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Bill Meissner

Goodreads Author

Born

SIOUX city, Iowa

Website

https://www.facebook.com/wjmeissner

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Bill Meissner

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry, Historical Fiction

Influences

joseph heller, tim o'brien, kurt vonnegut, jr, judith guest, john updi ...more

Member Since

September 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/bill21

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Writer and teacher Bill Meissner is the author of 12 books. Meissner's recent novel, THE WONDERS OF THE LITTLE WORLD, is a delightful story that features a fortune-telling woman in a suffocating carnival who, with her precocious 11-year-old daughter, embarks on a search for her missing husband, a tightrope walker. THE WONDERS OF THE LITTLE WORLD will entertain the reader like a free-wheeling thrill ride at the carnival that leads straight to the heart. The novel is part road trip, part love story, and, ultimately, an illumination of a family yearning to heal itself. The novel was published Jan./Feb. 2024 from Stephen F. Austin State University Press/Texas A & M. University Press

His previous novel, SUMMER OF RAIN, SUMMER OF FIRE, was publis Writer and teacher Bill Meissner is the author of 12 books. Meissner's recent novel, THE WONDERS OF THE LITTLE WORLD, is a delightful story that features a fortune-telling woman in a suffocating carnival who, with her precocious 11-year-old daughter, embarks on a search for her missing husband, a tightrope walker. THE WONDERS OF THE LITTLE WORLD will entertain the reader like a free-wheeling thrill ride at the carnival that leads straight to the heart. The novel is part road trip, part love story, and, ultimately, an illumination of a family yearning to heal itself. The novel was published Jan./Feb. 2024 from Stephen F. Austin State University Press/Texas A & M. University Press

His previous novel, SUMMER OF RAIN, SUMMER OF FIRE, was published in 2022. It's a family drama/love story set during the turbulent late-1960s Vietnam era. The characters--who find themselves in conflict with themselves and society--include Karl, a dominant pro-war father, Phil, a passive 18-year-old son who falls in love with Mariah, a rebellious young woman, and Frances, a mother coping with her role as a subservient 1960s housewife.
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His first novel is SPIRITS IN THE GRASS, (U of Notre Dame Press), the story of a small-town ballplayer who discovers the remains of a Native American burial ground on a baseball field. The novel was awarded The Midwest Book Award.

His most recent short story collection is LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE FIELD, and his book of baseball photographs and prose is CIRCLING TOWARD HOME: GRASSROOTS BASEBALL PROSE, MEDITATIONS, AND IMAGERY.
His most recent poetry books are THE MAPMAKER'S DREAM (Finishing Line Press) and AMERICAN COMPASS [Univ. of Notre Dame Press].
Meissner grew up in Iowa and Wisconsin and was the Director of Creative Writing at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. He acts as a writing coach & presents creative writing workshops in schools, colleges, and in the community. He occasionally appears at public events and types poems on demand on one of his vintage typewriters.

The UND Press and Stephen F. Austin State U. Press recommend SUMMER OF RAIN, SUMMER OF FIRE, SPIRITS IN THE GRASS, and THE WONDERS OF THE LITTLE WORLD as excellent titles for book clubs, reading groups, and classroom use. ...more

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Average rating: 3.9 · 108 ratings · 21 reviews · 13 distinct works • Similar authors

	Spirits in the Grass 3.63 avg rating — 52 ratings — published 2008 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Summer of Rain, Summer of Fire 4.31 avg rating — 13 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Road to Cosmos: The Faces of An American Town 4.22 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wonders of the Little World 3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	American Compass 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2004 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sleepwalker's Son 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1987 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mapmaker's Dream it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2019	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE FIELD it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	THE MAPMAKER'S DREAM really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Circling Toward Home: Grassroots Baseball Prose, Meditations, and Images 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Bill Meissner (?)

“Sometimes when Estelle looked into her crystal ball, she might envision tears or a smile. She might hear laughter, or the song of a bird, or the voice of silence. The world: ugly or beautiful, was there, and it spoke to her, through her. Most times, she was convinced that she didn’t see the world; maybe it was the world that saw her.”
― Bill Meissner, The Wonders of the Little World

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message 1: by Bill

Oct 14, 2008 09:56AM

Jody...thanks so much for the comment. It means a lot to me. I hope you'll find something you like in the book, too, and pass the word on to your writing group[s:].
Have been busy here w/ teaching & writing events. Hope all's well with you....
Bill

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