Pigeon of Buchenau and Other Stories

Pichaske’s stories take us from the halls of academe to small-townMinnesota to a little village on the edge of the Bavarian NationalForest. Speaking in voices of a farmer right out of Deliverance, a disgruntled professor of English, and his dog Harley, Pichaske says what many people think, but few have the courage to say. While he is especially strong on details of history, place, and language, the hard-nosed wisdom his narrators offer transcends place and even time.

"Dave Pichaske listens to his neighbors, to his teaching colleagues, to the pigeons of Buchenau and even, apparently, to dogs. Then he thinks and distills and reflects and writes. His prose spirals through the particulars of the lives he has observed, conveying truths readers will recognize." -- Linda M. Hasselstrom, author of Land Circle, "David Pichaske shows remarkable range in The Pigeons of Buchenau. From a talking dog to a department meeting at a "corn college" to the Bavarian mountans, he speaks with a truth uncommon today. While some of these stories are lovingly tender, others will smack you upside your head. Pichaske has been at the writing game for decades and these stories will not disappoint. All in all, a great read." -- Adrian C. Louis, author of Skins and Evil Corn, "This is a wonderful collection, a smorgasboard of Pichaske stories, reports, reflections. From the narrator's longings in the opening story to the satiric wit in "The Department Meeting" to the final pieces rooted in the author's experiences in Buchenau, Pickaske gives us the fullness of himself -- his wit, his dismays, his hopes, and his clear-eyed way of seeing the world for what it really is. There's even a delightful talking-dogs story that should be read aloud at dinner parties in the company of dog owners and dog lovers everywhere." -- Jim Heynen, author of The One-Room Schoolhouse, "Pichaske knows whereof he writes; he exhibits a keen sense of humor, insight, and genuine feeling for the places he has been and the people who lives and work there -- including his beloved black Lab, Bear." - Hugh Mercer Curtler author of Ethical Argument.

David Pichaske has spent fifty years as a college professor, and forty years as editor-publisher of Spoon River Poetry Press and Ellis Press. He taught four years in Poland, Latvia, and Mongolia on Senior Fulbright Fellowships, and authored two dozen books, most recently his memoir Here I Stand. He lives in Granite Falls, Minnesota, USA.