Contours: a Literary Landscape

by Driftless Writing Center (Editor)

Featuring fiction, poetry, nonfiction, artwork, and hybrid forms from sixty-four contributors, this anthology presents diverse and engaging work rooted in the Driftless Region.

340 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Pam Cipkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compilation of writings collected by the Driftless Writing Center in Viroqua, Wisconsin. The Driftless is the area in southwest Wisconsin, as well as parts of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota, that went untouched by the glaciers. This area is a unique landscape that is treasured by the people who live here, and this anthology reflects that spirit. As Daniel Wilson describes in "A Radical Action," "Small farms located in rough terrain have led to farmers thinking creatively and independently in order to make a living. Small towns surrounded by beauty and mysteries tend to be more hospitable to weird ideas and averse to big ones. Folks here are in love with this area, and loving the place where you live is a radical action worth taking." These writers relate how the land has touched them, changed them, become a part of their everyday lives. The stories, poetry, and artwork reflect farm life, rural experiences, and struggles to save the land from modern menaces such as frac sand mining. The selections are a mix of fiction and nonfiction. I've never really been a fan of short stories, but some of the fiction really captivated me, such as Mary Ellen Gallagher's "Learning to Float." The landscape of the Driftless is not always kind, as selections such as "Barn Elegiac" and "Valley Dweller" show, but these writers capture how the Driftless Region "is not just a landscape," as Paula Dail states in her selection, "Coming, Going, Never Leaving": "It's a place where the roots of life reach closest to the center of the earth, anchoring those who live here firmly to home." I savored every selection in this well-curated anthology. The talented writers of this region have managed to capture the elusive sense of place and beauty that describes this landscape that is little-known to many outside of the area. This collection deserves a coveted place on my bookshelf, next to other classic Wisconsin works such as Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac."