Heartland Utopia

Heartland Utopia gathers William Allen White's writings—both well-known and obscure—that articulate his vision of the Midwestern small town as an American ideal.

Edited by Charles Delgadillo and Jason Stacy, the collection traces White's utopian conception across roughly twenty-five years of essays and fiction.

The book situates White historically as a syndicated editor whose Emporia-based voice shaped national ideas about Main Street and community life.

Selections explore themes like neighborliness, civic education, local newspapers, and reactions to modernist critiques of small-town life.

The anthology also shows how White's vision evolves in response to social and political changes from the 1890s through the 1920s.