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Sto caricando le informazioni... House of Fields: Memories of a Rural Education (Great Lakes Books)di Anne-Marie Oomen
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Anne-Marie Oomen uses a wealth of vivid language and personal details to bring scenes from her childhood on a family farm to life in ""House of Fields"". Yet, the focus of this book shifts away from the daily activities of the farm, which Oomen presented in ""Pulling Down the Barn"", to life outside its boundaries, as she explores the complex meaning of ""education"" in all of its rural forms. From reading lessons to shattered windows, from dynamite to first kisses, from lost underwear to confirmation names, these stories depict the spiritual and emotional journey of being educated by family, fields, and church - as well as by traditional schools. Oomen's description of the farmhouse where she grew up becomes the central image for this collection of essays. This once-grand home, filled with memories and the physical wear of family life, is the soul of her family's farm, and its sense of nurturing and protection is reflected in the author's relationships to her mother, her teachers, and her mentors. Within this context, Oomen examines memories from her formal education, which began during the final years of the one-room school era then shifted to the ""consolidated"" schools of the late 1950s and 1960s and to a parochial school system. Struggles with reading, first friendships, early loves, and contradictory educational models are coupled with the challenges of coming of age and the ups and downs of an emotional education between mother and daughter. Fans and teachers of creative nonfiction, as well as anyone with roots in a rural community, will enjoy this lyrical and revealing volume. Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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 Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni...GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)977.4History and Geography North America Midwestern U.S. MichiganClassificazione LCVotoMedia: (4.5)
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1
I've had this book on my shelf for several years now, and read it with great enjoyment when it was new, back in 2006. Having just read and - and liked - Oomen's book of poems from that same year, UNCODED WOMAN, I thought I would revisit this elegant collection of memories from her childhood on a west Michigan farm near Hart. I found it every bit as delightful this time through as the first time, perhaps even more so, having now met the author a few times at readings and book signings.
In HOUSE OF FIELDS, Oomen takes us on a journey through her elementary school years, which began with kindergarten in the one-room Kelly School just down the road from her family farm. It was to be the last year for that school, and many others like it, as rural school districts began to "consolidate." She spent a few years in a new consolidated public school, then went on to a Catholic school taught by Dominican nuns.
Although Oomen builds her memories around her early educational experience, there is also much here about her parents - hard-working Catholics struggling to do the best they can to raise five kids. (Anne-Marie is the oldest.) And her own interior life is front and center as she tries to figure out how the world works, has problems initially learning to read (which finally "clicks" in the third grade, when she suddenly becomes a "reader"), witnesses the sadness and mystery of deaths among her family and friends, and wonders why she often feels "alone" - until she figures out that maybe this is normal.
An extremely curious child, she struggles with "being good," and tells of childhood injuries and scars - two physical and one emotional and more traumatic, this last described in an essay called "Harm," which is perhaps the most moving piece in the whole book.
Bottom line? I loved this book. The gender difference was no obstacle. Having grown up next door to my grandparents' farm, and having gone to a one-room school, then Catholic school, I could relate. But what makes this book so enjoyable is that it is simply beautiful writing, chock full of wonder, wit and wisdom. Very highly recommended to anyone who loves books and good writing. (