Reading the Signs and Other Itinerant Essays - Softcover

Benz, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1736494627 ISBN 13: 9781736494622

Verlag: Etruscan Press, 2022

Inhaltsangabe

These essays travel near andfar to explore landscapes of personal and cultural significance and thecommunities that inhabit them.

 

At a time when wereexamine how policies of yesteryear shape equities in the present,award-winning writer Stephen Benz challenges readers to delve beyondwhitewashed versions of history and reassess our treatment of native people andthe environment with fresh, critical eyes. From westward expansion and ManifestDestiny to the Cold War and the Global War on Terror, Reading the Signsprods myths and provides missing context around events touched by the Americanimpulse to grab land and harvest resources—both within and beyond our shores.These essays challenge us to search for missing layers of truth and decidewhich versions of history should prevail.

 

With a wanderingspirit and an inquisitive mind, Benz ventures around town, across country, andoverseas in search of forgotten, overlooked, or misunderstood stories. Fromrock concerts and courthouses to farm towns, battlegrounds, historical sites,and quirky museums, these “itinerant essays” revel in discovering “new wondersevery mile.”

 

Along with Topographies (Etruscan Press) and two books oftravel essays—Guatemalan Journey (University of Texas Press) and GreenDreams: Travels in Central America (Lonely Planet)—Stephen Benz haspublished essays in Creative Nonfiction, River Teeth, TriQuarterly, NewEngland Review, and other journals. Three of his essays have been selectedfor Best American Travel Writing (2003, 2015, 2019). His poems haveappeared in journals such as Nimrod, Shenandoah, and Confrontationas well as in a full-length collection, Americana Motel, published byMain Street Rag Press. Benz now teaches professional writing at the Universityof New Mexico.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Along with two books of travel essays—Guatemalan Journey (University of Texas Press) and Green Dreams: Travels in Central America (Lonely Planet)—Stephen Benz has published essays in Creative Nonfiction, River Teeth, TriQuarterly, New England Review, and other journals. Three of his essays have been selected for Best American Travel Writing (2003, 2015, 2019). His poems have appeared in journals such as Nimrod, Shenandoah, and Confrontation as well as in a full-length collection, Americana Motel, published by Main Street Rag Press. Topographies, a collection of essays, appeared in 2019 from Etruscan Press. Formerly a writer for Tropic, the Sunday magazine of the Miami Herald, Benz now teaches professional writing at the University of New Mexico.

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En Route: Elko, Nevada A late-night arrival in Elko, Nevada, means no vacancy except in cheap dives like the Louis Motel on the far west end of town. At night, Elko seems rather joyless, even though the billboards on the approach to town promise good times in the form of casinos, brothels, and bars. The point is underscored by a song playing in the Horseshoe Club: “You’re supposed to be feeling good ...”. But in the town’s joyspots, there’s no evidence of good feelings, not on this night. Tonight, Elko is ground zero in a vast dislocated landscape, the place Emerson called “unapproachable America.” The bars are hazy and rank, with a lineup of men drinking hard and quick, their loud talk lapsing into expressions of resignation: Yeah, but what you gonna do? That’s the way it always goes. Same old, same old. Around the corner, a gun shop sells “tactical survival” supplies. Just down the street, neon signs flicker in the desert night: the town’s three brothels all in a row. Ghostlike in the glow, patrons pass in and out of a shabby door with squealing hinges. In the casinos, people play fast, pumping in money, mesmerized by slot machines or the numbers flashing on the keno board. Everybody’s drinking. The historical marker in Railroad Park says Elko’s always been a “rough, drinking, cowboy town.” In the light of day, Elko tries to strike an upbeat note. After all, it’s the home of LeeAnne’s Floral Design, Haley’s Fine Gifts, the Cowboy Gear and Arts Museum, and a storefront Wedding Chapel. And there’s a bargain breakfast on offer in the coffee shop of the Commercial Casino: two eggs any style, toast, and your choice of sausage or bacon. A cup of coffee and things look a little brighter.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Etruscan Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1736494627
• ISBN 13: 9781736494622
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 371
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar