Consisting of over fifty poems, from short lyrics in a variety of forms to lengthy blank verse and free verse narratives, "Stark County Poems" portrays the history of a small rural county in central Illinois, along the upper Spoon River valley. ~~ Chronologically arranged, and incorporating letters, newspaper articles, obituaries, family stories, early county histories and diaries, the poems cover a century of the county's history, from the 1830s through the 1930s. ~~ BJ Omanson was raised in the Spoon River valley of Stark County, Illinois, where both sides of his family have lived and farmed since the mid-19th century. ~~ He has published poetry, literary criticism, regional and military history. His most recent book is "Before the Clangor of the Gun: the First World War Poetry of John Allan Wyeth." ~~ He currently lives with his wife, Marian Hollinger, a Scottish terrier, Arabella and two cats, Chantal & Charlemagne, in Morgantown, West Virginia.
