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This Death by Drowning Revised Edition
Contributor(s): Kloefkorn, William (Author)
ISBN: 0803277997     ISBN-13: 9780803277991
Publisher: Bison Books
OUR PRICE:   $15.26  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: February 2001
Qty:
Annotation: The first volume in William Kloefkorn's four-part memoir which, when completed, will cover the four elements: water, fire, earth, and air."" "This Death by Drowning "is a memoir with a difference--an artfully assembled collection of reminiscences, each having something to do with water. The book's epigraph, from Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It," proclaims, "I am haunted by waters." So--and in most rewarding ways--is William Kloefkorn. The first chapter recalls the time when, at age six, the author "came within one gulp of drowning" in a Kansas cow-pasture pond, only to be saved by his father. A later chapter recounts Kloefkorn's younger brother's near death by drowning a few years later; still another envisions the cycle of drought and torrential rains on his grandparents' Kansas farm. There are fanciful memories of the Loup and other Nebraska rivers, interlaced with Mark Twain's renderings of the Mississippi and John Neihardt's poetic descriptions of the Missouri. And there are stories of more recent times--a winter spent in a cabin on the Platte River, and an often amusing Caribbean cruise that Kloefkorn took with his wife. Throughout, Kloefkorn takes his memories for a walk, following each recollection into unexpected, fruitful byways. Along the way he pauses at larger themes--of nature, death, family, and renewal--that gradually gather irresistible force and authority.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography
Dewey: B
LCCN: 96053543
Physical Information: 0.34" H x 5.25" W x 8" (0.38 lbs) 155 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Midwest
- Geographic Orientation - Nebraska
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
The first volume in William Kloefkorn's four-part memoir which, when completed, will cover the four elements: water, fire, earth, and air. This Death by Drowning is a memoir with a difference-an artfully assembled collection of reminiscences, each having something to do with water. The book's epigraph, from Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It, proclaims, "I am haunted by waters." So-and in most rewarding ways-is William Kloefkorn. The first chapter recalls the time when, at age six, the author "came within one gulp of drowning" in a Kansas cow-pasture pond, only to be saved by his father. A later chapter recounts Kloefkorn's younger brother's near death by drowning a few years later; still another envisions the cycle of drought and torrential rains on his grandparents' Kansas farm. There are fanciful memories of the Loup and other Nebraska rivers, interlaced with Mark Twain's renderings of the Mississippi and John Neihardt's poetic descriptions of the Missouri. And there are stories of more recent times-a winter spent in a cabin on the Platte River, and an often amusing Caribbean cruise that Kloefkorn took with his wife. William Kloefkorn (1932-2011) was an emeritus professor of English at Nebraska Wesleyan University and Nebraska's state poet. He is the author of many volumes of poetry, among them Burning the Hymnal; Going Out, Coming Back; and Swallowing the Soap, available in a Bison Books edition.