Merrill Gilfillan is the author of a collection of essays titled Chokecherry Places: Essays from the High Plains in addition to two books of short stories and seven books of poetry.

"This is a book to be read as a poet's experiment in prose, slowly and with attention to the language."—Sue Hubbell, New York Times Book Review "Gilfillan is a careful observer of the outward elements of the land—its shapes, its plant life, its birds. . . . His pieces sparkle with invention and insight when he merges the landscape with interior voices of history and myth."—Steve Paul, Kansas City Star "This is an elliptical collection of essays; they flare with intensity, then wobble and dip as if Gilfillan were breathing in the landscape as he wrote and patches of it's beauty staggered him. Certain passages read like the love letters of a bachelor farmer—unexpected passion rising up in what seemed a barren spot."—Nancy Fay, Southwest Book Views

Merrill Gilfillan is the author of a collection of essays titled Chokecherry Places: Essays from the High Plains in addition to two books of short stories and seven books of poetry.

"This is a book to be read as a poet's experiment in prose, slowly and with attention to the language."—Sue Hubbell, New York Times Book Review "Gilfillan is a careful observer of the outward elements of the land—its shapes, its plant life, its birds. . . . His pieces sparkle with invention and insight when he merges the landscape with interior voices of history and myth."—Steve Paul, Kansas City Star "This is an elliptical collection of essays; they flare with intensity, then wobble and dip as if Gilfillan were breathing in the landscape as he wrote and patches of it's beauty staggered him. Certain passages read like the love letters of a bachelor farmer—unexpected passion rising up in what seemed a barren spot."—Nancy Fay, Southwest Book Views

Merrill Gilfillan is the author of a collection of essays titled Chokecherry Places: Essays from the High Plains in addition to two books of short stories and seven books of poetry.

"This is a book to be read as a poet's experiment in prose, slowly and with attention to the language."—Sue Hubbell, New York Times Book Review "Gilfillan is a careful observer of the outward elements of the land—its shapes, its plant life, its birds. . . . His pieces sparkle with invention and insight when he merges the landscape with interior voices of history and myth."—Steve Paul, Kansas City Star "This is an elliptical collection of essays; they flare with intensity, then wobble and dip as if Gilfillan were breathing in the landscape as he wrote and patches of it's beauty staggered him. Certain passages read like the love letters of a bachelor farmer—unexpected passion rising up in what seemed a barren spot."—Nancy Fay, Southwest Book Views