Previews: THE PRAIRIE HAS A RAINBOW live Reading and Book Signing at Michael's Outpost

This weekend on Saturday November 4th, author R. Lee Ingalls will be doing a live reading from his latest book The Prairie has a Rainbow.  Mr. Ingalls is related to celebrated American author Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote the Little House on the Prairie book series which were adapted into the beloved television series of the same name.  What makes R. Lee Ingalls unique is that he is a gay author who is producing an account of his family’s history with that point of view for the first time.  He’s a pioneer of a different sort, but retains the core values of his famous ancestor.  The reading will occur at Michael’s Outpost on Richmond Avenue from 4:00-5:30pm.  I spoke with the author about his work, and what it means to the legacy of his famous last name. 

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Brett Cullum: You are part of the family that includes author, Laura Ingalls Wilder of Little House on the Prairie fame. How are you related?

Lee Ingalls: It helps to understand that Laura and her parents Charles and Carolyn don't have any living direct descendants. Laura only had one daughter Rose, whose only baby passed away in infancy. Charles and Caroline did have 3 other girls, and none of them had their own children. So that branch of the Ingalls tree stopped producing descendants. Her grandfather is one of my ancestors as well, so my great, great grandfather was Lansford James Ingalls. He is Charles’ brother, and my great grandfather is Samuel Ingalls. He is Laura's cousin. That's the closest for Laura that are still producing descendants today.

Brett Cullum: Your first book was about your parents and called Ingalls on the Prairie, and now you have this one, called The Prairie has a Rainbow about your own life. How did you decide to be the one in your family to carry on Laura's literary tradition?

Lee Ingalls: It came down to… nobody else was doing it. I felt like it's something that should be done. Laura captured two generations of our family. Her daughter Rose wrote about her generation, and has been the subject of a few books. That's kind of where the stories of our family ended. I decided that it was going be me to continue to write about our family. It made sense to start with my parents and capture that generation as well, because they were next up.  And my mother was still with us, so details either I didn't have correct or were lacking she was able to fill in. Then, of course, my own story captures a fifth generation of the family.

Brett Cullum: What do you think that this current book The Prairie Has a Rainbow has to say to today's world?

Lee Ingalls: Some of the things that were important in Laura's work were the foundations of her books - honesty, integrity, and doing the right thing when given the opportunity. Those never changed for my family. They still exist today. So telling stories that still have that foundation in them. The time period that my parents were brought up and brought their children into, and now in my lifetime as well held on to those values. I want that to be presented in the books as well.

Brett Cullum: Do you ever think about the push and pull of your identity as a gay man and the conservative fan base of the Little House on the Prairie books and television show?

Lee Ingalls:  I wanted to capture that we exist even in places you might not suspect. Yes, we are everywhere, including one of the most storied families and in our nation. But despite my orientation, I hope everyone see the foundations did not change. I wanted to integrate that into the Ingalls brand.  Telling my story as a gay man being brought into this world in the mid-1900s and raised in that period what it was like. And I wanted to show you still can be a good person, and do the right thing when given the opportunity.

Brett Cullum: You're going to be doing a book launch this Saturday November 4th at Michael's Outpost on Richmond Avenue.  It starts at 4 and goes until 5 30 pm. Tell us what we can expect at this event.

Lee Ingalls: I'm going to talk a little bit about the things we talked about. Why did I write the book? Why is my story important? And then I'll read a couple of passages from the book itself. Answer some questions

I hope the takeaway from the audience will be those of my generation are going to find commonality in my telling this story. I don't think mine is that unique. My generation has elements that theirs might not have, but otherwise the experiences are pretty common. And I hope The Prairie has a Rainbow will capture a part of our history that most people aren't aware of that.

One of the gifts of Laura's work is she captured the American experience of the average American during an extraordinary time in our nation's history. I hope my work will be doing the same thing. Those stories are not told enough. And both of my books do just that.

The live reading and book signing will be on Saturday November 4th.  It will take place at Michael’s Outpost which is located at 1419 Richmond Avenue.  The event is open to the public, and tickets are not required. 

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