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Plains Folk #1
Plains Folk: A Commonplace of the Great Plains
Since 1983 Jim Hoy and Tom Isern have authored the weekly feature, Plains Folk, devoted to history, folklore, and life on the Great Plains of North America. Plains Folk: A Commonplace of the Great Plains is the first anthology of essays drawn from the weekly distribution.
- GenresHistory
200 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1987
1 person is currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Jim Hoy
19 books2 followersJames F. (Jim) Hoy is Professor of English at Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas. Reared on a stock ranch near Cassoday, he has lived in the Flint Hills area all his life, except for graduate school in Missouri and a teaching stint in Idaho.
Hoy holds a B.S. degree (1961) from Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS; an M.A. (1965) from Emporia State University; and a Ph.D. (1970) from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After a couple of years of itinerancy following undergraduate school, he taught two years at El Dorado (Kansas) Junior High (1963-65) before moving into college teaching. He served as Chair of English at ESU for ten years, returning happily to the ranks of full-time teaching and research in 1990.
Hoy's academic interests include medieval English literature, Western American literature, Australian Outback folklife and literature, and Great Plains folklore. He has published over a hundred articles, both scholarly and journalistic, and is the author or co-author of nine books, including FLINT HILLS COWBOYS: TALES OF THE TALLGRASS PRAIRIE, published by the University Press of Kansas.
His chief interest is the folklife of ranching, both historical and contemporary, in various parts of the world, with special emphasis on the Great Plains and particularly the Flint Hills of Kansas. He explores this interest in frequent lectures and programs for school, community, and professional groups throughout the region. Since 1983 he has written (with Tom Isern) a weekly newspaper column, PLAINS FOLK. In 1996 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, serving as Chair for the last two years of his term (2001-2002).
Hoy's research has taken him onto the backroads of the American West, the tracks of the Australian bush, and the lanes of the English countryside, seeking, among other things, to discover cattle guards, hay barracks, folk songs, and old-timers willing to talk about the way things were.
As a folklorist and a native plainsman, Hoy is committed to documenting and celebrating the lives of his fellow plains folk, seeking out the extraordinary in the ordinary while encouraging pride of region in those fortunate few who dwell in the Great Plains and understanding of region in those who must live elsewhere.
Jim died February 23, 2025.
AKA: James F. Hoy
Hoy holds a B.S. degree (1961) from Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS; an M.A. (1965) from Emporia State University; and a Ph.D. (1970) from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After a couple of years of itinerancy following undergraduate school, he taught two years at El Dorado (Kansas) Junior High (1963-65) before moving into college teaching. He served as Chair of English at ESU for ten years, returning happily to the ranks of full-time teaching and research in 1990.
Hoy's academic interests include medieval English literature, Western American literature, Australian Outback folklife and literature, and Great Plains folklore. He has published over a hundred articles, both scholarly and journalistic, and is the author or co-author of nine books, including FLINT HILLS COWBOYS: TALES OF THE TALLGRASS PRAIRIE, published by the University Press of Kansas.
His chief interest is the folklife of ranching, both historical and contemporary, in various parts of the world, with special emphasis on the Great Plains and particularly the Flint Hills of Kansas. He explores this interest in frequent lectures and programs for school, community, and professional groups throughout the region. Since 1983 he has written (with Tom Isern) a weekly newspaper column, PLAINS FOLK. In 1996 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, serving as Chair for the last two years of his term (2001-2002).
Hoy's research has taken him onto the backroads of the American West, the tracks of the Australian bush, and the lanes of the English countryside, seeking, among other things, to discover cattle guards, hay barracks, folk songs, and old-timers willing to talk about the way things were.
As a folklorist and a native plainsman, Hoy is committed to documenting and celebrating the lives of his fellow plains folk, seeking out the extraordinary in the ordinary while encouraging pride of region in those fortunate few who dwell in the Great Plains and understanding of region in those who must live elsewhere.
Jim died February 23, 2025.
AKA: James F. Hoy
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 19, 2023
The Great Plains states have been my home my entire life. History was my undergrad major. And I have met and talked to Jim Hoy and Tom Isern over the years. (I reared my children mostly in Tom's hometown and I earlier attended Emporia State for two degrees). All these factors add to my desire to read this book.
But, most of all, the book should make denizens of the Great Plains of the U.S. and Canada feel seen. Instead of being called "flyover" states/provinces, etc., many of the essays here express how much seeing a distant horizon and a seemingly endless sky are "home" and "comfort" for many of us. I love vacationing/camping in the mountains, but returning home to the wide open spaces is always a treat.
I believe readers from other areas would also enjoy many of these essays, too. Many today are not aware of how many of our ancestors lived, where food actually comes from, or what certain nostalgic phrases and customs originated in our culture.
Plains Folks II will now go on TBR.
But, most of all, the book should make denizens of the Great Plains of the U.S. and Canada feel seen. Instead of being called "flyover" states/provinces, etc., many of the essays here express how much seeing a distant horizon and a seemingly endless sky are "home" and "comfort" for many of us. I love vacationing/camping in the mountains, but returning home to the wide open spaces is always a treat.
I believe readers from other areas would also enjoy many of these essays, too. Many today are not aware of how many of our ancestors lived, where food actually comes from, or what certain nostalgic phrases and customs originated in our culture.
Plains Folks II will now go on TBR.
Displaying 1 of 1 review