Original William Stafford “The Land Between the Rivers” Poem discovered in APSU Woodward Library
May 23, 2012
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN – On a Wednesday morning in April, Kentucky journalist and author Carol Niswonger was busy combing through the archives at Austin Peay State University’s Woodward Library, conducting research for her new book on Land Between The Lakes, when she discovered something a bit unusual. Tucked away in a thin, manila folder was a short, hand-written poem titled “The Land Between the Rivers.”
“When I started to read it, I said, ‘that’s it perfectly,’” Niswonger said. “The poem, it epitomized the feelings of that area. It had such an emotional attachment to the land and the surroundings. I thought the poet was someone who lived there.”