House Of Fields: Memories Of A Rural Education (great Lakes Books Series)
by Anne-Marie Oomen /
2006 / English / PDF
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Anne-Marie Oomen uses a wealth of vivid language and personal
details to bring scenes from her childhood on a family farm to
life in House of Fields. Yet the focus of this book shifts away
from the daily activities of the farm, which Oomen presented in
Pulling Down the Barn, to life outside its boundaries, as she
explores the complex meaning of "education" in all of its rural
forms. From reading lessons to shattered windows, from dynamite
to first kisses, from lost underwear to confirmation names, these
stories depict the spiritual and emotional journey of being
educated by family, fields, and church-as well as by traditional
schools.
Anne-Marie Oomen uses a wealth of vivid language and personal
details to bring scenes from her childhood on a family farm to
life in House of Fields. Yet the focus of this book shifts away
from the daily activities of the farm, which Oomen presented in
Pulling Down the Barn, to life outside its boundaries, as she
explores the complex meaning of "education" in all of its rural
forms. From reading lessons to shattered windows, from dynamite
to first kisses, from lost underwear to confirmation names, these
stories depict the spiritual and emotional journey of being
educated by family, fields, and church-as well as by traditional
schools.
Oomen's description of the farmhouse where she grew up becomes
the central image for this collection of essays. This once-grand
home, filled with memories and the physical wear of family life,
is the soul of her family's farm, and its sense of nurturing and
protection is reflected in the author's relationships to her
mother, her teachers, and her mentors. Within this context, Oomen
examines memories from her formal education, which began during
the final years of the one-room school era then shifted to the
"consolidated" schools of the late 1950s and 1960s and to a
parochial school system. Struggles with reading, first
friendships, early loves, and contradictory educational models
are coupled with the challenges of coming of age and the ups and
downs of an emotional education between mother and daughter. Fans
and teachers of creative nonfiction, as well as anyone with roots
in a rural community, will enjoy this lyrical and revealing
volume.
Oomen's description of the farmhouse where she grew up becomes
the central image for this collection of essays. This once-grand
home, filled with memories and the physical wear of family life,
is the soul of her family's farm, and its sense of nurturing and
protection is reflected in the author's relationships to her
mother, her teachers, and her mentors. Within this context, Oomen
examines memories from her formal education, which began during
the final years of the one-room school era then shifted to the
"consolidated" schools of the late 1950s and 1960s and to a
parochial school system. Struggles with reading, first
friendships, early loves, and contradictory educational models
are coupled with the challenges of coming of age and the ups and
downs of an emotional education between mother and daughter. Fans
and teachers of creative nonfiction, as well as anyone with roots
in a rural community, will enjoy this lyrical and revealing
volume.
