Books

O Pioneers!, the first book in Willa Cather’s Great Plains Trilogy, unfolds along the crags and ridges of  rough terrain that is harsh to all those who dwell here. Set in the still uncultivated Nebraska Prairie, the story is told through the lens of young Swedish-American woman Alexandra Bergson who has an uncanny head for business and an even stronger knack for spotting fertile land.

The young poet corresponds with the master writer Rainer Maria Rilke to get advice; he wants Rilke to comment upon his work.  Instead of critiquing the young poet’s work, Rilke dodges his request. Write what you know, he tells the young poet.