Monday, December 25, 2006

Who is Ruth Suckow?

Ruth Suckow was a writer with Iowa roots who wrote a series of short stories and novels from the 1920s to 1960. She was a minister’s daughter and well educated, attending Grinnell college. However, she also supported herself by keeping bees and selling honey. She was recognized by such famous American writers as H. L. Mencken. Her stories capture the everyday life of midwesterners, especially farm families, and feature strong female characters.

Suckow was born in 1892 and died in 1960; she is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Several of her novels were reissued after her death (Country People and Iowa Interiors) in a series called Rediscovered Fiction by American Women. She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1978.

http://www.state.ia.us/government/dhr/sw/hall_fame/iafame/iafame-suckow.html
Iowa Commission on the Status of Women/Hall of Fame

Welcome to the Ruth Suckow blog!



Here is a photo of Ruth Suckow's gravesite, in Greenwood Cemetery (Cedar Falls, Iowa), taken during the summer of 2006.

The books displayed represent some of Suckow's novels and collections of short stories. The members of the Ruth Suckow Memorial Society are in the process of collecting multiple copies (15 to 25) of the following titles, with the goal of making them available to book clubs and teachers wanting to use Suckow in the classroom:
  • The Folks (1934)
  • The John Wood Case (1959--The Book Club Edition)
  • A Memoir (1952)
  • A Ruth Suckow Omnibus (1988)

The Ruth Suckow Society President, Barbara Lounsberry, issued a challenge this past fall to other association members, asking them for donations of books, which can be ordered from various websites.

In the meantime, we are also looking for help developing a list of discussion questions and/or ideas for activities. If you have read one of these books and would be willing to help, please contact us.

If you buy copies of the books, please mail them to:

Professor Cherie Dargan
188 Woodstock Road
Waterloo, IA 50701
E-mail; cheriedargan@gmail.com

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