writer best known for writing about hardscrabble life on the Plains and the frontier. His stories resonated in an era known for the Depression and the Dust Bowl.
A Son of the Middle Border Hamlin Garland 9781530019939 Books
A Son of the Middle Border, originally published in 1917, is the autobiography of American author Hamlin Garland. Garland was a pioneering writer of American regional realism, and a precursor to socially conscious naturalist writers like Jack London, Frank Norris, and Theodore Dreiser. In this memoir, Garland relates the details of his upbringing on a series of farms in the Midwest and his early development as a writer. The "Middle Border" referred to in the title is more than just an alternate name for the American Midwest. As Garland uses the term, it signifies the ever-shifting boundary between the settled lands of populated America and the wild territories of the western frontier. Garland's father, Dick Garland, chases after this westbound frontier on a quest for the ever-elusive perfect piece of flat, treeless farmland. In the process, this American dreamer with an indomitable pioneer spirit drags his family along on a veritable odyssey through the farmlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota.Garland begins his life story in 1864, when, as a small boy, he witnessed his father's return from the Civil War. His childhood remembrances of the family's Wisconsin farm reveal an idyllic vision of a happy rural youth in which young Hamlin is surrounded by his loving extended family. The pioneer dreams of the clan's menfolk soon lead, however, to a Midwestern diaspora, as the Garlands and their relatives scatter to farther fields. By the age of ten, young Hamlin is plowing his father's fields, and as he comes of age and becomes more involved in the farm work, his view of the rural life becomes less romanticized and more realistic. A Son of the Middle Border paints a wonderfully honest and unglamorized picture of farm life in late 19th-century America. Garland's writing, like a mixture of Frank Norris, Willa Cather, and Henry David Thoreau, captures a young man's love of the land and pride in honest toil, while refusing to shy away from the gritty harshness of a life of back-breaking toil and poverty.
When he reaches manhood, Garland tramps around the United States doing odd jobs and farm labor. He eventually ends up in Boston, where he begins to pursue a writing career. He sets himself the difficult task of applying his literary talents to the stories of the rural West, a topic which was virtually ignored by the East Coast-dominated literary world of his day. Unfortunately, the story of Hamlin Garland the writer is not as fascinating as that of Hamlin Garland the farm boy. Though there is some interesting insight into his intellectual development, much of this portion of the story reads like a list of lectures given, books read, and plays attended. His literary idols are William Dean Howells and Walt Whitman, with whom he forms friendships. Stephen Crane also makes an appearance. Other than that, the roll of names he drops will be mostly unfamiliar to anyone but a scholar of American literature at the end of the 19th century.
Ultimately, the second half of the book negates many of the fond memories of the first. Garland begins to see the rural life as a trap and farming as little more than a form of slavery. Much of the final chapters of the book focus on him caring for his aged and ailing parents. While the farm narrative of the first half will appeal to anyone with an interest in American history, the second half will appeal primarily to those who are most familiar with Garland's writings. I myself am a newcomer to his work, but I was impressed enough with this frank and touching memoir that I am looking forward to tackling some of his fiction in the near future.
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Tags : A Son of the Middle Border [Hamlin Garland] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>Hamlin Garland was a popular 20th century American writer best known for writing about hardscrabble life on the Plains and the frontier. His stories resonated in an era known for the Depression and the Dust Bowl.</b>,Hamlin Garland,A Son of the Middle Border,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1530019931,HISTORY United States 19th Century
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A Son of the Middle Border Hamlin Garland 9781530019939 Books Reviews
Haven't read it yet
It was not what I had expected, too much history and rather 'dry'..I'll try to read it later at a later date.
Enjoying the book very much, live in Minnesota and therefore can identify with areas mentioned in the book, grew up in 'similar' circumstances.
I in general like any books in this category. What I am finding problematic with this book is that the print is so small it makes it much harder to read than it should be. When one gets to the end of a line it is difficult to go back and pick up the next line.
Hamlin is a little too descriptive in spots. Gardner is excellent in narration.
My hometown is in Mitchell County, Iowa and Hamlin Garland spent his growing years not too far from my own. His family originated in western Wisconsin and was part of the western expansion that took place after the civil war. His father was a union soldier and his earliest recollection is of the "soldier" returning home. This book follows his life as the son of a sod buster and the hard, difficult life they lead. If you like history and want a glimpse at the life of the pioneers, this is an easy to read book.
It's fascinating to read the words of someone who was raised by homesteaders/farmers/settlers in the 1800s. The Garlands saw everything the last of the American Indians living a free life, the breaking of the sod, the extended Irish-Scots family gathering for fiddling and songs, the desperately hard life of farming families, and he notes with sadness the particularly hard life of the women, whose slave-like labor didn't even get a break on Sunday, when everyone needed special clothes and a dish for a picnic. Garland was also unusual in that he had a burning desire to escape the farm and become a writer, first in Boston, then New York, and later Chicago. He moves into intellectual circles far removed from the primitive living conditions of the homesteaders, whose lives were literally handmade from house to clothes to food. But he realizes his voice best serves the farmers and he returns to farm country to becomes the voice of his people.
A Son of the Middle Border, originally published in 1917, is the autobiography of American author Hamlin Garland. Garland was a pioneering writer of American regional realism, and a precursor to socially conscious naturalist writers like Jack London, Frank Norris, and Theodore Dreiser. In this memoir, Garland relates the details of his upbringing on a series of farms in the Midwest and his early development as a writer. The "Middle Border" referred to in the title is more than just an alternate name for the American Midwest. As Garland uses the term, it signifies the ever-shifting boundary between the settled lands of populated America and the wild territories of the western frontier. Garland's father, Dick Garland, chases after this westbound frontier on a quest for the ever-elusive perfect piece of flat, treeless farmland. In the process, this American dreamer with an indomitable pioneer spirit drags his family along on a veritable odyssey through the farmlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota.
Garland begins his life story in 1864, when, as a small boy, he witnessed his father's return from the Civil War. His childhood remembrances of the family's Wisconsin farm reveal an idyllic vision of a happy rural youth in which young Hamlin is surrounded by his loving extended family. The pioneer dreams of the clan's menfolk soon lead, however, to a Midwestern diaspora, as the Garlands and their relatives scatter to farther fields. By the age of ten, young Hamlin is plowing his father's fields, and as he comes of age and becomes more involved in the farm work, his view of the rural life becomes less romanticized and more realistic. A Son of the Middle Border paints a wonderfully honest and unglamorized picture of farm life in late 19th-century America. Garland's writing, like a mixture of Frank Norris, Willa Cather, and Henry David Thoreau, captures a young man's love of the land and pride in honest toil, while refusing to shy away from the gritty harshness of a life of back-breaking toil and poverty.
When he reaches manhood, Garland tramps around the United States doing odd jobs and farm labor. He eventually ends up in Boston, where he begins to pursue a writing career. He sets himself the difficult task of applying his literary talents to the stories of the rural West, a topic which was virtually ignored by the East Coast-dominated literary world of his day. Unfortunately, the story of Hamlin Garland the writer is not as fascinating as that of Hamlin Garland the farm boy. Though there is some interesting insight into his intellectual development, much of this portion of the story reads like a list of lectures given, books read, and plays attended. His literary idols are William Dean Howells and Walt Whitman, with whom he forms friendships. Stephen Crane also makes an appearance. Other than that, the roll of names he drops will be mostly unfamiliar to anyone but a scholar of American literature at the end of the 19th century.
Ultimately, the second half of the book negates many of the fond memories of the first. Garland begins to see the rural life as a trap and farming as little more than a form of slavery. Much of the final chapters of the book focus on him caring for his aged and ailing parents. While the farm narrative of the first half will appeal to anyone with an interest in American history, the second half will appeal primarily to those who are most familiar with Garland's writings. I myself am a newcomer to his work, but I was impressed enough with this frank and touching memoir that I am looking forward to tackling some of his fiction in the near future.
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