publication order of plainsong books
independent novel publication order
Kent Haruf is an award-winning literary fiction novelist from Pueblo, Colorado. He was born in 1943 to Louis Hoerauf, a Methodist preacher who changed his last name to Haruf because he was frustrated that no one seemed to get it right. the name rhymes with sheriff, though the change didn’t seem to work as no one gets it right to this day. The Harufs had a rootless life as Louis moved all over Colorado preaching, during which time he encouraged his children to find whatever jobs they could find in the community they were in. As such, Kent recalls living in more than three small towns in Colorado that colored his view of the rural setting he writes about in Holt, the setting of all six of his novels. After graduating from high school, he went to Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in literature. He then spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey, where he began writing fiction. Aspiring to become a professional author, Haruf moved with his family to Iowa City, where he earned his master’s degree in creative fiction from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. He became an English teacher in Wisconsin and Colorado and got his first hit when his short story was published in “Puerto del Sol”, a literary magazine. Motivated by success, he published the Whittington Foundation Award-winning novel Ties That Bind in 1984.
As a professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Haruf had plenty of time to write his novels, and in 1991 he published Where You Once Belonged, which was as commercially successful as his debut. This was followed by “Plainsong,” which was a finalist for the New York Book Award, National Book Award, Los Angeles Times Book Award, and winner of the Mountains & flat booksellers award. “Benediction” made the shortlist for the UK Folio Award. The success of the novel “Canto Llano” allowed him to leave his job as a teacher and return to Salida, Colorado and become a full-time author. he went on to write “eventide”, “blessing” and “our souls in the night”. He contracted a lung disease towards the end of his life and spent much of his time reading the likes of Anton Chekhov, Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. he died in 2014 and is survived by his wife and his three daughters.
All six of Kent Haruf’s novels are set in the small Colorado town of Holt. it is a small farming town that has remained more or less the same for almost a century, though with each passing year a bit of the outside world appears. It is populated by hard-working and humble people who meet every week at the inn, attend the country fair every summer, buy and sell cattle, land and fodder, and know everything about everyone. Haruf would know it all, having grown up on the high plains of eastern Colorado. His intimate love and knowledge of small-town Colorado is probably why he wrote some of the best fiction about rural and small-town America. in “plain chant,” he tells a taut, unsentimental story in elegant prose that transports his readers to a deeper understanding of human connection and responsibility. plainsong tells the story of harold and raymond mcpheron, two single farmers who take in victoria roubideaux, a pregnant teenager who has no one to turn to after being kicked out of her house. “eventide” is derived from the events of plainsong, as it tells the story of victoria roubideaux, who intends to go back to college. Without her surrogate daughter, the two bachelors fall into the dull routine of ranch life until tragedy strikes. it is different in its complexion and tone, as it is filled with a beautiful yet somber light compared to the joyous and lively feel of plainsong. In “Blessing,” Haruf provides an indelible portrait of Holt that includes the suffering, compassion of its inhabitants done with insight and grace. deeply illuminating and sad, it portrays the fullness of life, including dreams and hopes, and ultimately their extinction.
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“Plainsong” features the small town of holt, colorado, where victoria roubideaux, a teenager, has been kicked out by her mother when she found out she was pregnant. She is taken in by Maggie Jones, her teacher, but then has to move as the living arrangements are complicated by the fact that her elderly father has Alzheimer’s. Maggie hands her over to the McPheron brothers, who are two elderly bachelors who never married with a 2,000-acre ranch and a relatively large house. She is taken in as a surrogate daughter and Haruf infuses a tender wit into the story that showcases the strong sensitivity, shyness, gruff and unrefined behavior of the McPherons. Tom, who is one of Victoria’s teachers, sometimes helps out on the ranch with her two sons, ages nine and ten. his wife had left them due to severe depression that had been aggravated by drug abuse. Tom is soon dating Maggie as the boys deal with bullying from some older students. Using his powers of observation and description, Haruf writes with a deep emotional subtext and a soft timbre that evokes nature. Showcasing the power of family, love, and friends, she will reassure and uplift the reader as she gives him courage to face life’s challenges.
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“eventide”, the second novel in the plainsong series, sees victoria roubideaux leave mcpheron’s on her way to college. maggie jones returns to show her good sense and her compassion, which is what made her such a wonderful teacher. Along with Tom and her two children, Kent Haruf introduces several new Holt characters. Rose is a soft-hearted social worker who has been through so much cruelty and pain as she can’t seem to hold on so long to push away the people who bring her suffering. Luther and Betty are a couple with mental and social problems whose efforts to raise children are dangerous and ineffective and have almost catastrophic consequences. There is also Richie and Joy Rae, who only know abuse, harassment and extreme poverty, since they are the children of Luther and Betty. Haruf writes a realistic and sad but ultimately hopeful story that shows how the residents of Holt somehow dig their way out of loneliness and difficult circumstances by connecting with other people. by reaching out, they relieve their loneliness and pain and affirm their connection with other human beings.
In Kent Haruf’s “Blessing,” Lewis receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, which means his wife now has to work to make sure his final days are as comfortable as possible. Lorraine, her daughter, is called from Denver to come take care of her father, although Frank, the estranged son, is absent. Frank’s absence is a palpable presence although no one dares to speak of it. When a young girl, Alice, moves in next door to her and learns of Lewis’s disease, she recalls the painful death of her mother that left her with many emotional scars. meanwhile, a newly arrived preacher has problems with his wife and his son. he tries to find solace by offering something different in his Sunday morning sermon only to be met with scorn. Through it all, an elderly widow and her forty-something daughter work hard to ease the pain of their neighbors and friends.
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