Around here, especially on the campus of ISU, we are constantly reminded of the world of farming. The breeding of plants, new high-tech equipment, global markets. Around here, farming is very much a 20th century business.

But the essence of farming, of the farmer him or herself, seems to have been lost. Don Kurtz, author of the acclaimed novel, South of the Big Four, has found that lost spirit and brought it back to life.

South of the Big Four is set in contemporary farm country of north central Indiana. It is the story of the family farm and a way of life soon to be found only in history books. It is also the tale of the American farmer – full of hard work, pride and a certain brand of optimism – the farmer that is trying to beat the system which is slowly taking him down.

Gerry Maars is that farmer. We see him through the eyes of 30-year-old Arthur Conason, who returns to his family’s farm after an absence of many years. Taking up residence in the abandoned house in which he was reared, Conason tells himself he is only there until business in the Great Lakes shipping industry improves.

But in the old house, memories hang like cobwebs in the corners, and the rooms echo with the sound of his long-dead father’s commanding, unforgiving voice. Haunted by the memories, Arthur begins to confront the unresolved emotions that have waged unacknowledged war within him for years.

To pay the bills, Arthur goes to work for Maars, who works the land Arthur’s father once did. He was a young man when he began farming south of the Big Four railroad tracks, when Arthur’s father was one of the established farmers.

Born in Urbana and raised in the farm country of Illinois and Indiana, Kurtz knows well of the land about which he writes. For three years he worked off and on as a hired hand on his uncle’s farm. There he gained the practical experience needed for writing his book.

“Getting a story you find interesting and that will hold attention of an adult reader is tricky,” Kurtz said of writing his first published novel. “But the hardest part is finding a publisher.

“When Chronicle [Publishers] picked up the book, I vowed I would tour the Midwest. Publishers think it will be hard to reach the Midwest reader, but I see it as a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Kurtz believes Midwesterners tend to turn away from stories that reflect their lifestyle. But he stresses the way of life endured by these modest people is one that is worthwhile.”We in the Midwest have to think we’re worthy,” he said.

“As Midwesterners we can’t believe a book written by somebody from the Midwest about the Midwest would be nationally endorsed. But my book has reached national attention and is doing well on the coast.”

One reason South of the Big Four has gained such exposure is the believability of the characters. Kurtz was pleasantly surprised by the evolution of his characters but noted they had a path. “I had a trajectory. The shift in the 20th century, the worked-based, family-based values we used to look for have become liabilities,” Kurtz explained.

“I found characters that showed that, witnessing the passing of a way of life. People are instinctively drawn to the land and bound to family, no matter where they live.”

Kurtz’s interest in community is also a focus of the book. He wrote of the deterioration of community life and the demands of community on the self. “We reached a point where we do our own thing, which is good, but it tends to destroy the community,” Kurtz said. “We lose our frame of reference.”

Kurtz was the recipient of a 1992 Fellowship in Creative Writing from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has also published short fiction in the Iowa Review and Puerto del Sol. He now lives in Las Cruces, N.M., where he teaches at New Mexico State University.

Big Table Books, 330 Main St., will be hosting a reading by Kurtz tonight at 7:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.