NATURAL THEOLOGIES: ESSAYS ABOUT LITERATURE OF THE NEW MIDDLE WEST is the first critical study of contemporary Mid-Plains literature. Denise Low shows how the region's writers inherit a Frontier legacy from Indigenous and American settler communities. Myths continue to provide framework for fiction writers and poets, as well as nature and the rich community life. Not all of the region is rural. Cities like Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City, have presence in the literature—but in context of the great acreage around them. This innovative book defines the region's character while, at the same time, illuminating a panoramic past. Indigenous peoples and their philosophies add to this unique look at the Mid-continent's literary culture.