Customer Reviews (1)

Hilarious and moving story of a teen orphan in 1889 Colorado
David Wagoner pulls you in with a giant yank from his very first lines:

When the bank blew up, I had just got to the part in "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" where it was an Oink Oink here and an Oink Oinkthere (it's easier to grunt on a mouth harp than do most anything else, soI was stretching it out a little to make up for spoiling it later on whenthe Gobble Gobbles commenced), and at first I thought I'd busted myeardrums from blowing too hard.

In one short paragraph the reader knowshe or she is in for wild times, and Wagoner delivers. Tracker is themoving, astonishing, touching and hilarious story of 15-year-old orphan Eliin 1889 Colorado. Raised by an abusive livery stable owner, Eli has livedover a barn all his life, pitching hay by day but dreaming by night offollowing his hero, the half-Indian old gray-headed man, TrackerByrd.

When bandits dynamite and then rob the First National Bank ofSheepshank, Colorado, Eli seizes his chance. If he can hire on as part ofthe posse chasing the villains, he will at the same time learn trackingfrom Tracker Byrd.

Eli and Tracker split off from the rest of the posse,finding excitement and trouble all along the trail. One walking package ofexcitement and trouble is Miz Cherry Bastion, a girl so beautiful butheadstrong that Eli calls her "both sides of a sermon, the harp music andthe sinner's roast."

David Wagoner departs from the stale Western formulaof the straight-and-narrow, do-gooder hero and his lily-white,sweet-as-honey love interest. Eli is honest but human, and grapples withhis conscience often-with sometimes shaky but hilarious results. Miz CherryBastion is about as sweet as vinegar and twice as hard to swallow. Eli'sso-called hero, Tracker Byrd, is a hard-drinking, wisecracking old varmintwho alternatively delights and dismays Eli.

By painting the charactersbelievable and human, Wagoner does young adult readers a favor. He usesreal-life personalities and problems in a make-believe world to allow hisreaders to learn some concrete answers for today's topsy-turvy world.Sometimes a model or mock-up of a troublesome situation helps overcomeperception difficulties.

Tracker is a good role model for today. DavidWagoner uses no objectionable language or situations in his novel-hedoesn't have to. His clear writing and down-to-earth backwoods stylelanguage and wisdom (mixed with generous portions of humor) tell a goodstory of how far perseverance, trust, and a good healthy does of optimismcan take you. Listen to Tracker teaching Eli as Eli teaches thereader:

"Let me put it to you serious," [Tracker] says. "All right,you're chasing some bank robbers. What had you figured on doing when youcaught up with them?" "Why, I don't know," I says, shamed to admit I'd beenthinking more about improving myself and looking for sign than anythingelse. It was a beautiful day, and the sun made every crack, stick,grass-blade, weed-stalk, and rock-edge, near and far, look like it was fitto bust, just for the sheer pleasure of being itself and not shaped likenothing else nor colored the same nor standing or laying the same way. Whatdifference did it make if we caught somebody or not? "Take them intocustody, I reckon." "Where's that at?" Tracker says. "Where's that'custody' at?" I tried to be patient with him. "I mean back to Sheepshankso's they can get a fair trial for bank-busting."

P.S. Anyone who hassuch fun with the English language is bound to be a good poet. Here's achance to lure the unwary into poetry. David Wagoner is known more for hispoetry today than his novels. If the young adult reader loves the novels,perhaps he or she will give the poetry a whack (although Wagoner'swonderfully irreverent way with words is absent in his poetry-too bad!)After all, David Wagoner himself thinks he's a better poet than novelist.Are you sure, David? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Simple and Stunning
The power of the word. The poem 'Walt Whitman Bathing' deserves a specialPulitzer Prize alone. Written a simple clauses, the poem is loaded withwords that made me stop, think, and read on, again and again. Wagoner's arcin this collection is from childhood to old age. The words stayed the same.The context changed. And this is who we are. Give this book to someone as agift. Gift. What a beautiful word. Wagoner. Another. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Unbelievable collection.
This book is the most incredible collection of random scribbling I will ever find.This, Roethke's 'Collected Poems' and Camus' 'Lyrical & Critical Essays' comprise my collection of most sacred books.The outstanding feature of Straw for the Fire is that the scribblings are so overwhelming emotionally.Roethke is one of the most underrated poets to ever exist, and his talent is so obvious by this book of spur the moment thoughts and unfinished poems.If you love Roethke's work -- any or all of it -- this is a must-have.It says so much about him as a poet, a human being, someone whose confusion and awe of life are so charismatic.His weakness and strength shows plainly and beautifully in this incredible collection.

scribbles by themselves can be wondrous things.
i first saw this book in the hands of a boy who admired the brevity and stark reality of these words.these lingering tangents are for readers who sometimes admire just the leaves rather than the whole tree. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of David (Russell) Wagoner, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 3072 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author