Bob's Corner
From our weekly issue dated August 12, 2009
With his book, Population: 485 (Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time), rural Wisconsin resident and author Michael Perry not only touches what some call Small Town America, he also grabs it, squeezes it and strokes its essence.
In so doing, this volunteer firefighter/medic brings bittersweet humor and insightful perspectives to life as it is. His carefully chosen words depict reality tenderly, often bringing a poetic aspect. But his writing also shows the sometimes bleakness of the human experience.
He is a fine writer.
As a longtime newspaperman and writer myself, I thoroughly admire Perry’s work. What he has accomplished is obviously a labor of love. He can come across as a bit gruff, but he also shows his tender side. Again, he deals with reality, sometimes with a bright and glaring spotlight; sometimes with a softer tone. But he always shines.
Truthfully, I envy authors who write books about their experiences. In my case, my “book” consists of more than 45 years of newspaper hard news stories and features, photos, humor columns and the like. Writing is hard work. It requires discipline. I have enough for newspapering; probably will try my “luck” at authoring a book one of these fine days. Maybe.
But more about Perry, whose other written works are Truck: A Love Story; Off Main Street; Big Rigs, Elvis & the Grand Dragon Wayne; plus Why They Killed Big Boy ... and Other Stories. And he has out two CDs: Never Stand Behind a Sneezing Cow, and I Got It from the Cows.
I’m recommending Population: 485 as a wonderful “read.” Would that I buckle down in my geezerhood and try my own hand (or hands) at such efforts. Perry’s work has received the so-called critical acclaim (reviewers like his stuff), and here’s part of what Michael Korda wrote:
“His book is often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but always full of life, characters, and the tangled web of small-town history, daily drama, and strain of occasional weirdness that make country living such a challenge and an adventure. He has written a joy of a book, as gnarly, stubborn, courageous, and full of eccentricity in all its forms as country life itself.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Advertisement:
