New Books in Popular Culture B. J. Hollars, "Midwestern Strange: Hunting Monsters, Martians, and the Weird in Flyover Country" (U Nebraska Press, 2019)
For a year, B. J. Hollars traveled the Midwest, or Flyover country as he refers to it, in search of monsters, aliens, and oddities. Midwestern Strange: Hunting Monsters, Martians, and the Weird in Flyover Country (University of Nebraska Press, 2019) documents his encounters with the weird and wonderful. Hollars examines aliens who share pancakes with a plumber, Mothman, Hodag, and other strange creatures and experiences in small town America. In Midwestern Strange, Hollars shares his visits with the people who have experienced and study these creatures. His goal is not to debunk the mysteries but instead to seek them out as a way to show the importance of these stories and experiences to small towns and the people who are part of the lore. Hollars deftly combines memoir and journalism offering informative and often humorous stories of the monsters, Martians, and weird that may encourage you to take a road trip through flyover country and visit some unusual Midwest landmarks.
Rebekah Buchanan is an Associate Professor of English at Western Illinois University. She researches zines, zine writers and the influence of music subcultures and fandom on writers and narratives. She is the author of Writing a Riot: Riot Grrrl Zines and Feminist Rhetorics (Peter Lang, 2018). You can find more about her on her website, follow her on Twitter @rj_buchanan or email her at rj-buchanan@wiu.edu.
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