{"product_id":"straw-in-the-sun-a-memoir-paperback","title":"Straw in the Sun: A Memoir - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eCharlie May Simon\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Last spring I went to Rocky Crossing again. New green grass was sprouting on the high ridge of the road that led there, and now and then there grew a persimmon shoot, or a small hickory, where a nut had fallen and opened deep in the untrampled earth. But the ruts made long ago by passing wagons were still there, guiding the wheels of our car through the dense forest, around the boulders and between the tall trees. I was like a ghost returning to a place once loved.\"\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e These opening lines of Charlie May Simon's \u003ci\u003eStraw in the Sun\u003c\/i\u003e invite readers on a personal journey of remembrance as Simon recounts her homesteading experiment in Depression-era Arkansas. Years before she established herself as a regional author of national renown, she chose a spot near Cove Creek, now part of Ouachita National Forest, to forge a home from rugged land, meeting both a backbreaking series of challenges and a vivid cast of characters in the process. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Nationally popular upon its release in 1945, Simon's lyrical memoir was praised from the outset for its warmth and charm. At once an ethnographic narrative of a hill community and an accessible portrait of Ozarks memories at their most idyllic, \u003ci\u003eStraw in the Sun\u003c\/i\u003e, offered here with a robust introduction from Simon scholar Aleshia O'Neal, is a classic ready for rediscovery by a new generation of readers.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharlie May Simon was born in a tenant-farmer cabin near Monticello, Arkansas, in 1897. Best known for her children's literature, she also wrote biographies for young adult readers as well as two memoirs and a novel for adults. The daughter of the author Charles Wayman Hogue, Simon spent much of her life in the company of other creatives, including her third husband, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Gould Fletcher. Honored with many awards for her literary achievements, she traveled extensively in researching the lives of humanitarians like Andrew Carnegie, Albert Schweitzer, Toyohiko Kagawa, Dag Hammarskj?ld, Martin Buber, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. After her homesteading years, Simon remained a lifetime resident of Little Rock, Arkansas, until her death in 1977. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Aleshia O'Neal is an assistant professor of English at College of the Ozarks in Hollister, Missouri.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 298\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.67 x 8.5 x 5.75 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 31, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42733837582399,"sku":"9781682262665","price":34.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/cd5f3f7f14b37f9f45aaa7223a8d40d4.webp?v=1765137624","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/straw-in-the-sun-a-memoir-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}