November09_2
Nancy Pearl interviewed Michael Perry for Book Lust. It was delightful, very Nancy - her catholic taste, her enquenchable enthusiasm, this poet farmer - so I surfed to Amazon to track down Michael Perry. 11 days later, 'Population: 485' turned up (used, as-new condition US$3.95 plus $19.95 postage). Michael Perry writes personal memoir - 4 or more books to date, with this the first. In this book Michael returns to the town in Wisconsin he grew up in, where his family lives and works, and joins the volunteer fire brigade and emergency response team. His long, slow reunion with his much-loved home town is interleaved with stories from his EMT experiences - some funny, some tragic, all local and intimate. It's all very personal, and reflective, and pragmatic.
Michael is smart and thoughtful and has found a place for himself - an educated man, a poet, soft-handed - in this tough, hardscrabble community. He works the fire brigade with his brothers and his mum: "Disagreements with my brothers can shake me up for days, because they are a reminder of how disagreeing profoundly with someone you love in equal profundity is an intractable dilemma because you don't have the option of dismissing them out of contempt." He writes practically about death, having seen so much of it up close: "Over the years, I have developed a visceral reaction to families and victims expressing surprise at tragedy... I hear people on scene saying, 'Why? Why?' and the answer is, there is no why. Ambulance work will exacerbate your inner existentialist."
So this was a great book. I'll seek out 'Coop' next, as I am also a chicken wrangler, with two Isa Browns recently settled into a coop in the backyard. Truly.
Michael is smart and thoughtful and has found a place for himself - an educated man, a poet, soft-handed - in this tough, hardscrabble community. He works the fire brigade with his brothers and his mum: "Disagreements with my brothers can shake me up for days, because they are a reminder of how disagreeing profoundly with someone you love in equal profundity is an intractable dilemma because you don't have the option of dismissing them out of contempt." He writes practically about death, having seen so much of it up close: "Over the years, I have developed a visceral reaction to families and victims expressing surprise at tragedy... I hear people on scene saying, 'Why? Why?' and the answer is, there is no why. Ambulance work will exacerbate your inner existentialist."
So this was a great book. I'll seek out 'Coop' next, as I am also a chicken wrangler, with two Isa Browns recently settled into a coop in the backyard. Truly.
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