Paul Engle (1) (1908–1991)

A LUCKY AMERICAN CHILDHOOD, by Paul Engle.

I probably would never have even known of this book had I not recently read another - A COMMUNITY OF WRITERS: PAUL ENGLE AND THE IOWA WRITERS' WORKSHOP, edited by Robert Dana, a book which I enjoyed tremendously. I wish I could say the same about this one, but I can't. It was, regrettably, something of a disappointment. Because, while it does give you a pretty good sense of Engle's humble beginnings, it has the feel of a pasted-together collection of disparate pieces never intended for publication in the form of a definitive autobiography. In fact five of these short pieces were previously published, and not in literary journals, but in popular magazines - Better Homes and Gardens, American Heritage, and Holiday.

Nevertheless there is a common thread throughout the book, a nostalgic look back at times long gone. Growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of a horse trader and trainer, Engle remembers a time before electricity, before central heating, before automobiles. Before a lot of stuff we take for granted now. His father was a man with a violent temper and hard hands, yet Engle insists he loved his father every bit as much as his long-suffering and hard-working mother. There are stories here of favorite uncles, holiday memories, serendipitous educational opportunites, and first jobs. His days as a 'soda jerk' and drug store employee are fondly remembered, as well as his paperboy routes and adventures, in a time when top stories included the battles of the First World War -

"I would howl out the headlines, "BIGGEST BATTLE IN FRANCE, ENGLISH AND GERMANS! THOUSANDS DEAD!"

Reminiscing about the perfume and tobacco counters and the magazine racks in the drugstore, he recalls his first introduction not only to a good cigar, but to the work of Pound, Sandburg, Eliot and Joyce, among others, due to a sympathetic boss who stocked Poetry magazine for his young poet-clerk.

At home he tells of hard times when there was often only popcorn for supper, but also recalls Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts with a large extended family.

The pieces pulled together here seem to have been written over an extended period of time, perhaps just to make a few bucks, and it is easy to see how they would appeal to mass reading audiences. But it wasn't what I expected from an award-winning poet and the genius behind the Iowa Writers' Workshop, which was first of its kind and established a pattern for hundreds, if not thousands of writers workshops at colleges and universities all over the country in years that followed. The collection works only as a pastiche of stories about "the good ol' days." As a look into the life and genius of an iconic academic organizer and writer, well, nope. It falls kinda flat in that area. I think there is an explanation.

Paul Engle died in 1991. This book was published in 1996. I doubt very much that Engle ever meant these pieces to be published as a 'memoir.' He might even have been embarrassed by it. It remains an interesting artifact of a bygone era, written in very plain language. Recommended, but with reservations. If you want to know more about the genius and tireless promoter behind the early days of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, I would recommend the Dana book wholeheartedly. Loved that book.… (more)