Cross Creek

The print was so small I could not read it comfortably. I finally gave up! I wear glasses and I can see regular size print such as the newspaper, but this book needed a magnifier!

Cross Creek is one of the finest memoirs ever written, filled with grace and beauty from one of America's greatest writers, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Perhaps no other writer has so perfectly and honestly captured a place and time like Rawlings did in Cross Creek. It will transport you to that small acreage of backwoods Florida and cause you to wish for a life such as this. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings purchased a seventy-two acre orange grove in this remote area and fled her aristocratic life in the city to perfect her craft and get published. It is here all her beloved books would be born, including this memoir covering the years of hardships and beauty at the creek. Rawlings herself would become a part of the earth and land as she was reborn here in Cross Creek and would leave behind literary achievements such as "South Moon Under," "Golden Apples," "When the Whipporwill," "Cross Creek Cookery," and of course, her Pulitzer winning, "The Yearling." Her close relationships with her neighbors at the creek, both black and white, are told with humor and humanity. Their lives were often filled with hardships but serenity as well, for all of them had chosen to live this kind of life rather than conform to society. Especially poignant are Rawlings' observations of a young destitute couple who would be portrayed so movingly in Jacob's Ladder. Rawlings' recollections of her friendship with Moe, and especially his daughter Mary, who was Moe's reason for living and the only one in his family who cared when he came or went, are told with such beauty we feel pain ourselves when he takes his last breath at the creek. Her deep friendships over the years with Tom and Old Martha are told with humor, honesty and a gift for description few have ever had. Tinged with sadness is Marjorie's relationship both as employer and friend to 'Geechee. Rawlings would attempt to help her to no avail as this sweet personality slowly became an unemployable alcoholic. Her mistreatment at the hands of a womanizer unworthy of her love was at the heart of her problem. It is perhaps at the bottom of a few bitter comments from Rawlings. But Cross Creek is about the earth and our relationship to it. When we stray from it we become less because it is a part of us. Rawlings came to believe over time that when we lose this connection to the earth, we lose a part of ourselves. The great and wondrous beauty of nature, from magnolia blossoms and rare herbs to Hayden mangos and papaya, are as much a part of this memoir as the people. Particularly hilarious are Rawlings' descriptions of a pet racoon of mischievious nature and such cantankerous disposition as to almost seem human. Rawlings' world at the creek is perhaps her legacy, a gift given to the reader we can never forget. In order to enjoy this memoir, however, one must read the entire book, taking into consideration a number of factors. Published in 1942 and covering many years prior in a backwoods area of Florida, at a time when ra

I picked up a copy of this book from my mother's bookshelf and began to read it, only to find myself returning to it at every opportunity. As a black woman, I found the racial terminology the author used discomfiting, but did not let that deter me from reading the book. I thought it one of the most lyrical, thoughtful, and in-depth descriptions of a people and an area that I have ever read. Transplanted physically to Florida from Los Angeles, California a few years ago, I found myself transported mentally as well, as I read this book. I recognized Ms. Rawlings as a truly gifted writer. You will not regret having read her story.

Although I am a native-born Floridian, it was not until a bitter winter's day that I first picked up a tattered, first-print copy of Cross Creek in the old library in Hope Valley, Rhode Island, a town where I resided for five long, cold years. I missed Florida terribly, more than I had ever missed any person. From the first few paragraphs, I felt a special kinship with the author. At last, someone understood! I found great comfort in the pages of this wonderful book, with it's beautifully written, descriptive passages. Mrs. Rawlings had a deep appreciation for even the minutest details of the land, creatures and water that surrounded her. I truly wish I could have know this lady. Today I live about 25 miles from Cross Creek and visit her old homestead and groves whenever I get the chance. They have been well preserved in the condition in which she left them 45 years ago. It is easy to see where her inspiration came from when you stand in her yard among the beautiful and fragrant orange, grapefruit and tangerine trees--and when you view the creek itself. I was amazed to find the creek and farm were almost exactly as I had pictured them while reading Cross Creek. I highly recommend this book.

More than 50 years ago, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings made rural Florida her home and the subject of some of her best writing. Her humor, lyricism and nostalgia are best captured in Cross Creek.Cross Creek is a book of essays about the life and people in Marjorie's world. Some of her characterizations might not translate in our ethnically-sensitized world and I understand the author was sued by one subject who didn't appreciate her characterization. However, Marjorie's respect and affection for her subjects is apparent in every sentence. Her appreciation for the natural wonders of her world (even insects and reptiles) will refresh the perspective of those who live close to nature and create a longing in those who do not.Finally, Cross Creek is a glimpse into a long overlooked and vanishing part of the American South. Before the explosion of Orlando, a lot of Florida was rural acreage inhabited by people who lived off the land. Marjorie does not romanticize this existance; one of her wryest essays is about her long-running battle against outdoor plumbing. However, she does show the victories and tragedies of a vanishing people. Cross Creek is to be read, re-read and loved. I only wish I could discover it all over again, myself.