Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology shocked the country when it was published 100 years ago between 1915 and 1916. It is a series of monologues delivered from beyond the grave, where souls were at last free to speak their minds. Most of the inhabitants of Spoon River, a fictionalized setting which closely resembles Masters’ home town of Lewistown, Illinois, have reason to lament the circumstances of their lives: loveless marriages, unrewarding jobs, unwanted pregnancies and unfulfilled hopes. Its publication caused an enormous stir and was hailed for exposing the moral decay and hypocrisy of conventional frontier living. After all, weren’t Americans supposed to be happy?

John Hallwas, one of the foremost scholars of E.L. Masters and Midwest culture, recently gave a lecture in Lewistown to celebrate the Anthology’s centennial. Among the many tensions present in the work – city vs. country, tradition vs. modernity and moralism vs. licentiousness – Hallwas brings us to the heart of E.L. Masters’ concern: “Many modern people were often very self-focused…which leads to alienation from, separation from other people. There is a lack of spiritual community and this is one of the main messages of Spoon River Anthology.”

In his recent talk at Notre Dame University, Fr. Carron reminded us that we are all, “constantly tempted by the lure of autonomy that leads us into nothingness” and that the only hope is the winning attraction of the Mystery made flesh who reveals our true desire to us. In this way, we can draw near to our fellow countrymen, with tenderness for their desires, which at bottom are the same as ours.

Thanks to John Hallwas for introducing us to our neighbors with such compassion in his enlightening 100th Anniversary lecture which we are happy to publish here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm2F3g-oeTQ (Hallwas Lecture)