Welcome to Litsy!

A historian‘s selection of photographs, taken of the small town of Black River Falls, Wisconsin and its inhabitants between the years of 1885 and 1900. Lesy pairs the photos with articles taken from the town newspaper, chronicling countless accounts of the eerie, dismal and shocking. This is a photo essay/compendium that shows the malaise of rural America entering modernity, a book garnering a cult-like following ever since its 1973 publication.

I finished Wisconsin Death Trip with a sigh of relief yesterday. It was absolutely fascinating but also so devastatingly bleak that I could only read one or two sections at a time. I‘m glad I finally got around to checking it out. It will stick with me for a while and take a bit to process.

I was wondering if the librarian at the small branch mostly geared towards children was going to look at me strangely when I picked up my inter-library loan for Wisconsin Death Trip. Actually she said “Oh I‘m sorry! I‘ve been looking through your book. It‘s so interesting!” So that‘s what I get for underestimating librarians.

It‘s the 50th anniversary of this cult classic. So glad I finally got around to reading it. A fascinating, disturbing and often heartbreaking mix of newspaper accounts and striking photographs from small-town WI 1890-1910. Look forward to watching the 1999 documentary soon!

The universe has been telling me I finally need to read this book and watch this documentary. Earlier this week, I came across the NYT article about the book 50 years on (my library still has the 1973 edition). And then, I turn to the first page of Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy yesterday and there it is, Black River Falls, WI.
#LibraryHaul

1) I haven't read the tagged book, but I watched the documentary based on it many years ago & never forgot it.
2) When I lived in Minneapolis I went on a road trip to Milwaukee one year for my birthday. The highlight was a visit to Woodland Pattern Books. A bookstore that emphasized on indie presses. One of the best concerts I ever attended also took place in Somerset WI. The final night featured Devotchka & The Flaming Lips. Incredible. 🤘

Book review for Wisconsin Death Trip by Michael Lesy
http://www.athinsliceofanxiety.com/2018/10/review-wisconsin-death-trip.html?m=1
#athinsliceofanxiety #wisconsindeathtrip #michaellesy #history #photography #americannightmare

In an afterword of A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick stated that he found inspiration in this book for the desperation of people just struggling to survive. I saw elsewhere that Stephen King was also intrigued and inspired by the stories of this odd little telling of history. I just had to get it from the library to check it out. Morbid curiosity keeps the pages turning for me. Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. 😮

True story of Black River Falls WI, when the logging industry dried up in the 1890s it left the small town residents destitute. For 20 years they "lost it" accusing each other of witchcraft, drowning their starving childern and other bizzar things. Included in this book are pictures of the residents. (As a WI resident and a history buff how did I just find this now)