No one, says Denise Low, has done what she&#x92;s done: try to define a Middle Western voice in contemporary literature.</p><p>In her new book &#x93;Natural Theologies: Essays About Literature of the New Middle West,&#x94; Low attempts not so much to map the region&#x92;s boundaries but list the characteristics of those writers working within them.</p><p>In 12 essays, Low compiles several manifestations.</p><p>One of them is a self-deprecating voice, such as the kind heard in the work of Robert Day, author of the novel &#x93;The Last Cattle Drive&#x94; and short story &#x93;Speaking French in Kansas.&#x94; One result of a huge sky in Kansas is a voice appropriately humble.</p><p>&#x93;The dominance of sky,&#x94; Low writes, &#x93;over mountains and coastal landscapes perhaps defines the region as well as any other criteria.&#x94;</p><p>Another aspect is a comparative lack of female voices. While compiling anthologies of Kansas poetry in 1979 and 1984, Low drove across the state soliciting submissions from female writers. In an essay on vernacular literature of the Great Plains, Low wonders whether the men she hears dominating casual conversation have also managed to somehow dominate the printed page as well.</p><p>&#x93;Women are less forthcoming with their work,&#x94; Low writes.</p><p>&#x93;I am presenting this as a disconnect from academia,&#x94; said Low, who retired last year after 27 years of teaching English at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence. &#x93;I don&#x92;t see many colleges connecting to the literature of the regions they are located in.&#x94;</p><p>Rather, she added, the occasional faculty member will allow distant taste-makers to influence the syllabus.</p><p>&#x93;It&#x92;s as if, if we are not reading the Times Literary Supplement, we are not a literate people,&#x94; she said. &#x93;I have great respect for British literature. However, I also celebrate and am more engaged on a daily basis with the culture and people around me.&#x93;</p><p>Low, poet laureate of Kansas from 2007 through 2009, continues this conversation on her blog at <a href ="http://deniselow.blogspot.com" target="_blank">deniselow.blogspot.com</a>. While she often discusses poetry, she also concentrates on overlooked contemporary writers.</p><p>It makes for lively conversation. She will post a blog entry, then share it on Facebook.</p><p>&#x93;I get more remarks on Facebook,&#x93; she said.</p><p>Among other writers Low discusses in her essays are William Stafford, Louise Erdrich, Langston Hughes and Ted Kooser, the former U.S. poet laureate. </p><p>For information about &#x93;Natural Theologies,&#x93; go to <a href ="http://www.thebackwaterspress.org" target="_blank">www.thebackwaterspress.org</a>.