A Brief History of the Midwest is a lyric encapsulation of the hardship and hope of the American Midwest. These poems trace the trajectory of the middle of America from its colonization to the present day. Hardships that range from loneliness to the opioid crisis to the largest earthquake in US history reverberate through the collection’ s fields, Northern waters, and derelict barns. The losses here are both historical and personal, as is the resilience of those who survived them. All the while there are moments of light that transcend a history “ written in thorn,” a moment of rest after bathing sheep, the flick of a trout in the Boyne River, a fistful of rose hips.