Realistic, and often cynical, these epitaphs are spoken from the grave by a collection of two hundred and forty four people buried in a village cemetery in America's Midwest. The whole spectrum of human life is represented here; with everyone from poet to shopkeeper given a chance to narrate their life, and tell of their thwarted hopes and dreams; and their struggles, both personal and political. With these classic poems, Masters took his revenge on the hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness of small-town America, portraying a town filled with injustice, corruption, and cruelty.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Shena Mackay; Introduction; Spoon River Anthology; Notes; List of character names; Index of titles and first lines; Biographical note

Author Biography

Edgar Lee Masters (1869-1950) is best known for the Spoon River Anthology (1915). As well as verse, he also wrote biographies of fellow writers including Mark Twain and Walt Whitman. Shena Mackay is the author of a number of works, including the Booker-shortlisted The Orchard on Fire. Her most recent novel, Heligoland (2003), was shortlisted for the both Orange Prize for Fiction and the Whitbread Novel Award.