In the American Grain

The celebrated poet behind such classics as "The Red Wheelbarrow" and "This Is Just to Say" presents a collection of essays about North American history.

In the American Grain is, as William Carlos Williams said, "a study to try to find out for myself what the land of my more or less accidental birth might signify." Although Williams wrote poetry and prose—and was a doctor—he was not a historian. In this book, he applies a fresh, lyrical perspective to moments in America's past. Beginning wi...