Monroe St. Press

What a wonderful afternoon at The Vine Coffeehouse in Princeville.

Friends from the Class of '85 gathered to share stories, memories, laughter, and a few readings from Last Ride on the Galena Coach Road, Iron & Ashes, and recent essays. One of the great joys of the day was reconnecting with old classmates, welcoming one of my brothers into the gathering, and discovering once again how deeply the places of our youth continue to shape us.

A special thank you to everyone who attended, and to those who helped bring the words to life. Days like this remind us that books are more than pages—they are bridges back to people, places, and moments that still matter.

Thank you, Princeville. It was good to come home.

Tomorrow from 10 am to noon, author John Spencer will be at The Vine Coffee House and Bakery in Princeville, with copies of Last Ride On the Galena Coach Road and Other Tales and Iron &Ashes: An Epic Poem in the Homeric Tongue in Three Acts available for signing and purchase. Come on out while you also enjoy Princeville Heritage Days!

How do we come to recognize home? Is it a place on a map, a memory, or something we carry with us long after we've left? In his latest essay, The Last Quarter Mile, author John Spencer reflects on a quiet stretch of rural Illinois road and an evening that would come to shape how he understood beauty, belonging, and the American Interior.

Drawing from his years in the Navy, a lifetime of travel, and the landscapes of central Illinois that continue to inform his work, Spencer explores the connection between memory, place, and the roads that help define us. Part memoir and part meditation, the essay traces the origins of many themes found throughout his fiction, poetry, and essays.

Read The Last Quarter Mile now on Substack and discover why some journeys do not take us farther from home—they teach us how to recognize it.

The Last Quarter Mile (On Place, Inheritance, and the Long Way Home)

Just two days until the Old Roads Tour stops at The Vine Coffee House and Bakery in Princeville IL! Author John Spencer will be there from 10 am to noon. Copies of Last Ride On the Galena Coach Road and Other Tales and Iron & Ashes: An Epic Poem in the Homeric Tongue in Three Acts will be available for signing and purchase.

What must be preserved if a civilization is to remain itself?

The Keeper (A Liturgy of Remembrance) by John Spencer is now available on his Substack.

A poem of iron, memory, witness, and the quiet work of keeping faith with what endures.

https://substack.com//note/c-276395375?r=6ven2k

John Spencer (@johnspencerauthor) The Keeper (A Liturgy of Rememberance) The iron waits. The hammer waits. The old wrench rests where it was laid down at close of day. Dust gathers. Seasons turn. Roads are rerouted. Names are forgotten. Voices fade into silence. Still the hands remain. Scarred by labor. Marked by years. Steady upon....

There is an old literary tradition of invoking the muse before a story begins. In a strange way, that idea led John to a question about Iron & Ashes: what if the work is not merely a poem, play, or narrative, but something closer to an invocation?

In this new essay, he explores the possibility that stories can do more than entertain. They can preserve memory, carry forward inheritance, and call enduring truths back into presence. Labor, stewardship, sacrifice, craftsmanship, and continuity become less themes than realities we are invited to remember.

"Iron & Ashes as Invocation" is now available on Substack.

https://johnspencerauthor.substack.com/p/iron-and-ashes-as-invocation?r=6ven2k

Iron & Ashes as Invocation On Liturgy, Remembrance, and the Work of Calling Things Into Presence

Iron & Ashes as Invocation
(On Liturgy, Remembrance, and the Work of Calling Things Into Presence)

In his upcoming Substack reflection, author John Spencer explores an unexpected realization about Iron & Ashes: An Epic Poem in the Homeric Tongue in Three Acts. What began as an epic poem rooted in the American Midwest increasingly revealed itself as something more than poetry, prose, or theatre—a work functioning as invocation, remembrance, and literary liturgy.

Drawing upon themes of memory, stewardship, labor, inheritance, and continuity, the essay examines how stories can do more than entertain. They can preserve, recall, and call enduring truths into presence.

Scheduled for publication in two days.

Coming soon. John explores the idea that Iron & Ashes may be less a poem, play, or narrative—and more an invocation: a work that calls certain things into presence rather than simply telling a story.

Next stop on the Old Roads Tour is Princeville, Illinois, on Saturday, June 20, at The Vine Coffee House and Bakery from 10 am to noon. Copies of Last Ride On the Galena Coach Road and Other Tales and Iron & Ashes: An Epic Poem in the Homeric Tongue in Three Acts will be available for signing and purchase. Come on out and while you're in town, enjoy the Princeville Heritage Days celebration!