Spoon River Anthology

Realistic, and often cynical, these epitaphs are spoken from the grave by a collection of two hundred and forty four people buried in a village cemetery in America's Midwest. The whole spectrum of human life is represented here; with everyone from poet to shopkeeper given a chance to narrate their life, and tell of their thwarted hopes and dreams; and their struggles, both personal and political. With these classic poems, Masters took his revenge on the hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness of small-town America, portraying a town filled with injustice, corruption, and cruelty.