Small Worlds

by Klose, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780826216755
• ISBN10: 0826216757
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-30
• Publisher: Univ of Missouri Pr

Summary

For twenty years, readers ofThe Christian Science Monitorhave enjoyed the musings of a singular writer who has brought his talent to bear on a wide range of human-interest subjects. Robert Klose has attracted fans from all walks of life, from physicians to farmers to teachers, and his unique insights on life are seasoned with gentle, often laugh-out-loud humor. The cream of Klosers"s columns has now been gathered in this delightful book culled largely from the more than 250 pieces written for theMonitor. Small Worldscaptures his graceful prose and engaging voice in brief essays whose subjects range from the joys of small-town hardware stores and Converse sneakers to the challenges of learning a foreign language or traveling abroad. In these pieces, readers will find themselves in the company of a wordsmith who is warm, funny, and smart-a man passionate about many subjects. Within these pages are memorable stories about Klosers"s life: his childhood pet piranha, his love of the clarinet, his attempts to learn Polish. He shares touching moments of his experience raising adoptive sons, from his first encounter with Alyosha in a Russian orphanage-a bond sealed with a Pez dispenser-to learning to counsel six-year-old Anton about puppy love. Klose also depicts his life in Maine, where pursuit of warmth is a prime occupation and culture is best defined by a deserted Downeast beach or a pick-your-own strawberry farm. In addition to this breadth of subject matter, the wide range of forms in which Klose writes-social and cultural commentary, travel writing, humor, and more-makes these essays excellent examples for fledgling writers. Whether poignantly reflecting on the parent-child relationship or nostalgically recollecting the old-fashioned ice cream soda, Robert Klose is a writer whose voice rings true and is sure to appeal to fans of other humorists like Garrison Keillor or Jean Shepherd.Small Worldsis a deft blending of wisdom and whimsy, a celebration of the art of the essay that lovers of fine writing will take to their hearts.

Author Biography

Robert Klose teaches biology at University College of Bangor.

Table of Contents

The allure of the north	p. 3
The culture of Maine is hard to explain	p. 5
River pumpkins	p. 7
A warm welcome for a tardy winter	p. 9
Why I prefer an ax to a splitter	p. 11
The river and I awaken	p. 13
Maine's literature of swap or sell	p. 15
Compassion thaws Maine's great freeze	p. 17
Small stores hold treasure that money can't buy	p. 20
Spring, and already apples	p. 22
The joys of science	p. 27
Drawing strength from young curiosity	p. 29
My short lesson on how to teach	p. 31
Martian life? : ye of too much faith	p. 34
Where the red pen fails, the tape succeeds	p. 36
A French tutor's first lesson	p. 38
Gifts from the sea for my students	p. 40
Let us praise the bold molds	p. 42
Finding "ahs" in the ooze	p. 44
Shuffling toward Moscow	p. 49
A small boy from a Russian orphanage	p. 51
A money-shy son makes a savvy allowance	p. 54
A son begins to widen his orbit	p. 56
An educator becomes the educated	p. 58
How the shoes got on the other feet	p. 61
A father-son dialog, with ball	p. 63
Another son's turn at the dance	p. 65
Lightening a load of winter	p. 67
A son moves on to high school	p. 69
Things old, new, and timeless	p. 71
The perfect season of the heart	p. 75
Anton awaits, an ocean away	p. 76
Lessons learned from son #1	p. 79
Snow recedes, and treasures emerge	p. 81
A young son unwraps the gift of reading	p. 83
The day my son learned to solo	p. 85
A six-year-old soars on wings of love	p. 87
My son, the storyteller	p. 89
Clarinet lesson	p. 95
My musical debut rambled a bit	p. 97
My son, the clarinet, and me	p. 99
The cantankerous clarinet calls	p. 101
Suddenly, I was in a polka band	p. 103
A traitor clarinet in the ranks	p. 105
My fine-feathered accompanist	p. 108
Joe Piranha days	p. 113
A truck full of dreams and ice creams	p. 117
Whatever happened to street games?	p. 120
We savored Sunday's leisure	p. 122
A carbonated blast from the past	p. 124
Got the moon and the stars that year	p. 126
Hardware the old-fashioned way	p. 129
A time when a sneaker was a sneaker	p. 131
Drawn to a downpour's exhuberance	p. 133
I join the circle	p. 135
Our stoop was stupendous	p. 137
Iceland in winter	p. 143
Iceland redux, with son	p. 144
Five days in Yugoslavia	p. 147
A culinary wish comes true, briefly	p. 149
The first time we saw Paris	p. 152
One small dive, one giant leap together	p. 154
The train to Berlin	p. 156
Kindness the wall could not block	p. 158
"Whoa" is the state of English	p. 163
My secret moment in the poetry spotlight	p. 165
On pilfering, pears, and poetry	p. 167
What you said, and what you meant to say	p. 170
In defense of the past	p. 173
The write stuff	p. 175
Speechless, but not for long	p. 177
An (almost) unspeakable legacy	p. 179
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.