In the middle of the middle land in the United States we have the greatest variety of weather possible: four distinct seasons, temperatures that plunge below zero by the double digits and escalate into triple digits, placid zephyrs and brutal tornadoes, gentle spring rains and mountains of snow, the crispness of autumn air and the saturation of summer humidity. The wide sky of the Midwest allows us to see this atmospheric drama play out its comedies and tragedies in full view and full vigor. Under this midland sky we play out our lives in place. A resounding collection that teaches us how to call our place on earth our home.
Thomas K. Dean (Ph.D., The University of Iowa) is Senior Presidential Writer/Editor at The University of Iowa, where he also teaches interdisciplinary courses. He has taught writing, literature, and interdisciplinary subjects at Cardinal Stritch College (Milwaukee), Michigan State University, and Moorhead State University (Minnesota). Dean has published essays in regional and national publications. His books include The Grace of Grass and Water: Writing in Honor of Paul Gruchow (edited collection) and Under a Midland Sky (essays). He is working on a collection of his columns from Little Village called Here: A Decade of Writing About Place.