Kloefkorn's book starts with a childhood memory when he
"came within one gulp of drowning" in a Kansas cow-pasture pond,
only to be saved by his father. It was the day when water, and in particular drowning, became a powerful image
in the poet's eye. This is a book about water--deep water, serious water--and about one man's life. The author
gives the reader powerful evocations of drought and torrential rains, as well as lovely memories days on the Loup,
the Platte, and
other Nebraska rivers, with an od to Mark Twain and John Neihardt here and there.
A deeply personal book filled with quiet wisdom and a well-deserved honoree.
What the Critics Say about William Kloefkorn's This Death by Drowning
"Kloefkorn writes prose with pensive grace, one thought flowing into another as water flows into rivers,
lakes, and oceans that become his metaphors for the world's connectedness. This is a quirky, funny, moving
memoir full of unforgettable characters; readers will not have seen its like before and shouldn't expect to
again." — Library Journal
"An elegant, moving little book . . . that reflects the author's fascination and intense personal involvement
with waters big and small, from farm ponds to the South Pacific. The author writes of his youthful wonder at
the family's cistern; of watching his grandmother at a washtub in the backyard, 'washing her long white hair
in rainwater'; of his and a paraplegic friend's baptism in Shannon's Creek, performed by a preacher whose
sermons were like 'Kansas waterways, neither deep nor wide.' Water drenches these pages, written about in a
style that both immerses and quenches." — Kirkus Reviews
"Is there any human corner left to illuminate? To surprise? Absolutely, as these wondrous recollections by poet
Kloefkorn prove. This slim volume is filled with provocative perceptions garnered from daily life. . . . After
the last line, readers will turn back to page one and start again, slowly." — Publisher's Weekly
"Sad, humorous, whimsical, sentimental, and of course poetic, these memoirs celebrate the profundity of life and
death." — Booklist
Click here for more information about William Kloefkorn
