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Neihardt Book Club

  • The John G. Neihardt State Historic Site 306 west elm street bancroft, ne 68004 USA (map)

Join us for the first virtual book club hosted by the John G. Neihardt Foundation! The first book we’ll read is Lonesome Dreamer, the definitive biography of Neihardt written by Timothy G. Anderson.
A wine selection chosen by the author will be announced.

A Lonesome Dreamer playlist (made up of songs with the words lonesome and/or dreamer in them!) is available on Spotify at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dVd0XWVs8ehWcXNvLiPbn

WHO:
This invitation is open to anyone who wants to join!
Special Guest – Timothy G. Anderson
Moderator and host – Nancy Gillis

WHEN:
Thursday, October 15, 7-9 p.m. Central.

WHERE:
Via Zoom (an invitation will be shared on the web site and Facebook, and via email).
If you’re uncomfortable with the technology, call or send us an email before Neihardt Book Club and we’ll help you figure it out!

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Available at neihardtcenter.org/store $24.95 plus shipping or your local book store or library.

This is the first biography of Neihardt in nearly 40 years. Offering insight into both his personal and his literary life, this biography reaffirms Neihardt’s place in American literary history, his successes and failures, and his unbreakable spirit. The author describes Neihardt’s life from his humble beginnings in Illinois, to being named poet laureate of Nebraska in 1921, to his wildly popular appearance on the Dick Cavett Show at the age of 90.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHILE READING “LONESOME DREAMER”:

  1. What do you make of the book’s title, “Lonesome Dreamer”? Did you find Neihardt to be lonesome? Was he a dreamer?

  2. Neihardt was a prolific reader and writer. What were his successes and failures?

  3. What role do you think his parents played in the direction of his writing career?

  4. What about his wife, Mona? What impact did she have?

  5. What did you know about Neihardt prior to reading this book?

  6. What’s Neihardt’s most admirable trait? Would you like to have known him?

  7. Which events in the book were most interesting to you?

  8. What did you learn about the time period in which the book is set that you did not previously know?

  9. What do you think was the impact of place on Neihardt’s writing?

  10. If Neihardt were here today, what do you think he would be thinking, saying, and writing about?

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September 27

Sunday at the Museum with Shannon D. Smith

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April 24

40th Annual Neihardt Spring Conference “Free Thinkers on the Plains: Neihardt and His Contemporary Nebraska Authors”