Writing about Suckow

This was posted on our blog in 2008; however, since it is now in the archives, it is not easy to find! Marsha has given us permission to post it here.

Suckow Society Member Publishes a Poem

Marsha Lehs wrote a poem about Ruth Suckow that was accepted for publication in Lyrical Iowa, 2008. This s the 63rd Annual Anthology of The Iowa Poetry Association. Http://www.iowapoetry.com

With permission by the poet, here is her poem

TO RUTH SUCKOW, IOWA AUTHOR

Your Iowa-based novels sounded dated

until I read them.

You planted images of early Iowa German families,

small town lives, strong quiet farm workers

children forced to grow up fast,

characters torn between right and wrong.

You described native flowers, seasons,

crops, rural landscapes,

period events and timeless issues.

Though we were born fifty years apart

these are pages in my life, too

Your enduring images cycle

like a reseeding annual flower

from one native Iowan to another.

Thank you for sharing stories which forever

root me in this fertile Iowa loam.

___________________________________________________

Last updated March 5, 2021

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