A26S-112 Laura Ingalls Wilder Studies: Free Land
Online | Available (Membership Required)
Join us as we explore Free Land, the novel written for adults by Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The book follows a newly married couple as they attempt homesteading in Dakota Territory during the 1880s, a story that will feel familiar to anyone who has read the Little House books. Together, we’ll place the novel in its historical context, examine its publication history (and whether Laura herself knew of it), and consider Rose’s life and her complex relationship with her parents.
Recommended Text (Student Purchase): Free Land by Rose Wilder Lane
Shanley Wells Rau
Shanley Wells-Rau spent 20 years as a writer and editor in the corporate world before starting graduate work at Oklahoma State University, where she served as an editorial assistant for Cimarron Review and taught composition. She completed her MFA in Poetry in 2018. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in The New Territory, Poetry Quarterly, Plants & Poetry and Bluestem Magazine, among others. She is a docent-in-training at the Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage County, Okla. She also serves as a reader for Gold Wake Press, an independent literary publisher. She teaches literature and creative writing part-time and lives on a windy hill outside Ponca City with her husband and dog.