Under the Big Top

About the Book

Under The Big Top is a collection of stories and poems written by and about the lives of forty writers in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s from two communities in Northern California.

These writings present the readers a view of life in America during the last one hundred years - frequently a life of struggle and strife but also of fun and laughter. These stories speak of the hardships of poverty and war and of the closeness of family. Yes, a time when life was simpler, closer, poorer, harsher, shorter and much more personal.

Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation" speaks: Ordinary people, rich and poor, present the America they lived. They tell of a time when the pranks of children resulted in a "wippin'," when justice was swift and the pain short-lived.

They knew no television, plastic, instant food, microwaves, airplane travel or space exploration. In that spirit, these stories and poems present: UNDER THE BIG TOP in the recognition that much of life may be likened to a "circus," where we appear as "clowns" or "elephants on parade". Occasionally, we fly the trapeze or walk the tightrope. These are fitting images for the people whose lives required juggling skills from time to time.

Throughout, these selections are accentuated by the poignant pen-and-ink drawings of Alison Paolini.

This collection offers a bit of Americana in story form that too few people hear about when grandparents live too far away or we have waited too long to ask them - so long, that we, ourselves, forget the questions. As our older folks cling to a future through this writing, they offer a history to our children.

A MUST FOR ALL OF US WHO HAVE OLDER PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES.

About the Author

The Senior Circus Works consists of a group of nearly forty writers in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. They live in two different communities in Northern California, and, to create Under the Big Top, they joined efforts to tackle the sometimes overwhelming task of rating, screening and organizing over 150 stories and poems. With the help of ther instructor/editor, Senior Circus Works pooled their energies to make Under the Big Top a reality. Now, two years later, the group submits this work with a good deal of pride knowing that they bring the variety, diversity and equality of the last 100 years in America.

Under the Big Top has become a monument of and for Senior Circus Works, a group of "oldsters," that managed to work together, to stay focused and still speak to one another while writing, revising, correcting and writing to make personal histories available to all who will share their stories.

This is how we lived; this how a future is built; this is the real nature of history.