“Only it seems to me that once in your life before you die you ought to see a country where they don’t talk in English and don’t even want to.” Yes, there is, even though our time on earth is short. “There’s something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.” The Stage Manager’s answer is no, saints and poets maybe, and I like to count myself among the ranks of the latter, since I have written poetry most of my life. “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it-every, every minute?” She was based on Edgar Lee Masters’ grandmother and, honest to goodness, I make a pilgrimage to her grave in Petersburg every five years or so.) These words were spoken by Lucinda Matlock in Spoon River Anthology. “It’s like one of those Middlewestern poets said, ‘You’ve got to love life to have life, and you’ve got to have life to love life.” Each playgoer, of course, will have a different list, but I want to discuss today the lines that strike a chord with me as I watch the play being performed. One big reason for this is the pointed significance of certain lines as we hear the characters say them. It is not a play that always resonates with 17-year olds, yet it is one that sticks in one’s memory as we grow older and become more aware of the meaning of the situations Wilder presents to us. Over the past quarter century, I have taught OUR TOWN to high school juniors, trying as best I can to make it relevant. QND students experiencing OUR TOWN this week. Lines From OUR TOWN That Hit Me Where I Live
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