What Kansas Means to Me: Twentieth-Century Writers on the Sunflower State

by Thomas Fox Averill (Editor)

"To understand why people say 'Dear old Kansas!" is to understand that Kansas is no mere geographical expression, but a 'state of mind,' a religion, and a philosophy in one," writes historian Carl Becker in the classic 1910 essay that leads off this volume. Like Becker, the twelve other essayists and four poets try to map the spiritual topography of Kansas and explain why this particular patch of prairie is so dear. They share the conviction that Kansas represents something powerful, something significant, something noteworthy.

The seventeen selections are put into perspective by Thomas Fox Averill's headnotes and introductory essay, which makes its own contribution to our understanding of Kansas. The essays and poems (all previously published except for the last essay) are arranged chronologically, from the earliest (1910) to the most recent (1990).

Illustrated with woodcuts from the Prairie Print-makers.

Genres: History

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1990

About the author

An O. Henry Award story writer, Thomas Fox Averill is Writer-in-Residence at Washburn University of Topeka, KS. His novel, rode, published by the University of New Mexico Press, was named Outstanding Western Novel of 2011 as part of the Western Heritage Awards. His recent work, "Garden Plots," consists of poems, meditations, and short-short stories about gardens, gardeners, garden design, plants, and the human relationship to nature. They can be found on his website. His most recent novel is A Carol Dickens Christmas, published by the University of New Mexico Press in 2014.

Previous novels are Secrets of the Tsil Café, and The Slow Air of Ewan MacPherson. His story collections are Ordinary Genius (University of Nebraska Press) and Seeing Mona Naked (Watermark Books).

Reviews

[Joanne G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm adding an extra star because of the wonderful illustrations in the book by some of my favorite Prairie Print Makers. Beyond those, this book is a thin collection of a few essays, some written nearly a century ago. I would have loved to have had more recent writings included.

The book isn't a look at Kansas by moonlight and star-spangled skies where small flaws are hidden and large ones softened. It's a full-on stare at her in the glare of the midday sun and noticing she has crow's feet around her eyes and deeply etched laugh lines in her cheeks.

I love Kansas, and I would have enjoyed reading a collection of love letters to her. In typical Kansas fashion, however, the love letters are balanced with critiques.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am from Southern Calif. so you can imagine my shock when I moved to Kansas where I first felt I was living on a strange planet. I would have liked this book to be a more updated but I did enjoy it. We have seen so many historic things here, and we do not have concrete cities in between cities here. We have land and farming and animals and old time charm.

[Zade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't imagine this book would appeal to non-Kansans, but for those with a connection to the state, I highly recommend it. The essays (and a few poems) in this book were written across most of the twentieth century, the earliest in 1910, the latest in 1989, and reflect the changing character and ethos of the state.

As in most collections, different pieces will resonate with different readers. I greatly enjoyed the more recent pieces from artistically inclined minds, yet I learned the most from the earlier writers. Even having lived most of my life here, my knowledge of Kansas history was decidedly lacking and deeply colored by the part of the state in which I was educated. The real history is much more complex and nuanced; I am pleased to have learned a bit and encouraged to learn more.

I don't know if the strong identification with Kansas felt by these authors has survived into the twenty-first century. So much of what made Kansas itself has been overwritten by the hegemonic American culture transmitted through national media. Is a Kansan still identifiably different to a Nebraskan or Oklahoman (other than by the school mascot sticker on their car)? If there is still a Kansan character, it seems as though Kansans have retained the flaws of their ancestors without cultivating their merits and have, furthermore, followed the general trend of allowing the schism between rural and urban to widen.

I wish there were a more recent iteration of this volume, one that included the last thirty years. But I also wonder if such a volume is possible. Perhaps if it were written by people like myself, old enough to have been raised with a sense of Kansas as something more than a place from which one escapes. I see far less of this sense of place in younger people. That's not bad or good, just the way things are. It does make me grateful for writers like Becky Mandelbaum, who defies this generalization of mine. Perhaps there are more like her and a contemporary version of this volume will one day appear. A girl can wish.

[Jim Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are about half a dozen cliches about Kansas that most Americans hold in their imagination: Its landscape is boring, its people conservative, its origin is bloody, and it is now a place that people "fly over". Oh yea, and it's where The Wizard of Oz starts. No one from Kansas ever wants to hear the line "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." It provides the cheapest of laughs. For those of us who have lived there, Kansas is a mass of contradictions: Puritanical but surprisingly progressive, beautiful in places, but unendingly dull in others. It has one of the most fascinating histories and yet it seems nothing important has happened there since Brown vs. The Board of Education. The people there have a hard-scrabble stoicism that I identify with and I sometimes long for in my West Coast bubble. One author called the original white settlers "Optimistic Fatalists"--A perfect description of some of my ancestors. I enjoyed this collection (although at times it got repetitious) and it made me think in new ways about my old state.

[David Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all collections of essays, poems, and other material there is the wheat and there is the chaff. Most of the essays focus upon the psychology of what it means to be a Kansan or what the state is about. At times many sound the same...it's hell, but it's nowhere that I'd rather be. But they are an interesting journey into the self-identification of Kansas through the 20th century, and many of the essays are just as relevant now in defining the state's ethos as they were when they were written.

[Macy Davis]

I started reading this over the summer, and had to mark it as DNF just to clear up my Goodreads shelf a little as I get into the heavy reading portion of the semester. I plan on revisiting this over Christmas break, because I really did enjoy what I read, I just need to revisit it later.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a Kansan and I love Kansas, but I had a hard time with this book. Some of the essays extolling Kansas' greatness were quite good, while others just did not click with me and I had a hard time getting through them.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great essays & poetry from Kansas writers on Kansas - William Allen White to Milton Eisenhower - wonderful insights from literary minds!

[Cws]

K-978.1Ave

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not what I expected. I'm Kansan & love being from Kansas, but I didn't enjoy this book.