SYNOPSIS
The
Knight family, which consists of Mr. Knight and his three children –Gus, Angie
and Richard, is a farming family living in a small district in Turtle Lake,
Iowa, USA in 1917.
The novel centred on Richard, a
fifteen-year-old boy, who begins a correspondence with a poet, Joyce Kilmer,
while Mr. Kilmer is serving the country during World War I.
Richard is a budding poet himself but
is unable to get the encouragement he needs from his family. Richard’s father
is a good, hardworking farmer but he is very reserved and hardly shares his
feelings with his children. Furthermore, Gus and Angie do not understand poetry
and think that Richard is odd.
One day, Mrs Hansen, Richard’s English
teacher, reads a poem by Mr Kilmer in class. While the other boys feel that the
poetry is boring and meant for ‘sissies’, Richard is inspired by the beauty of
the poem, Mrs Hansen further explain that Mr Kilmer is a brave and patriotic
man as he has volunteered to be a soldier to fight in the war. Richard’s
admiration for the poet compels him to write a latter to Mr Kilmer and thus
begins their correspondence.
During the war, Richard takes solace
in his friendship with Hannah and the letters from Mr Kilmer. Through his
letters, Mr Kilmer encourages Richard to continue writing poems and not to keep
this talent a secret. Richard finally manages to read his poem in class,
gaining the admiration and respect of most of his fellow classmates.
One day, Richard hears the dreadful
news that Mr Kilmer has been killed in battle. In his grief, Richard writes a
poem in Mr Kilmer’s memory. The Schermers, who have always been supportive of
his talent, suggest that Richard send his poem to The Turtle Lake Weekly, a
local newspaper, in the hope that it gets published. Later, the paper carries
an obituary for Me Kilmer along with a special section with Richard’s poem.
After reading the poem, Richard’s
father is finally able to open up and share his sadness of having lost his
brother, Roland, in the war several years ago. The poem enables father and son
to have a closer bond.
TIME SETTING
** The story is set
during World War 1.The story begins in February 1917 and ends in November 1918
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