Retired prof dives deep into the Mississippi river with his new book

By Tim Spitzack | Editor | May 2022

Like so many, Thomas Becknell struggled in 2020, a turbulent year rife with political unrest, social injustice and a global pandemic. To make sense of the madness, he turned to two old friends: books and the Mississippi river.

“Both have been my refuge from – and engagement with – the world,” he writes in his new book, “Enchantments of the Mississippi: A Contemplative Journey of Time and Place.” While the book explores the significance of various aspects of the river (bridges, confluences, bends, bluffs and field), it stems from the personal heartache and challenges that the author experienced in recent years: divorce, the loss of a home, fading friendships and his aging body. Within its pages, Becknell explores both physical and emotional landscapes and even wades into deep waters to address the sacredness some people find along the river.

When Becknell shared his feelings of desolation with a friend one day, the man suggested he turn to the river. The notion frightened him because rivers had been a source of “holy terror” for him, a result of emotional scars formed during his childhood, when his maternal grandmother flung herself from a bridge into the Ohio River to escape her depression. Sadness runs deep in his family. His mother also lost her battle with despair years later.

Despite his fears, Becknell took his friend’s advice and embarked on a journey that would make him intimate with the river and its people, past and present, and provide fodder for his own literary contribution to the world.

Born in Ohio and raised on the plains of Eastern Wyoming and Nebraska, Becknell developed a love of literature early on. He moved to the Twin Cities after receiving his Ph.D. in American literature from the University of Iowa. Now retired, he spent his career teaching literature and writing to college students in St. Paul. Given his professional background, it was only natural that he enlisted his favorite authors and poets to help him tell the overarching story of the river. In one section, he takes an imaginative stroll with Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville and Samuel Clemens, referencing their thoughts through quotes and excerpts of their work. However, it is clear from Becknell’s writing that his own words have power, too. He is a lover of language, and he wields it well. He illuminates the “enchanting” landscapes found in the river valley with phrases that evoke emotion and conjure up vivid images. His inquisitiveness is contagious, and much can be learned from his searching, historical research and willingness to ask deep questions.

Becknell began writing the book in 2017 in his apartment in the Pioneer Building in Lowertown and finished it at his new home in South St. Paul, where he moved in 2019 with his new bride, Pamela. During the writing process, he explored significant river sites locally and many others downstream in Illinois and Missouri. Anyone who loves the river will know the places he visited, but his personal observations present the locales in a new light and make one want to hop on the Great River Road to experience them anew. Becknell returned from his travels with a suitcase full of research and individual experiences, but it was at Kaposia Landing on the bank of the river in South St. Paul where he eventually discovered what he had been searching for.

The book was published by Beaver’s Pond Press in St. Paul. To read an except, visit www.thomasbecknell.com. Red Wing native Kari Vick provided illustrations.

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