Why Does Place Matter?

Sanders address the idea of why place matters. Our "place," or our surroundings, is where people (especially writers) find inspiration. Sanders focuses very much so on his love for the Midwest. While he does admit that some of his decisions, such as turning down the job offer in England, were based on the fact that he had a wife, he makes it seem as though he could never live anywhere other than the Midwest. I think my favorite quote from Sanders' reading was actually by William Carlos Williamson. On page 159 it says, "Nothing can grow unless it taps into soil." This can be translated to not just how a writer grows, but how a person grows and matures in general. A person must know her place before she can truly know herself.