Planting by the Moon provides a rollicking yet poignant portrait of rural hardscrabble America. Stillman's perspective on life in a backwater hamlet, as caught in essays and occasional poems, is refreshingly different from other books on rural life. He is the things he writes of-logger, firefighter, horseman, cabin dweller, loiterer at the general store. These writings bring us past romanticized depictions of rural village life to provide a close up view of the ongoing struggle for survival in such a place, as well as of the exquisite beauty of Stillman's chosen world.
Readers will meet Rooney, who kept a car in the kitchen, Wanda, who painted her rival's name on a pig, Everett, who had fits tailored to the moment, Jimmy, who logged by moonlight, Earl, whose wife ran off in the family car after he'd just done the valves and rings, and many more of Gilead's memorable inhabitants. Together these pieces, most from letters and journals, are the very kind of place literature people of all ages should not only be reading but creating for themselves.
About the Author: Peter R. Stillman is the author of Write Away!, Families Writing, Planting by the Moon, and Writing Your Way, Second Edition (a classroom edition of Write Away!). He holds an M.A. from the Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury College, and lives in upstate New York. Peter Stillman January 23, 1934 - February 5, 2011 We are sad to report the passing of Peter Stillman, Editor and then Publisher for Boynton-Cook. Peter cared passionately about writing and the teaching of writing. Working with longtime business partner, Bob Boynton, Peter was responsible for numerous significant contributions to education, including the publication of Nancie Atwell's groundbreaking book, In the Middle. Those of us who knew him personally recall him as a true old-fashioned Publisher - a diligent reader of manuscripts, challenging authors to step up and define new areas of the field. After departing Heinemann/Boynton-Cook, Peter kept a close eye on both us and his authors, visiting the booth regularly at conferences to share a joke or a story. He will be sorely missed by those who knew and worked with him, and by those who have tended his legacy over the ensuing years. Remembering how Peter touched your life >>
