Michael Perry
Topics/tags: Reviews, rambly
I remember the first time I heard (or heard of) Michael Perry. I was
driving through the streets of Boone, Iowa [1], I turned on the radio
to NPR, and I heard someone reading a story in which one of the main
characters was falling in love with a woman because of how she treated her
leather boots [2]. I loved how it captured a particular view of the world
and the things people notice. The story later turned to a description of
a woman in one of those late 1960’s Catholic churches [3]. It resonated
with my experience with my in-laws. So I kept listening. Eventually,
the show moved from the reading to an interview, and I discovered that the
author was Michael Perry. Soon thereafter, he said something like, My
friend, Dean Bakopoulos, is a faculty member and helped me realize that
I was a bit cruel to the academic in this story. He made it better.
Since Dean is a colleague at Grinnell [4], I sent him a note.
Then I bought The Jesus Cow, the book that Perry had been reading from. It’s a funny story about what happens when a quiet, private, farmer has a calf that is born with the face of Jesus on the side and, to his chagrin, people discover it and, well, chaos ensues. As in the readings from the radio, I found myself appreciating the tender, thoughtful, way that Perry approached his characters, even the ones we might like less. And, although the story is set in rural Wisconsin [5], it felt like it could, as easily, apply to rural Iowa. That is, it felt honest. And it also made me laugh.
Hence, I was thrilled to see an announcement that Dean was bringing Perry [6] to Grinnell as part of the wonderful Writers@Grinnell series [7]. I added the event to my calendar, dug out my copy of The Jesus Cow for an autograph, and waited.
I did have a moment of crisis that week. Kate Hennessy, Dorothy Day’s granddaughter, was speaking at the University of Iowa the same night. I very much appreciate many aspects of Day’s version of Catholicism and wanted to see that talk, too. But I chose the Perry talk [8]. While I don’t know what I missed in the Hennessey talk, I’m certainly glad I took the time to hear Perry. He read a variety of excerpts from his books and, as I’d found previously, they were funny and thoughtful. He left me wanting to read more [9].
I had also hit the point that I was losing my ability to listen to news
radio on the trip to Iowa City. The Kavanaugh hearings and the general
state of the US made the trips frustrating. So I decided to pick up a
few of Perry’s books on CD
to listen along the way. Knowing that he
reads his works helped convince me that I’d want to listen.
In the two weeks since, I have now listened to all of Population:
485 [10], as well as the additional essays and recorded live
segment
included in that audiobook [11]. Population: 485 tells the story
of his return to his hometown and his experiences reconnecting to his
neighbors, particularly through his service as a volunteer firefighter.
While there were times I found myself laughing out loud,
and I did continue to appreciate his thoughtful profiles of others (and
himself), it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Many parts of the book
draw on his experiences as a volunteer firefighter or EMT. And, well,
in lots of those situations, people die. The last chapter had me in
deep tears. That’s not quite what I was looking for my drives to
and from Iowa City. But it was still better than swearing at the radio.
I’ve now moved on to Truck: A Love Story. So far, there’s much less death [12]. It’s also entertainingly rambly, which is also one of Perry’s other talents. At some point, I’ll probably burn out. For now, I value the time I spend listening to the books. And it makes the miles fly by.
I hope Dean brings Perry back to Grinnell some time soon.
Postscript: Learn more about Michael Perry and order his books and audiobooks at SneezingCow.com.
Postscript: I’ve been listening to a lot of Michael Perry recently. I wonder if it’s affected the way I write.
[1] No, I don’t think the Boonies
comes from Boone; it’s certainly nearer
a real city than, say, Grinnell."
[2] Very well, that is.
[3] I could be mistaken. My brain envisions a cinderblock basement, but I’m pretty sure that’s wrong.
[4] And a damn good writer.
[5] I think.
[6] Why do I refer to Dean by first name and Perry by last name? Um, because I know Dean, and I refer to friends by first name. However, my general practice is to refer to people by last name.
[7] Although I regularly offer my students extra credit to attend Writers@Grinnell, I don’t make it nearly enough. Evenings are hard.
[8] Thinking about a late-night drive home from Iowa City also helped me choose to be in Grinnell.
[9] It would be equally accurate to say that they left me wanting to hear more.
[10] Perry didn’t have a copy of the audiobook that day; I ended up borrowing it from our library.
[11] I think I’ve made four round trips in the two weeks, a bit less than
my goal. That’s seven CDs
of Population: 485 and one of Truck: A
Love Story.
[12] The truck is dead, at least at the start of the book. But I don’t think I’ve heard about any human deaths.
Version 1.0 of 2018-10-16.