In The Sauna at Twelve-Foot, Marlene Mattila Stoehr's poetry and prose pieces capture Minnesota following the peak of Finnish immigration into the state, with evocative descriptions of the close-knit immigrant community of Sebeka, Minnesota. In a landscape of alfalfa fields, blueberry woods, and corn stubble, a parade of neighbors assembles each Saturday evening to "take sauna." They gather on the banks of the Red Eye River, at the deep spot known simply as Twelve-Foot. In wintertime, children race down frozen cow-manure piles on hand-carved wooden skis. A party-line telephone rings to deliver news of a hard loss.
The collection includes the author's Finnish ancestral emigration stories and is an important contribution to Minnesota's women's and immigrant history. In a desperate search for food during devastating famine, a family skied 400 miles along frozen rivers to reach the Arctic Ocean. Other stories tell of emigration from Finnish-speaking communities in Norway to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and attempts to unravel mystery surrounding the death of a great-grandparent in Michigan's 1895 Osceola mine fire.
In The Sauna at Twelve-Foot, Marlene Mattila Stoehr's poetry and prose pieces capture Minnesota following the peak of Finnish immigration into the state, with evocative descriptions of the close-knit immigrant community of Sebeka, Minnesota. In a landscape of alfalfa fields, blueberry woods, and corn stubble, a parade of neighbors assembles each Saturday evening to "take sauna." They gather on the banks of the Red Eye River, at the deep spot known simply as Twelve-Foot. In wintertime, children race down frozen cow-manure piles on hand-carved wooden skis. A party-line telephone rings to deliver news of a hard loss.
The collection includes the author's Finnish ancestral emigration stories and is an important contribution to Minnesota's women's and immigrant history. In a desperate search for food during devastating famine, a family skied 400 miles along frozen rivers to reach the Arctic Ocean. Other stories tell of emigration from Finnish-speaking communities in Norway to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and attempts to unravel mystery surrounding the death of a great-grandparent in Michigan's 1895 Osceola mine fire.
The Sauna at Twelve-Foot: Collected Writings
118
The Sauna at Twelve-Foot: Collected Writings
118Paperback
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9798989499120 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | River Box Press |
| Publication date: | 01/30/2024 |
| Pages: | 118 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.32(d) |