I wrote some of the worst poetry west from the Mississippi River, but I wrote. And I finally sometimes got it right.

Almost 70 percent of U.S. ag exports travel the upper Mississippi River and the Illinois waterway system.

I've always been fascinated by the Mississippi River and the way of life in these small river towns.

I once paddled a canoe the length of the Mississippi River all the way from Itasca to New Orleans.

Finally, the ecological health of the Mississippi River and its economic importance to the many people that make their living or seek their recreation is based on a healthy river system.

If you write a book about a bygone period that lies east of the Mississippi River, then it's a historical novel. If it's west of the Mississippi, it's a western, a different category. There's no sense to it.