"Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio" by James Wright

Aspirations of a Better Life
In the poem "Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio," the author, James Wright, tells a tale of a seemingly small, lower class, blue-collar community, whose love for football borders on fantasy. In Martins Ferry, football was a method of eluding the world the citizens were trapped in. Rural American sports, especially high school sports, has lost it purity, or essence of being a fun past time, and has come to embody the lost dreams and aspirations of the very parents whose children play the game.
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