Plains Song

Wright Marion Morris was an American novelist, photographer, and essayist. This 1981 National Book Award winner links three generations of late 1800’s Midwestern women to a form of unison singing in unmeasured time known as plainsong. The novel begins with the terminal illness of Cora Atkins, as the dying Cora recalls the chronology of the Atkins women, the narration evolves as an extended flashback. Cora recalls how she was bargained over, and then married to Emerson Atkins. The first half of the novel depicts Cora's younger days; the second half chronicles the life and career of Sharon Rose, a daughter of hers by default. While Cora is growing old in the company of her family, Sharon is growing into middle age continuing to resist all attachments. The novel depicts the women’s lives and travails with illuminating wit and refreshing originality. Morris writes with a clear vision of the early American pioneering experience.