In the late 1990s I began working on a series of essays about the Lake Superior region. I was drawn to the area because of its natural beauty, dramatic weather, and geographic isolation; because it was so different from the American Southwest, where I had been living for many years; and because of an ancient family connection: one of my great-grandfathers had settled in Duluth, Minnesota, at the western end of the big lake, in the late 1890s and established himself as a colorful local character and politico. Growing up, I often heard stories about Duluth from my father (stories passed down to him from his father, who had grown up there), and I still have a number of cousins in town, people I have come to know and love through my visits to the area.
After I began to work on the project, events large and small, global and personal, interrupted my progress, so that I only recently revised and edited the manuscript and published the book through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and IngramSpark. It is now (finally) available in various formats from Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/Circling-Wolfs-Head-Encounters-Superior-ebook/dp/B0CHPR15R2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GY3ZE4L6Y9ZJ&keywords=eaton%2C+circling+wolf&qid=1694712038&sprefix=eaton%2C+circling+wolf%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-1; from IngramSpark at https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?AfaHDtKG5UIFzLmSGR3dbJ9s9T3m8yFmWC0DTOXKxWI (hardcover) or https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?FCrUyxAIXsX1NWLHU5MyGXP1hcMqqfYwqTdFTjdrPqZ (paperback); or from other online or brick-and-mortar booksellers.
On this site I will post, on a rotating basis, sample chapters from the book. If you enjoy the posted chapters, of course I hope you’ll consider buying a digital or print copy of the entire book.
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The book traces a clockwise route around the lake, beginning and ending in Duluth. The contents are as follows:
Chapter 1 – Silver Bay, Minnesota: The Cost of Clean Water
Chapter 2 – Thunder Bay, Ontario: The Friction of Culture
Drawing on my experiences from several visits to the city of Thunder Bay, this chapter explores the historical and cultural differences between the United States and Canada and the polite but determined resistance of Canadians to American cultural incursion.
Chapter 3 – Schreiber, Ontario: Flesh and Spirit in the Canadian Shield
Chapter 4 – Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario and Michigan: The Synergy of Place
Chapter 5 – The Upper Peninsula of Michigan: The Literature of Place
This chapter describes a meandering road trip through the middle part of the Upper Peninsula, with some casual (but, I hope, thoughtful) reflections on the literary efforts that remote, wild area has long inspired.
Chapter 6 – The Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan: The Sounds of Human Enterprise
Chapter 7 – Princess Pine, Wisconsin: The Last Redoubt
Chapter 8 – Duluth, Minnesota: The Power of the Past