Content area
Abstract
There is not a single aesthetic that defines the Plains. Common sense values, such as physical labor, honesty in human relations, emphasis on the primacy of family and community, and intimate physical, emotional, and spiritual connections to the land are more important now than ever. Plains and rural aesthetics are different from urban in some respects, but we all share a connection with the land and are concerned in preserving and sustaining our natural resources which serve as the wellspring of our most basic value systems. Poetry with a rural aesthetic asserts the value of the land, thus making its experience visible and comprehensible to the public at large. In this manner, the poetry is capable of transcending a designation as being merely regional.
Combining two settings, the rural and urban in These Trespasses allows the reader to see and comprehend both sides of a particular place.
