With this reading I was blown away by the character of the tramp.

I think it's one of the most beautiful and unusual pieces in American literature and I've often re-read that section just for the pleasure of it. My favorite part of the book remains Part IV: The Ancient People. I admired how Cather slowed the action down to detail the influences in Thea's younger life, her hard work, and the sacrifices that she made for her art. She didn't give it all up to get married or die tragically young. As a budding feminist, I was captivated by the depiction of a young girl who has talent and passion and who pursues her dreams into adulthood, eventually achieving great success in her field. I was in my twenties and read it for a graduate seminar. I fell in love with The Song of the Lark the first time I read it about twenty years ago. I can see why it is considered a classic. It is an early example of relationships in which the men in the story admire the woman for her ambition and talents and help her achieve her goals. One of Cather’s strengths is the ability to vividly depict the landscapes of the places Thea visits. This book is the second in the Great Plains trilogy (along with O Pioneers! and My Antonia), Willa Cather’s narratives of strong women in the American West, but it can easily be read as a standalone.

She eventually moves to Chicago to pursue vocal performance education. She is one of seven children born to a Scandinavian immigrant family in the small (fictional) town of Moonstone, Colorado. It opens in the 1890s, when Thea is eleven years old. Published in 1915, this is a beautifully written novel about the life of Thea Kronberg, a feisty female protagonist who overcomes the social restrictions of the time and eventually makes her mark as an opera singer.

Willa cather the song of the