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Lost in Summerland - Barrett Swanson - 05/19/2021 - 7:00pm

Lost in Summerland

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Presented in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Program in Creative Writing, this edition of Wisconsin Wednesdays features UW Alumnus, Barrett Swanson, for his newest book, Lost in SummerlandJoin the event at: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/wbf-lost-in-summerland. Before the event begins, you will see a countdown and the event image. 

 

Barrett Swanson embarks on a personal quest across the United States to uncover what it means to be an American amid the swirl of our post-truth climate in this collection of critically acclaimed essays and reportage. A trip with his brother to a New York psychic community becomes a rollicking tour through the world of American spiritualism. At a wilderness retreat in Ohio, men seek a cure for toxic masculinity, while in the hinterlands of Wisconsin, anti-war veterans turn to farming when they cannot sustain the heroic myth of service. And when his best friend's body washes up on the shores of the Mississippi River, he falls into the gullet of true crime discussion boards, exploring the stamina of conspiracy theories along the cankered byways of the Midwest. Traversing the country, Barrett Swanson introduces us to a new reality. At a moment when grand unifying narratives have splintered into competing storylines, these critically acclaimed essays document the many routes by which people are struggling to find stability in the aftermath of our country's political and economic collapse, sometimes at dire and disillusioning costs.

Barrett Swanson

Barrett Swanson

Barrett Swanson's essays have appeared in Harper'sThe New YorkerThe Paris ReviewThe BelieverThe New York Times Magazine, and The Atavist, among other publications. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and has been anthologized two editions of The Best American Travel Writing. He was the Halls Emerging Artist Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and he and his wife live in Madison, Wisconsin.

Recent Book
Lost in Summerland