The Elk in the Glade

Literature & Fiction

synopsis

Synopsis

"Bruce E. Whitacre's collection, The Elk in the Glade, is a lovely and loving celebration of his remarkable great grandmother, Jennie Hicks's, life and art, and an inspiring example of how a woman's artistic discipline gave her the courage and insight to transcend the hardships of the Nebraska frontier." Ladette Randolph, Editor in Chief, Ploughshares

Based on personal memories and family oral history, Whitacre’s debut collection of sixteen poems traces the life and legacy of a family matriarch, his paternal great-grandmother, Jennie Hicks. The daughter of American pioneers, she marries a successful farmer, bearing him three girls, seeing them all married, only to outlive him and the farm. Once again alone and facing hardship, she transforms an almost forgotten hobby, her young girl dream, into a brilliant thirty-year career as a successful landscape painter, the future pride of her hometown, Farnam, Nebraska, and an important figure in American art. Lovers of American history, art, and strong female characters will enjoy these chronicles in verse.

bio

Author Biography

Bruce E. Whitacre is the author of The Elk in the Glade: The World of Pioneer and Painter Jennie Hicks, which was a BookLife Editors Pick, and won 2nd Place in Contemporary Poetry from The BookFest 2023. His poems appear in such anthologies I Wanna Be Loved by You: Poems on Marilyn Monroe, The Wonders of Winter, Castles and Courtyards, and the craft book, The Strategic Poet, as well as numerous journals and magazines. His book, Good Housekeeping, will be published by Poets Wear Prada in 2024. More at www.brucewhitacre.com

website

Author Insight

Giving Thanks

The show of Jennie's paintings at the Dawson County Historical Society Museum in Lexington, Nebraska ends August 31. It's so sad to see it go, but thanks to the team there, Jennie's paintings have touched many lives, again. Thanks to the generosity of readers in Nebraska and across the country, we were able to contribute $500 to the Eustis-Farnam Public School art programs. Jennie had to go to Cleveland, Ohio to get her training. Arts are such an important life skill, and I deeply appreciate the readers who are helping bring the arts alive in rural Nebraska.

Book Excerpt

The Elk in the Glade

Special thanks to Crystal Werger and Cheri Bergman at the Dawson County Historical Society Museum, to Thomas Reese Gallagher and his colleagues at the Museum of Nebraska Art, Nicole Herden and Karissa Johnson, for their interest in Jennie’s paintings.

Thanks to Lynn McGee for urging me to take on Jennie’s story and for reading various drafts. Thanks to Brady Kelso for a very helpful early read of the manuscript. I am grateful to Roxanne Hoffman of Poets Wear Prada for publishing “Christmas Oranges” and for her support and advice in putting this book together. Thanks to Ladette Randolph and Patty Scarborough for their support. And thanks to all the poets who have taught and advised me and workshopped my poems over the years.

Portions of the proceeds of this book support arts education in rural Nebraska.

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Bruce E Whitacre

The Elk in the Glade

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Giving Thanks

Book Excerpt

The Elk in the Glade

Comment on this Bubble