Rilla Askew, Harpsong

Ken Hada (East Central University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2007

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Rilla Askew’s novel,

Harpsong

(2007), follows a collection of short stories,

Strange Business

(1992) and two novels:

The Mercy Seat

(1997) and

Fire in Beulah

(2001). A subsequent novel,

Kind ofKin

(2013), was followed by a collection of essays,

Most American: Notes from aWounded Place

(2017). Askew’s work to date offers a fictionalized history of Oklahoma, with her settings and characters set in various periods of social and historical conflict. Much of her fiction is set in recognized places, often employing actual historical figures along with her created characters and scenes.

Although Harpsong does not use actual figures, her lead male character, Harlan Singer, may remind readers of Woody Guthrie, an Oklahoma native son who was an impoverished troubadour for much of his life. A

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1658 words

Citation: Hada, Ken. "Harpsong". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 May 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40536, accessed 16 April 2024.]

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