Land Circle: Writings Collected from the Land

Essays and poems on one woman's responsibility for the land borne out of love for it.

A new kind of rancher and a new kind of environmentalist, award-winning author Hasselstrom embraces old values, most particularly, responsibility for the land born out of love for it. Speaking with an eloquent simplicity in these collected essays and poems, the author of Going Over East and Windbreak further explores her visceral connection with the land.

Publishers Weekly

Hasselstrom ( Windbreak ), who runs a cattle ranch in western South Dakota and has deep ties to the land, speaks eloquently on environmental subjects. In this collection of poems and essays she pays tribute to the people of the Great Plains and their way of life, taking issue with those who regard the area as an arid expanse fit only for waste dumps and exploitation. Writing movingly about the death of her husband and her efforts to cope with grief, she extols the virtues of hard physical work and the satisfactions of being close to the land. Using vivid images of wildlife and landscapes, the author challenges animal rights activists, praises the cow, makes a strong case for sustainability in agriculture. Environmentalists and Western buffs will particularly enjoy this collection. (Nov.)

Linda Hasselstrom is a poet, essayist, and working ranch woman. She has received many awards for her writing, including a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in poetry and a South Dakota Arts Council literature fellowship.