Grass Roots

Author's Bio:

Paul Gruchow (1947-2004) was the author of five previous books, including Grass Roots (winner of a Minnesota Book Award) and The Necessity of Empty Places. A frequent contributor to the Utne Reader, New York Times, Hungry Mind Review, and other periodicals, his final years were spent teaching creative writing classes at St. Olaf College and Concordia College, and writing books that championed the rural, Minnesota landscape.

Quotes:

“Gruchow's vision, like that of Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson, is a corrective to the notion that increased agricultural efficiency and productivity is a sure sign of prosperity. In these seventeen essays, he considers the various biological and cultural impoverishments effected by the transference of the industrial model to the countryside and rural towns of America” —Isle

“Gruchow, who grew up on a Minnesota tenant farm, writes thoughtful, graceful essays on country life, changes in our national culture, the environment, adn the many facets of our relationship with nature. He is clear-eyed, quietly eloquent, and very much worth reading.” —Vermont Sunday Magazine

“[Grass Roots: The Universe of Home] harvests acres of memories. Paul Gruchow paints poignant pictures of rural life before corporate agribusiness dominated landscape.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Images and lessons from [Gruchow's] childhood are examined in frank and sometimes elegiac prose . . . pulling us into his treasured experiences.” —Bloomsbury Review

“One of the nation's best essayists. . . .The fulcrum of the collection is Gruchow's fascinating account of the transformation of agriculture to agribusiness, the sea change in American agriculture that's taken place in the last 50 years.... [He] highlights the tragic trajectory our food production and land management have taken for most of this century. Like a good cup of coffee —make that a double shot of espresso —Gruchow is both sobering and exhilarating.” —City Pages (Minneapolis)

“What is striking about Grass Roots is the vividness of the images in Gruchow's writing. “ —The Land

“In the five books he has authored, Gruchow reveals an unromantic yet passionate love for the land. His passion extends both to agricultural and natural landscapes, which the author sees as inextricably linked.... Gruchow's well-considered insights, presented in clear and graceful prose, offer both a good read and an education in how we might address some of the threats that face our communities and our land.” —The Trust of Public Lands in the Midwest

“Gruchow masterfully reveals the heart of rural America.” —Carleton College Bookstore, Minnesota

“Capable of uniting the emotions and sensiblities of both urban and rural Minnesotans. . . he delves into the roots of other words and ideas to find what we have forgotten. Gruchow should be lauded for writing this extended testament to his political ideas.” —Brian Fournier, Saint Paul Pioneer Press