Home Again - 9780871951984

Famed Indiana writer and wit George Ade once observed that a Hoosier seemed often to be a “puzzling combination of shy provincial, unfettered democrat and Fourth of July orator,” as well as being a storyteller by reason of being born in the state.What it means today to make a home in the nineteenth state is examined in the IHS Press's collection Home Again: Essays and Memoirs from Indiana. Editors Tom Watson and Jim McGarrah have brought together some of the state's finest writers to reflect on such themes as family, security, and, as the editors noted, “quests for a better life, a life rooted in Indiana.” The book includes essays from such well-known Hoosier literary figures as Kurt Vonnegut, Scott Russell Sanders, Susan Neville, Michael Martone, and David Hoppe. The many different meanings of “home” are examined in the book, including Alyce Miller discussing her attempts to become a Hoosier after having moved to Indiana from California, and Michele Gondi finding a place in the community of Mount Vernon after moving from her native Argentina.The tone of the essays collected in Home Again range from the pastoral to humorous and explore such subjects as the Amish, hardware stores, lakes, unlocked doors, urban sprawl, and more.Essays by: Pat Aakhus, Leisa Belleau, Ed Breen, Melanie Culbertson, Les Edgerton, Rick Farrant, Michele Gondi, Bill Hemminger, David Hoppe, Terry Kirts, Michael Martone, Jim McGarrah, Margaret McMullan, Susan Troy Meyer, Alyce Miller, Deborah Zarka Miller, Susan Neville, Scott Saalman, Scott Russell Sanders, Phil Schlemmer, Kurt Vonnegut, and Tom Watson.