A Community of Memory: MY DAYS WITH GEORGE AND CLARA (Creative Nonfiction) - Softcover

Gundy, Jeff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0252064968 ISBN 13: 9780252064968

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 1995

Synopsis

In this fascinating series
        of narratives, many voices of Jeff Gundy's Amish and Mennonite forebears
        trace their paths and chronicle their lives. Women and men speak in these
        pages, telling their stories and linking themselves to each other, the
        past, and the present. Gundy demonstrates that who he is--who we all are--is
        shaped by a past peopled with those who worked, loved, dreamed, and died.
        By sharing his community of memory, he makes us desire to seek out our
        own.
      Using family photos, records,
        recollections, and historical research, Gundy follows seven generations
        through time and space: from Bavaria and Alsace to Ohio to Illinois in
        the 1830s; from frontier dwellings with dirt floors to homes with refrigerators.
        He also follows them intellectually, from a strict to a broader interpretation
        of religious doctrine in the 1870s, which led to a schism within the already
        small Mennonite community; from a long-standing position on pacifism and
        conscientious objection to some questioning of this stance during World
        War II.
 

About this title

About the Author

Jeff Gundy is a professor of English at Bluffton College, Ohio.

From the Back Cover

Using family photos, records, recollections, and historical research, Gundy follows seven generations through time and space: from Bavaria and Alsace to Ohio to Illinois in the 1830s; from frontier dwellings with dirt floors to homes with refrigerators. He also follows them intellectually, from a strict to a broader interpretation of religious doctrine in the 1870s, which led to a schism within the already small Mennonite community; from a longstanding position on pacifism and conscientious objection to some questioning of this stance during World War II.

Reviews

In this first volume in a new series devoted to "plain fact transformed into art by the writer's talent," poet Gundy (English, Bluffton Coll.), has used his research into his family's history to re-create voices from his past. He starts with his Amish and Mennonite ancestors, who immigrated to Ohio and Illinois from Alsace and Bavaria in the 1830s, and continues through four generations to his great-grandparents George and Clara Gundy. Each of the first seven chapters is devoted to a first-person narrative of one of the family members and is interspersed with the author's comments on his struggles and responses to the material as he is writing. The last chapter is devoted to the lives of George and Clara. More than a family history, Gundy's book conveys a sense of connection between the people and generations that create communities. His book is highly recommended for general readers interested in genealogy, Mennonite history, and the writing process.
Linda L. McEwan, Elgin Community Coll., Ill.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0252064968
• ISBN 13: 9780252064968
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 184