Prairie Schooner

Kwame Dawes and Marianne Kunkel are embarking on a goodwill tour across Nebraska, from public library to public library to connect people with the journal and to celebrate the value of the literary arts in the states. Along the way, they are blogging about their journey. This is Marianne’s sixth blog entry in the series after visiting Neligh and Battle Creek, Nebraska.

We ran into light snow on the drive from Lincoln to Neligh, Nebraska, a town of about 1,500 people. Sadly, it didn’t follow us all the way to Neligh Public Library, but other sights proved just as interesting: hints of green on a drought-stricken landscape and the red clay color of the highway that made us wonder, what makes the road that color?

Kwame Dawes and Marianne Kunkel are embarking on a goodwill tour across Nebraska, from public library to public library to connect people with the journal and to celebrate the value of the literary arts in the states. Along the way, they are blogging about their journey. This is Kwame’s fifth blog entry after his visit to Stromsburg, Nebraska.

Stromsburg, NE
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One of the good fortunes of reading at a library with a book club is that they will, if convinced, en mass to the reading, and they have already become a single organism with the instinct of humor or empathy as a well-shaped and practiced collective. This is what met us at the Stromsburg public library on the north eastern plains of Nebraska. As a result we had a great turnout and a lively and engaging audience.

This is the tenth in a series of blog posts by guest contributor Nabina Das, who writes about Indian books and authors.

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One of India’s most talked about writing residencies, Sangam House, is in full swing right now. Housed in Nrityagram (literally, the dance village), an Odissi training center 40 km from the “silicon valley” city of Bangalore, they say the red soil of the campus--which incidentally has also been used to plaster the walls of Sangam House’s residence--makes its imprint on clothes, flip flops, and even the soles of feet to remind you of the ambiance for a long time to follow. Nestled close to the village of Hesarghatta, Nrityagram was founded by Protima Bedi, the legendary danseuse. Sangam House moved in to the campus only recently after hosting fellows in and around Pondicherry.

Kwame Dawes and Marianne Kunkel are embarking on a goodwill tour across Nebraska, from public library to public library to connect people with the journal and to celebrate the value of the literary arts in the states. Along the way, they are blogging about their journey. This is Marianne’s fourth blog entry after her visit to Alliance, Nebraska.

From driving distance the Nebraska Sandhills appear fuzzy, like the furry side of Velcro. The dunes ripple alongside us, yellow mounds of short, fine grasses that look like the crewcut on a blond boy's head. Imagine this landscape as a backdrop for Carhenge, a replica of England's Stonehenge formed by vintage cars and trucks, and you have Alliance, Nebraska, where grass and metal meet.