Let’s Try To Define “Midwestern”
“Southern” conjures up certain images and characteristics in my mind. Same goes for the West Coast, Upper Northwest, Southwest, New York, and New England. But what about the Midwest?
Since I’m a current fiction contributor in the literary magazine Midwestern Gothic, they highlighted me with an interview last week. The questions they asked, and my answers, made me think about the Midwest and what it means to be Midwestern.
As I told the magazine, I’m 100% a Midwestern gal, and everything I write takes place in Chicago
Photo by MeetMinneapolis via Flickr
(usually the North Shore suburbs), St. Louis, or Minnesota. Yet, I don’t know what “Midwestern” means beyond the facts of where I’ve lived and where my imagination resides. I worry that my characters may suffer for it.
Two years ago when one of my completed novels made the agent rounds, I got some eye-opening feedback from an agent on the West Coast. She liked the novel enough to go back and forth with me on some revisions, but she one of the issues that stuck out for her was one I wasn’t sure how to handle. She didn’t find it realistic that my main character’s mother, being from the Midwest, would have cared so much about organic food and healthy living as far back as the 80s. (This is the mother in my story “A Fresh Life,” recently published by Midwestern Gothic.) We spoke about it on the phone, and the agent was stuck on this problem of a Midwestern woman having what the agent felt was a West Coast attitude about food.
Midwestern Characters
I bring up that example to highlight an issue Midwestern writers creating Midwestern characters may face from time to time. Is our region known for certain qualities that we can translate into fictional characters? It’s not like we want to create stock, clichéd characters like some other regional writers may be tempted to do. The “Southern belle” comes to mind. The New Yorker who wears black all the time and doesn’t smile at people in the street. Obviously as writers we all want to get beyond surface generalizations. Nevertheless, my character from the suburbs of Chicago who cares about the chemicals in her food in the 80s felt implausible enough to the agent I mentioned earlier to render the entire character unbelievable.
As a side note, I sometimes wonder if my “Jewish identity” complicates my ability to define what makes me “Midwestern.” People I meet in Minnesota sometimes assume I’m from the East Coast. Is that because I have dark hair, talk fast, and say “oy vey” all the time? I’ve visited plenty of cities around the country and the world, but I’ve only lived in the Midwest. I suppose my ultimate issue now as a Midwestern writer is that I have a strong sense of place, but not a strong sense of “peoplehood” other than my sense of Jewish “peoplehood.” Maybe that’s why my main characters are always Jewish.
OY. VEY.
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42 Responses
Huh. I’ve lived in CT my whole life, which I guess means I’m a New England writer, but I honestly have no idea what that means. I wonder if being too close to where we are makes it hard for us to see our own defining characteristics? Then again, when I went away to school (in southern PA) I was amazed by how many people felt a strong sense of identity based on where they’d lived in the past. And as a writer, I’ve always been befuddled by people who identify as Southern writers or New York writers or Maine writers. I think I’ve always been a little suspicious that it could really be that simple.
I think you’re right that it can’t be that simple. BUT, there are certainly categories of regional literature . . . probably Southern is the most established with the most national interest. As for Connecticut . . . hmmm, I see that as more connected to NY than New England, which I categorize in my mind as Maine, Massachusetts. But maybe that’s because I’ve always lived in the middle of the country! But I hear your point–that it doesn’t have to matter.
Congrats on the interview!
That agent makes me embarrassed to be a Californian! She didn’t know the whole health food movement started in the Midwest? Tell her to look up Mr. Kellogg. 1950s health food pioneer Adele Davis was a Midwesterner too. My Chicago-born-and-bred mother sent me to school with homemade whole wheat bread turkey sandwiches with organic lettuce and dried apricots for dessert. Soda wasn’t allowed in our house. And this was even before 1980. (OK I’m coming out as a geezerette here.)
People tend to think of the Midwest as Lake Woebegon, or maybe a bunch of red-neck Kansas farmers.They don’t think urban. But Chicago is as different from Bible-thumping southern Indiana as New York City is from Appalachia.
That agent represents what’s wrong with the corporate publishing industry. They only want stereotypes and copy-cats. It’s so infuriating. I hope you find a publisher who respects honesty and creativity soon.
BTW, my new publisher is in Wisconsin. 🙂
Now I’ll go check out your interview.
Anne! I didn’t know any of that either!!! Seriously, thanks for that info. I loved this whole comment. Pure Anne Allen!
I think the two coasts have no idea what to make of Midwesterners–those of us landlocked in the middle of the country where one state looks and sounds no different than its neighbor.
I’m a Midwestern “lifer,” so I think I have license to characterize the SPIRIT of Midwesterners.
If there was one symbolic character, for me, it would be the German/Scandinavian, up-at-dawn, hard working farmer. Soil tillers–that’s what we are–even if we’ve never planted a single seed (or are neither German nor Scandinavian). Because, whether you look at it literally or figuratively, we make something from nothing. We make it beautiful. We take care of our neighbors. And we ALWAYS make sure everyone’s got something on their plate. (God forbid the alternative.)
Btw-I think you were absolutely spot on with your character being organically conscious, even in the 80s. For crying out loud, in 1977, my mom was sprinkling coarse-ground Bran (bought at the co-op) on my Cheerios and cultivating her own yogurt cultures in our fridge!
Rant over. Back to the fields.
Loved this Anne! And I agree with your sense of the Midwest. Maybe the problem for a Midwestern urban Jew is that separation from the land. I wouldn’t exactly call my Highland Park heritage rife with up-at-dawn hard working farmers. Still, when I think of MY ANTONIA or other books of the ilk, I feel that Midwestern sense of land and growth out of nothing.
Ok I’ll admit it I figured you were from the East coast and moved to Minnesota as an adult. Now that I think about it I have absolutely no idea why I thought that. I’ll also admit that I don’t even have a clear understanding of what counts as the mid-west. I certainly don’t think of Chicago or Minnesota as the mid-west… I thought the mid-west was Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, maybe Oaklahoma. Those northern states (MN, WI, MI, IL, IN, OH) I have no idea what I classified them as except “other” LOL. Or the states around the great lakes. I kind of feel stupid now.
In response to Anne – I hear Minnesota and immediately think Scandinavian/German and Lutheran.
Don’t feel stupid, Tanya! This whole post is ABOUT how the Midwest befuddles people!
Growing up in Minnesota, I often heard it and the surrounding area referred to as the “upper mid-west.”
As someone who spent her childhood in the Midwest and adulthood in CA, I have to agree with all of the above. Your agent reacted to a stereotype.
My WIP is also set in the Midwest. I’ve had a beta reader – who has only lived in CA – react the same way to certain points in my novel. Stereotypes. But, armed with that info, we can point out – from the Midwest POV – what our characters feel about that stereotype. This is an opportunity for us. A stereotype is never good for the person who is the subject of it.
There were health food stores in the 80s in MI. But they were fringe. So how did the character’s PEERS react to her family being into healthy eating? The majority had not yet bought into the healthy lifestyle. Does that make a protagonist feel like an outsider? Do people ridicule her or think her family is odd? (Or worse, from CA – the land of fruits and nuts.)
I find it helpful when I’m shown a Midwestern stereotype in my work. It allows me to cover what might be an objection or disbelief in a future reader. (We’re writing for the masses, aren’t we?)
Nina, your work sounds fascinating. There are readers who want it. (The agent was drawn to it, that says something!) Our job as writers is to woo them. And slip in some education in an entertaining way. 🙂
M, thank you so much for this comment! You raise such a good point about being aware of the stereotypes and working with it in ways that make sense for the story. I love your suggestion of having the character wrestle with that issue. (like the food example) Thanks so much for reading the post and reacting to it. 🙂
Nina, I totally agree with you. I think that the stereotype for midwest is the scandinavian and more rural group and not the urban/Minneapolis and Chicago…and certainly not Jewish.It reminds me of when I went to see the play, How toTalk Minnesotan…it was a lot of Hot-dish and ya-you betcha and not any Oy veys! It made me realize that I am not a minnesotan but a Minnesotan Jew. It also reminds me of a time I was in Amsterdam and we met someone and told him we were from Minnesota. He said we did not look Minnesotan…which of course we do not. We look Jewish!
Really very interesting! This is really pertinent to me because I’ve lived in six different states and several countries — and I don’t really “come from” anywhere. Yet we picked Maine to live in, a place where you can’t claim yourself as a “Mainer” unless you were actually born in the state. I kid you not, that’s the criteria. Others? Are “outer-staters.” Yet almost everything I write is from the strong sense of place Maine has provided me. Plus, to boot, I’m “half-Jewish” (whatever that means), and I’m not accepted as either a Christian or a Jew…. So believe me, if you don’t know midwestern, I don’t know Maine or anything else about me. By the way, I find it really crazy that a midwestern woman would be viewed as not possibly concerned about “organic” food “as far back as the 80s….” YIKES. My grandmother (the one I wrote about who lived in Ohio) cared about these things as early as the 40s-50s-60s! But wait, is Ohio midwestern?
This is a fascinating issue – not only for writers and what it means for us (as we pour our origins and histories into our characters), but relative to stereotypes. And those stereotypes are alive and well and living everywhere in this country, in the 21st century.
And among them – the tricky issue of Jewish identity – tough enough for most Jews to grapple with, and still surprisingly foreign in many circles beyond the usual tropes and expressions.
As for myself – I have lived all over, am a hybrid of many influences, and write from all of them (I suppose). That makes things harder in a way, at least in our culture which seeks to slap on a label and market us – as quickly (and economically) as possible.
(Delighted to have found you. Look forward to reading more.)
Ooo – this is an interesting question! I grew up all over the midwest – Cincinnati, Chicago, Des Moines, St. Louis. My mom is a Minnesotan, and my dad an Indianan (is that a word?), so I think I could qualify as an expert.
Going to high school in Des Moines, I thought of ourselves as relatively po-dunk (there *was* a cornfield directly next to my high school), but even that little city is surprisingly metropolitan. As the capital, and hello, Iowa Caucus, there is a real political vibe. And environmental and health-consciousness? Yeah, we had that, too.
To me, midwestern is what I think of when I think of All-American. That’s the apple pie and ice cream sodas. That’s where the kids are mowing their neighbor’s lawns, and lemonade stands abound. It’s hot dogs and ketchup and backyard BBQ. It’s baseball and football and G-d fearing folk. It’s the conspicuous lack of an accent (sorry, Minnesota/Wisconsin/Chicago), and a no-nonsense mindset. It’s being hard-working and frugal. It’s not being enamored with the latest fad or excessive celebrity. It’s the average Jane and Joe. It’s practicality.
Not that those things don’t exist outside of the midwest, of course, or that every midwesterner embodies those characteristics. But those are my associationsa.
As for the Jewish identity, thing, I think every Jew is automatically a New Yorker. That’s just how the cookie crumbles (or the matzah, I guess).
How interesting and also sad that the agent couldn’t get past a stereotype. If anything, it seems like your story would’ve been a perfect opportunity to get beyond a cliche and show all the complexities and quirks of this character. How many of us really fit into such a stiff mold anyways?
I haven’t spent much time in the Midwest, so I wouldn’t be able to comment on what makes a Midwest writer. But I do agree with Lura (the first commenter) who said that sometimes we need distance to recognize what makes our region unique. I actually guest posted on Julia’s blog today about this topic. When I left Miami, all the things I’d taken for granted about it became clear to me, and I was able to use that to enrich the setting of my novel.
Sigh. That agent’s attitude is, sadly, not uncommon. Growing up in Chicago, I’ve met far too many people from the coasts (more often the West Coast) who don’t know Chicago from Kansas–they just lump it all together as “flyover” farmland. A relative was dating a Los Angeles native who was a star writer for a major magazine–a Pulitzer winner!–who “didn’t know Chicago had a museum.”
*A* museum. Oy.
I think the pop-culture stereotype about Chicagoans is still the overweight, sausage-eating Bears fan who says “dis, dat, dese, and dose” (thanks, SNL!). I think that if more tv shows and movies were set somewhere other that NY or LA, that would help with the stereotypes for regions all over the US.
Maybe the reason that you have trouble categorizing Midwesterners is because you are from this area–you know too much about the intricacies and details and differences to be able to come up with a stereotype! They probably ring false to you.
(And my parents, both born and bred in Chicago, were all about the wheat germ and homemade yogurt in the ’80s!)
Ah… the midwest identity crisis. I grew up in PA and people said, “Oh, you’re from the midwest.” Huh? My home state is nearly on the coast, with only one tiny state separating it… So, I agree with the others that many of us don’t even know “what states” constitute the midwest. So – my, oh my – I can see where this would be problematic in writing characters. Fascinating post! I think if your character’s emotional story is strong enough, the rest of that doesn’t matter as much. LIke you said – no one wants to read cardboard, stereotypical, “regional” characters (and who says a midwesterner can’t be concerned about chemical-laden food?)… One thing I WILL say is that when I moved to AZ, I heard a lot of, “Oh -you’re from the midwest. We love midwesterners. They’re hard, hard workers. Great work ethics.”So you’ve got that!
As a Minnesotan, one thing I dislike about how we characterize ourselves is the label of ‘Minnesota nice.’ I don’t think we’re any more or less nice than anyone anywhere else. People who have moved to MN say many Minnesotans aren’t Minnesota nice, they are MN passive-aggressive! =) And I do agree with that.
So agree! I never understood “Minnesota Nice.” I guess it’s supposed to mean not plain, simple “nice” but a bit of a more closed “nice.”
I loved this post, Nina. It highlights that the stereo-typical labels we give to people because of color/sex and religion extend to geography. I remember a segment of Designing Women when Dixie Carter went on a rant about how people expect Southern women to sit around and sip mint julips, fan themselves and faint at the sound of harsh words.
The agent can remain nameless … but not shamless. Yes, great things and people come from the middle of the country and geographic location is as important in our work as the traits of our MC … In fact my MC’s are absolutely rooted in Brooklyn, Washington Heights, down and dirty-blue collar, mixed ethnic, loud and proud New Yorkers.
Raise the bar and continue to expose us to your midwestern, sparky intellect 🙂
What a great post! And why had I never stopped to consider it? All I can say is that even if the characterization was “off” for the region, it was very STRONG characterization for it to make such an impact on the agent and the book as a whole. So you’re doing something right there. Thanks for the food for thought, Nina!
I don’t buy the agents feedback on the mother’s plausibility as a Midwesterner. I recently read a blog post (wish I knew how to link to it) that explored the description that Jonathan Franzen uses for Walter and Patty Berglund at the beginning of Freedom. It is so intense, so real. The author of the blog felt that the descirptions of Walter and Patty were more St Louis (Franzen’s hometown) than St Paul (setting of the book).
I grew up 20 miles outside of New York and totally confused. Although by definition I am a New Englander, you would think that proximity to “the city” would have given me a sophisticated edge, however my cultural coming of age was in the iconic St Louis neighborhoods – The Loop, The Central West End, etc.
That said, there are some wonderful Midwestern values I picked up at Wash U – it’s OK to share a table with a stranger at Bread Co, say hello to people and smile, offer your parking spot to strangers, it is totally normal to play tennis with the guy who does your laundry . . .
This is an excellent topic. Nina, I can appreciate how frustrated you must have been by the agent’s comments. As others have said, she responded to a stereotype, not reality. No one likes dealing with stereotypes.
I’ve run into this in my WIP characters not in terms of geography, but with regard to their occupation, about which most people have very definite–and often inaccurate–ideas. After listening to quite a few comments along these lines, I’ve concluded that I can’t ignore these reader expectations. My characters are going to have to hit them head on, maybe even addressing one or two of the stereotypical characteristics directly with a bit of humor, description of how things really are or in some other creative way. And then they’ll just have to be strong enough personalities on their own that readers forget about the stereotypes.
At least that’s the goal. Easy, right?
So I would think you could keep your character, but you have to take into account readers’ expectations and lay the groundwork for your character in such a way that there’s no doubt about why she is the person she is. And maybe that’s a good idea regardless of where she lives.
So true, Tracy. “…but you have to take into account readers’ expectations and lay the groundwork for your character in such a way that there’s no doubt about why she is the person she is. And maybe that’s a good idea regardless of where she lives.”
Also interesting point about readers’ expectations vis-a-vis certain professions!
As a fellow Midwesterner, I love this post, Nina! I lived on the East Coast for a decade and often encountered comments about how bland/non-diverse Midwesterners are. Usually, these comments were from people who’d spent no time in any of the major cities in the Midwest. 🙂
Hi Nina! My husband is from Detroit, which is Midwestern, but in a uniquely Detroit way. I can’t speak to what I imagine as the more warm and fuzzy, farmer-ish Midwest, but when I think of the Rust Belt I think of people who are resigned, have a bit of a chip on their collective shoulder, and are honestly a bit down on life (my husband is a lot older than me– he’s been out of Detroit since the early 80’s so he’s not in this category!). I think it has something to do with living a lifetime in a city that has been deteriorating for years, and the weather does not help.
As you can guess, I don’t love going to Detroit. 🙂
At the same time, I don’t really blame them for their less-than-rosy attitude. It’s been a hard go in those places for a long time.
I don’t like to identify with the idea of a “Midwesterner.” I’m a Kansas Citian, and that is a lot different than a Chicagin or a someone from MN. My father grew up in Wakenda, MO, and some of my family still live in that area. It’s only an hour and half outside Kansas City (and there are parts of KC that are that far from KC proper), and the cultural difference is huge already.
The midwest is a large part of the country and is more spread out than other cultural centers in the US. There is a lot more diversity here than there is in New York or LA. I think that is the primary reason that people from those areas buy so heavily into stereotypes. They are a lot more prominent there than they are here.
Of course, my response to your agent friend would have been, “Obviously, where do you think that food is GROWN?”
Ha! Such a good point: “Of course, my response to your agent friend would have been, ‘Obviously, where do you think that food is GROWN?'”
As an Arizonian who just spent six years in Iowa, I have to tell you that my initial reaction sided with the agent. But, yes, Chicago is not Iowa. That said, my lasting impression of the midwest is that they (in general ) are not a terribly welcoming people. Friendly, yes. Easy to befriend, no. Like it or not, towns and states take on a bit of their own personalities. Thus …stereotyping.
Many interesting posts here. The agent from the West Coast was stereotyping “Midwesterners” just as much as the New Yorker’s 1976 cover “View of the World from 9th Avenue” stereotyped everyone not from New York. And, as others have mentioned, the Midwest includes many vastly different areas. Even urban Chicago differs from suburban Chicago, not to mention Iowa, Kansas, etc. Yet, the country is more informed on diverse cuisine, etc. Goodness, there are even vegans in Las Vegas! Keep plugging away, and you will find an agent who is open to the idea of health-aware midwesterners (even way before the ’80s when this old geezerette was in Iowa).
Hey Nina!
I found your post particularly interesting because the characters in the novel I’m currently writing are mostly southern. My protagonists are from Tennessee and Kentucky and they spend a good portion of the book out west in Colorado and Utah. I grew up in DC and have traveled to the locales where my book takes place to do research but haven’t really immersed myself. I have to say, I’m concerned about getting things wrong–either accent or point of view or atmosphere. It’s tricky because on the one hand, characters are characters–unique individuals who have unique beliefs and tastes. But there are also ways of looking at the world that are distinctly regional. So maybe I just need to run my drafts by some of my southern friends? I don’t know, but worth considering! Would love to hear your thoughts.
best,
@propjen
It’s all in the details. What resonates and makes a connection with one reader won’t even ripple the surface of another. I suppose the agent was merely doing her job, but if you write with honesty I think that translates and settles itself into your story. It is your story, your voice, your imagination. Pieces of you mixed with made-up stuff. For instance, growing up in the Midwest for me would evoke the images of a ghost town of a high school during deer hunting season, the muffled sound of the drums of the band as I walk in the fall air to a football game. It brings back memories of making leaf houses in our backyard, ice skating under the lights at Parker’s Pond, and balancing a gallon of A&W rootbeer on my ten-speed bike handles while crossing the bridge that spanned the Flambeau River. This was a weekly errand for my Grandma. Midwestern upbringing includes eating Cheesy Potatoes, which included the prep of dropping the frozen 2 lb. bag of southern hashbrowns on the floor to break them up. It means saying “hotdish” and not casserole. It means eating hotdish that has tater tots in it. Growing up in the Midwest means the hum of the box fans in the summer and the heater kicking in during the winter. Spring does not officially arrive, for me, in the Midwest until I deeply inhale the heady perfume of the lilacs. So there you have it. Those are my details. Every reader will have different ones, you can’t expect to connect with them all. But as sure as grits drawls a southern voice and electric cars find the pulse of the West Coast, you’ll find a Boston reader who has both! Interesting post Nina, as usual. I’m off to Dairy Queen. Join me for a Dilly Bar?
I’m from MD and a lot of people consider me Southern. The fact that I love grits and say “y’all” doesn’t help.
Im a native Californian who’s also lived in the South, and Midwest for a short time. Its funny how in appearing to try NOT to stereotype, some of these posters give their own little prejudices away. You can drive 50 miles from the California coast and be places that look like Lonesome Dove. People who visit CA from the Midwest may be surprised to learn that to find that everybody in LA doesnt drive a convertible and have a tan. Half my family came from Italy and the other from the “Show Me” State, so I probably have a little Midwestern in me as well. But I have to smile at one comment about the Midwest being more culturally diverse than LA….yikes. There is no place on earth as culturally diverse as LA, the person who said otherwise has obviously not spent any time here. But I was raised in San Francisco and people think they are the bastion of culture in the state…when the truth is SF is culturally and economically far more provincial. There are probably hundreds of separate universes of cultures in LA. That doesnt stop people from saying for instance, “She’s SO LA…” The explosion of ‘reality’ shows has played into a coarsening of bad stereotypes so its an uphill battle these days.
I think the more interesting question for a writer would be drawing the characters in such a way as to identify, and yet hopefully transcend, any of these ‘types’.
The times I think of ‘being midwestern,’ is when I visit different states.
Yes, when I travel, I see just how ‘real’ midwesterners are. I feel we do what is right..in general. I feel we are more down to earth and less superficial, in general.
I feel we don’t try to keep up with the Jones’, in general.
We have a good work ethic, we try to live by the Golden Rule, and we do things in moderation.
There are always exceptions to the rule: but those people move to what moves them: East Coast Style or West Coast style.
Interesting post.
As for me, I think of myself as a ‘crypto jew,’ underneath I was meant to be Jewish.
Who knew.
I grew up in rural northern Wisconsin and my mom read Adelle Davis in the early 60s, “Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit.” We always had a varied diet of the freshest foods she could find at the store.
See! That makes me feel better. 🙂
I think it’s very easy to define the Midwest. The problem is no one wants to agree on how to define it. I actually don’t like the term midwest. I prefer North Central. Anywho, I define the North Central like this. 6 plains states (ND,SD,KS,NE,IA,MO) and 6 lake states (MN,WI,IL,IN,OH,MI) The Lake states are more urban, college town orientated, and have a strong beach culture. They have port tradings in the cities along the great lakes. Lake states have mixed landscape of hills, bluffs, forestry, and flat prairie lands. The plains can be hilly, have bluffs, and with mountains like the Dakotas. But other than that it is mostly treeless and open lands. The Plain states usually have one large city with the exception of MO and NE. For me, a city must have at least 100,000 people.
I think those differentiations make sense!
Oh, I’m a writer to. I’m currently working on a book of short fairy tale stories highlighting the Great Lakes. (I’m from the Great Lakes. CHI-CITY!) I don’t plan on ever getting published with a west/east coast publisher. Your experience is the main reason why. People on the coasts don’t know much about the people here. Not eating healthy isn’t a North Central thing. It’s a working and lower middle class thing. And even they are beginning to become more health conscious.
Just remember this, People from North Central aren’t that different. The only differences, are as followed. People here are unaware of their own region. They’re unaware, because the lacks of a steady media presence and mainstream brands. North Central is also short on new modern and original stories. Not many schools have North Central history courses. I know mines didn’t. Which is why i’m doing my own research.
The last difference is people here seem to be more insecure and in denial about it. Again this has to do with North Central not having a national presence. And since there is no national presence a lot of people feed into what the coasts say about our region.
I think those are great points!
As a total side note, one of my favorite books of the year was Station Eleven, which ends up taking place around the Great Lakes region. It’s a really original and unusual book. Highly recommend it!