Bone of the bone : essays on America by a daughter of the working class, 2013-2024

Title:

Author:

Summary:

In Bone of the Bone, Sarah Smarsh brings her graceful storytelling and incisive critique to the challenges that define our times--class division, political fissures, gender inequality, environmental crisis, media bias, the rural-urban gulf. Smarsh, a journalist who grew up on a wheat farm in Kansas and was the first in her family to graduate from college, has long focused on cultural dissonance that many in her industry neglected until recently. Now, this thought-provoking collection of more than thirty of her highly relevant, previously published essays from the past decade (2013-2024)--ranging from personal narratives to news commentary--demonstrates a life and a career steeped in the issues that affect our collective future. Compiling Smarsh's reportage and more poetic reflections, Bone of the Bone is a singular work covering one of the most tumultuous decades in civic life. Timely, filled with perspective-shifting observations, and a pleasure to read, Sarah Smarsh's essays--on topics as varied as the socioeconomic significance of dentistry, laws criminalizing poverty, fallacies of the "red vs. blue" political framework, working as a Hooters Girl, and much more--are an important addition to any discussion on contemporary America. -- Publisher

Edition:

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Contents:

Introduction -- How I moved twenty one times before college Highway construction may unearth human remains Dear daughter, your mom Freedom mandate Poor teeth Lede, nutgraph, and body Poverty, pride, and prejudice Linguistic notice for Homo Sapiens heretofore known as "pussies" and "little bitches" Believe it The first person on Mars The new migrants The wind doesn't stop at customs Dangerous idiots The jump Blood brother The uprising of women in "red states" is just beginning The winter wheat I helped raise Writing assignment Liberal blind spots are hiding the truth At the precise geographic heart of the dark-money beast Blue wave in Kansas Brain gain Chronicling a community, and a country, in economic crisis I am burning with fury and grief In defense of populism How is arguing with Trump voters working out for you? Rural route Revision Extraction What to do with our Covid rage In celebration of rare and exquisite accuracy from Hollywood Shelterbelt In the running For my lover The butchering shed Unwanted gifts Note on original publications.

Physical Description:

xxii, 328 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Essays.

Personal narratives.

Subject Term:

Working class -- Social conditions.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Civilization -- 21st century.

Publisher:

Scribner,

Publication Date:

2024

ISBN:

9781668055601

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Scribner, 2024.

Call Number:

305.56 SMARSH

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003754960	New Adult Nonfiction	305.56 SMARSH	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Now collected for the first time in one volume, the brilliant and provocative essays that established National Book Award finalist Sarah Smarsh as one of the most important commentators on socioeconomic class in America--featuring a previously unpublished essay and a new introduction.

In Bone of the Bone , Sarah Smarsh brings her graceful storytelling and incisive critique to the challenges that define our times--class division, political fissures, gender inequality, environmental crisis, media bias, the rural-urban gulf. Smarsh, a journalist who grew up on a wheat farm in Kansas and was the first in her family to graduate from college, has long focused on cultural dissonance that many in her industry neglected until recently. Now, this thought-provoking collection of more than thirty of her highly relevant, previously published essays from the past decade (2013-2024)--ranging from personal narratives to news commentary--demonstrates a life and a career steeped in the issues that affect our collective future.

Compiling Smarsh's reportage and more poetic reflections, Bone of the Bone is a singular work covering one of the most tumultuous decades in civic life. Timely, filled with perspective-shifting observations, and a pleasure to read, Sarah Smarsh's essays--on topics as varied as the socioeconomic significance of dentistry, laws criminalizing poverty, fallacies of the "red vs. blue" political framework, working as a Hooters Girl, and much more--are an important addition to any discussion on contemporary America.

Author Notes

Sarah Smarsh is a journalist who has reported for The New York Times , Harper's Magazine , The Guardian , and many other publications. Her first book, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth , was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her second book, She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs , was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Smarsh is a frequent political commentator and speaker on socioeconomic class. She lives in Kansas.