Gwen Williams Muller

Poems and Reflections of a Young Woman Gwen Williams Muller

It was the roaring 20s! Enchanting and touching, this thin volume of poems and prose opens a door into a young woman's experiences from 1926 to 1931. Poems cascade through the thoughts and longing of a young lady away from home for the first time. They also open an intimate window into the 1920s and 1930s. The gaiety of the period is counterpointed by the impact of the First World War still fresh as reflected in selected writings. Photographs dating from 1913 to 1931 visually connect the author and her writings. The final poem was penned when the author was teaching at her first post, a country school. In 1930, Gwen Williams was placed in charge of the rural Ash Creek School north of Sheridan, Wyoming. There she taught 19 children distributed across all eight primary grades. She and those children formed a remarkable bond. When Gwen was in her sixties, those students would approach her when she was out shopping and hug her and call her Miss Williams. These writing were nearly lost. Old and yellowed, they were found tucked away with cancelled checks. Each had been cut out and pasted in an airmail writing tablet. Although not found until after Gwen's death, the poems and writing were originally published between 1926 and 1931.