Gilead is a quiet, reflective book about things of the heart and spirit—forgiveness and the relationship between father and son. John Ames is an elderly pastor in the small town of Gilead, Iowa in the 1950s. He had a son late in life and is writing down his thoughts and memories for his son so that his son will know about his family and heritage. Pastor Ames is the grandson and son of preachers. His grandfather had been a fiery abolitionist preacher before the Civil War and his father a pacifist preacher. His best friend is Robert Boughton, also a pastor in Gilead.
The Fond du Lac Public Library’s annual Fond du Lac Reads celebration in October focused on the novel, Wingshooters, by Nina Revoyr. During the month, the community was invited to “write” poems in the library’s Book Spine Poetry Contest – Talking About Tolerance. Poems were written using the words on the spines of books, movies or CDs.
On Wednesday, Mary Wehner and Paula Sergi of the Foot of the Lake Poetry Collective judged the entries and awarded first, second and third place prizes.
