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small town 8

The Overlooked Lens of Multigenerational Communities

For many Americans, especially those on the coasts, in cities, and with advanced educations, life has improved in recent decades. Meanwhile, in many rural and interior parts of the country,…

Canadian Story Cycles: A Conversation with author John Van Rys

Van Rys hopes readers are shaped by his tales of domestic comedy to see that love for the long haul, difficult as it is, is not only possible but greatly…
December 20, 2021

Living In the Myth: A Review of Jason Stacy’s Spoon River America

Benjamin Myers reviews Spoon River America: Edgar Lee Masters and the Myth of the American Small Town by Jason Stacy. Stacey explores the changing and contested myth of the midwestern…

It’s a Wonderful Film

It wasn’t enough for George to stay in Bedford Falls and do the right thing; he needed to choose which values to embrace and which to reject.
December 23, 2019

Life in the Kolache Belt: Reflections from the Intersection of Food, Faith, Farming, and Fracking

In some ways, the little farming community of Hallettsville where I have spent a writing sabbatical still resides in a simpler time. Czechs and Germans came in the 1800s and…
John Murdock
September 23, 2014

DON’T SHOOT THAT MOCKINGBIRD!

Besides, the harshest criticisms of any place come from those who truly love and belong to it.
May 28, 2010

After the Econolypse

Hamilton, Ontario. When remembering a family-owned grocery store in rural Virginia, a first image comes to mind, even though I did not actually witness it. This is my boss, a…

Sewers and Leashes: A Local Story

Hillsdale, MI. This is a true story.  It happened once upon a time in a place I do not now live. After an arduous campaign I was elected to the…