Poems of Sac Prairie, Volume 1

August Derleth, in addition writing many novels and tales about his imaginary realm of Sac Prairie (based on his hometown of Sauk City, Wisconsin), was a prolific poet, producing twenty volumes of poems over his career. These poems exhibit his wide-ranging interests: sensitivity to the natural landscape and the eternally recurring rhythms of the seasons; the role that people play within this landscape; the weight of history as it hangs upon both Native Americans and European settlers; and the complexity of the emotions that swirl through individuals as they seek to interact with their friends, lovers, and neighbors. This volume contains the complete contents of his two earliest volumes of poetry, Hawk on the Wind (1938) and Man Track Here (1939). Written mostly in free verse, these poems add a fascinating dimension to Derleth's ongoing portrayal of Sac Prairie.