Herbert Krause

Herbert Krause (May 25, 1905-September 22, 1976) was born on a small farm in Otter Tail County, north of Fergus Falls. Krause’s literary hero was Ole Rolvaag, and he hoped to study under him while attending St. Olaf College. Unfortunately, that mentorship did not happen, but Krause still tried to emulate Rolvaag’s style in his own three novels. After graduating from St. Olaf, Krause attended the University of Iowa and earned his MA in English. He taught at the University of Iowa for awhile before leaving to teach in the English Department at Augustana College in in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There, Krause was the founding director of the Center for Western Studies. He worked at Augustana until his death from congestive heart failure in 1976.

Krause wrote three novels in his life, Wind Without Rain, The Thresher, and The Oxcart Trail. He also wrote poetry, essays, and nonfiction. In his books, Krause wanted to share the experience of German-American Lutheran immigrants in Minnesota, as Rolvaag had shared the experiences of Norwegian-American immigrants. Krause wrote part of Wind Without Rain while at St. Olaf College and finished it while at the University of Iowa. It took Krause many years to write his second and third novels due to extensive research. His second book, The Thresher, was a Book of the Month choice, and over 400,000 copies were sold to club members. Krause’s books did not fare well with critics, and so he stopped writing fiction, though readers now praise his dark and foreboding prose.