Benjamin Vogt

About Me

Just got my Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Double dissertation in poetry and nonfiction. POETRY: Based on family photographs from the last two centuries. Traces immigration--mostly through received forms--of Germans from Russia, (Ukraine actually), their settling in Kansas and Oklahoma, all the way to my privileged suburban life. NONFICTION: Central narrative is a memoir of my time spent gardening with my mother while growing up, and ultimately discovering a history of family abuse. Topics that develop this include various religions, garden design and history, environmental literatures and philosophies, & other writers. All explore how our violence toward ourselves and each other comes from the same root as our violence toward the planet, and how this realization might be a preventative measure. GARDEN: Zone 5a in eastern Nebraska, on less than 1/4 acre, born in July 2007. My main back garden is roughly 1500 square feet on the southeast side. It is an ornamental garden, with sections inspired by Japanese gardens and prairie gardens and even desert gardens. I prefer texture and size over color, scent and sound over perfect placement. I like to flirt with my plants.

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The Deep Middle