Kirksville, Poems by Bob Mielke

Kirksville
By Bob Mielke

See Kirksville through the eyes of Bob Mielke as he explores the people and places of the unassuming college town in Northeast Missouri. Walk in the footsteps of the poet as he shows you the natural beauty of its wooded parks and dives deep into the city’s colorful past. Along the way meet Susan Sontag as she dances in a honky tonk, fireworks (perfectly legal) explode overhead and friends gather in saloons for a quiet drink. Bob’s poems are fresh, clear and accessible. Kirksville is an honest and enthusiastic celebration of a city many have loved, and few can ever forget.

Kirksville is a collection of 66 poems about the city, all accessible to any reader. The background of the book has a unique twist: Six years ago a former English professor at Truman State University published Paris. Bob decided to “answer” each poem set in France with one about Kirksville. The result is a collection of poems about everything from the Blue Moon Cafe to Forest Lake.

About the Author: Bob Mielke is a writer, editor and music lover. For more than 25 years he has been a professor of English at Truman. He taught for four years full-time and 14 summers at Wake Forest University, the latter in connection with the Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Bob has written widely on subjects as diverse as nuclear weapons to William Dean Howells. He lives in Kirksville in a house built during the William McKinley administration.