Spoon River Anthology

My Great Books book club discussed Edgar Lee Masters' “Spoon River Anthology” at our 04/27/18 discussion and are looking forward to a serendipitous live performance of said “Anthology” at another library tomorrow.

Set in the small, fictional town of Spoon River, the “Anthology” wends its way through a hillside cemetary, which each of its over 240 inhabitants bending our ear in free verse. Spoon River is based on the poet's childhood homes of the idyllized Petersburg, IL (the first Illinois town Abraham lincoln made his home) and the less satisfactory Lewistown, IL (where you can visit Oak Hill and the graves of many of the real-life inspirations of the “Anthology's” ghostly voices).

This selection is our poetry month read. At first, I was a little daunted to read what appeared to be a lengthy set of poems; in high school, I was particularly into poetry, but have since let my attention fade. However, we try to read some poetry each year either as a standalone or a companion to another reading selection to keep our chops up. After getting past just a few poems, I found the free verse to be the perfect vehicle to travel around Spoon River. Masters originally intended to write Spoon River as a novel, but using epigrams to bring the hillside to life is far more effective. Different voices and personalities come out in a handful of lines in a way they wouldn't in prose; we can also hear directly from each person by being in their head. Could we have hear what Benjamin and Mrs. Pantier (on neighboring pages) thought of the other in quite the same way?

The “Anthology” also fits nicely into Illinois' 2018 Bicentennial. I asked the group if (see question 8 below) the “Anthology” felt particularly Illioinoisian and I got back that it seemed as though it could have taken place anwhere between western Pennsylvania and Iowa and that it seemed quite Midwestern, whereas another lady thought it seemed universal. If we ignore the Herndon and Anne Rutledge tie-ins to President Lincoln (Illinois is still “The Land of Lincoln” on our license plates), what comes through is an interconnected web of small-town people. Both towns ranged from 2,000 to closer to 3,000 during Masters' lifetime. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Central/Western Illinois still retained some of its earlier, and much wilder, character, but also carried the Lincoln mantle and Chicago's upstate honors and that comes through. Another book club member said that friends of hers read the “Anthology” aloud together and do feel that the book is very much of the that area of Illinois, which I hope to visit soon.

What also comes through is the dichotomy of peace and violence, country and city, North and South; something the author felt came from both parents and ran through the area. Different cemetary inhabitants are refined while others are drunken, some are evangelists and others murderers. As you read one poem, another person is referenced, and you can skip to that person and hear their side of the story.

“Spoon River” was banned for years in Menard and Fulton counties; in fact, the author's mother, a local librarian, voted to ban her own son's book. As you read the poems, many named directly or indirectly, after real people and referencing real events, it is no wonder the book was banned. I kept thinking how scandalous it must have been to read that an upstanding townsman and his wife were estranged because he was a drunk. It is no surprise that Masters had an in; his father was a local lawyer and his grandfaher a minister and both likely heard every local tale.

Masters was influenced by Shelly, Goethe, Drieser, and especially Spinoza. The introduction to my version by the University of Illinois explained Spinoza's influence as follows: we think of ourselves as the whole, as opposed to understanding that we are a piece of the whole. And that theme runs through “Spoon River.” The most unhappy people are those that don't feel connected to others or to nature and who haven't accepted that their own behavior created their end.

A few of my favorites were 107 (Benjamin Fraser), 116 (Hare Drummer), 117 (Conrad Siever), and 198 (Ernest Hyde), yet so many are interesting.

Unfortunately, the “Anthology” ends with a strange “Epilogue,” not in the style of the rest of the collection. It was an addition to the 1916 re-release and feels hamfisted; the “Spooniad,” in my opinion, works much better as a capstone. The Epilogue is basically trying too hard with ridiculous classical allusions. And that is what loses a star for me. But, it is a work I hope many people pick up this work that can be enjoyed whether you hail from the Prairie State or not.

Here are the questions that another book club member shared for today's discussion, with a few more that I added at the end:

1. What is your first response of reading “Spoon River Anthology?” Did you like it? Is the introduction poem (“sleeping on a hill”) helpful is setting the mood for this somber book? What words can you use to describe this book's theme, mood, style?

2. “Spoon River Anthology” was Masters' most remembered work.  It sold a lot of copies in its time, but some libraries banned it for its negative portrayals of small-town life.  Why do you think it was banned?  Does Masters demythologize the idyllic small-town image? Would you describe it as unsentimental, painfully honest, realistic, exaggerated, critical? Why do you think it sparked a controversy? What makes Spoon River Anthology so appealing to the readers who appreciate this book?

3. “Spoon River” is spoken by voices of the dead, and fate and tragedy are central to the books message.  How many causes of demise and death can you name from this book and it's characters? How does this shape your opinions of these characters? Would you say their reputations are tarnished? Are you sympathetic or repulsed by these characters?  

4. How many characters can you name in which fates and lives are interconnected? Would you compare Spoon River Anthology to a city or town of today in its depictions of tragic problems: crime, abortion, bullying, stds, alcoholism, suicide, adultery? 

5. Although Masters grew up in small towns in Illinois (Lewistown and Petersburg), Masters lived and worked in Chicago as a lawyer.  In Chicago, he remembered his walks through the town cemeteries and the names he saw there as he was writing this book.  One of those graves was Ann Rutledge's grave in Petersburg.  Ann was a very real person and her poem is very patriotic. Would you consider this irony compared to the rest of the book?  Is this book “gossip” or “unpatriotic” for its frank, truthful, sometimes cruel descriptions? 

6. How does the epilogue in voices shape your response to this book? Is it unethical to know too much about these people and their suffering? Should we as an audience, aware of tragic news reports, feel obligated to be aware of the tragedies of the world? Does this tragic awareness change us, make us wiser, make us want to get involved to change society for the better?

7. Did the novel feel particulary Illinoisian or Midwestern to you? Or did the sense of place seem like it could be many locations?

8. Originally, Masters intended to write Spoon River as prose, but eventually switched to poetry. Does free verse work best for “Spoon River?” How might the sonnet form, short stoies, or a long-form novel have had a different effect?