RURAL ODYSSEY V

About the Book

RURAL ODYSSEY V - TROUBLE IN A KANSAS RIVER TOWN is a return to fiction. It tells the latest in Curran's stories of Abilene, Kansas. Trouble comes to Abilene in an unexpected armed attack on the town and its residents in 1971 by KKK and "rugged individualists" out for revenge for the conviction and imprisonment in Abilene of their relatives and cronies in past years. Following the "troubles," the author writes of protagonists Mike and Mariah's teaching at the Dwight D. Eisenhower College in Abilene, the birth of their daughter Ariel Sarah O'Brien Palafox, and the Palafox family's travel to Spain. With the passage of time and events in Abilene, Mike and Marah make a life changing move back east and work and teaching at Harvard. Book Two - a Novella - Ballad of the "Smoky Hill River Rambler" tells the story of Abilene's Mickey Clancy's dream of performing (singing and playing guiitar, including classical guitar) in the restaurants and bars in Durango and other towns of Southwest Colorado. As his music evolves and the repertoire grows, he encounters romance and surprises, not always pleasant, as an itinerant musician.

About the Author

Mark J. Curran is Professor Emeritus from Arizona State University where he worked from 1968 to 2011. He taught Spanish Language as well as the Survey of Spanish Literature, a seminar on "Don Quixote," and Civilization of Spain and Latin American Civilization. He also taught the Portuguese Language (Brazilian variant) as well as Survey of Luso-Brazilian Literature, Luso-Brazilian Civilization and seminars on Chico Buarque de Hollanda and Brazil's Folk-Popular Literature (the "Literatura de Cordel). He has written forty-three books, eight in academic circles before retirement, thirty-five with Trafford in retirement. Color images of the covers and summaries of the books appear on his website: www.currancordelconnection.com His e-mail address is: profmark@asu.edu