JM Hickman's Grand Style: The Extraordinary Nature of an Ordinary ManINTRODUCTIONNature writing is born of love, appreciation and wonder. She discovers her voice in the connection between man and the natural world (Harton). Perhaps the most American style of writing, it delights in America's wilderness while deploring America's greed and exploitation of the environment (Johnson-Sheehan and Stewart). Nature Writing beckons to us, intending to awaken our minds. It stirs our souls, touches our hearts and inspires our minds. In Songs From The Ozarks And Other Poems, J.M. Hickman's beautiful use of lyrical meter, regional dialect, vivid imagery, and compelling symbolism hits the senses. Hickman uses metaphors, similes, and analogies to write visually. He uses rhythm, assonance, onomatopoeia, and alliteration to add an aural quality to his prose. The combination of all these elements creates what is known as “Grand Style” (Johnson-Sheehan and Stewart). Hickman's masterful use of Grand Style belies his humble roots. James Melmouth Hickman was born into a common farming family on September 25, 1861, in Wetumpka, Alabama. As an adult, Hickman became a lawyer, poet and mason. He is listed in James B. Lloyd's Lives of Mississippi Authors, 1817-1967. Hickman spent his life traveling and living in the beautiful regions of the Ozark Mountains. His book of poetry about the area and times he lived in, Songs From The Ozarks And Other Poems, was published in 1921. Around 1918, Hickman moved from Vicksburg, Mississippi to Earle, Arkansas, where he remained until Around 1927, he traveled to the Pigeon Creek area of ​​Butler County, Alabama to visit his first cousins. He brother ...... middle of paper ......ders to understand, revere and love the natural world around them. His Grand Style made possible an emotional connection to the natural world through the written words of man. Works Cited Harton, Ron. “Henry Thoreau as a Model for Nature Writing.” August 9, 2009. The Thoreau Reader. Online document. March 17, 2014. Hickman, JM “Prologue.” Hickman, JM Songs of the Ozarks and Other Poems. 6th. Vicksburg: The Mississippi Printing Company, 1921. 5. Hardback. Hickman, John Wayne. Interview. Donna M. Kilgore. March 17, 2014. Johnson-Sheehan, Richard and Kristi Stewart. “Composing nature”. Writing and science September 2007, ed. September 2007. Periodical online. March 2014. .Literary devices. Imaging. 2010. Website. 2014. .