Spoon River Anthology book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: The Hill to Ida Chicken

1. What makes kindness feel like a debt rather than a gift in Constance Hately's account?
2. How fair is Hod Putt's comparison between his punishment and Bill Piersol's financial success?
3. How should readers weigh Ollie McGee's accusation against Fletcher McGee's account of mutual suffering?
4. What might make Frank Drummer's effort to memorize an encyclopedia meaningful, even when the village cannot see his purpose?
5. What different ideas of a worthwhile life emerge from Cooney Potter's labor and Fiddler Jones's music?

Meeting 2: Part 106 to John Wasson

6. Is Mrs. Purkapile's refusal to release her husband loyalty, control, or something else?
7. How far should Clarence Fawcett's reason for selling stolen blankets change our judgment of his action?
8. Who bears responsibility for Walter Simmons's disappointment: Walter, the town, or neither?
9. What might make the welcome offered to Elmer Karr seem generous, troubling, or both?
10. How does Harry Wilmans's experience change what patriotic cheering means to the reader?

Meeting 3: Many Soldiers to Epilogue

11. Does Lucinda Matlock's endurance give her the right to challenge people who complain about life?
12. How does the neglected geranium shape your response to Mabel Osborne's longing for affection?
13. What different limits on growth emerge when Samuel Gardner's elm is read beside Dow Kritt's?
14. How does Lydia Humphrey's account challenge the people who mock her faith?
15. What does the developing photograph suggest about how people might move beyond scorn?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.