Dr. Duane Simolke examines Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, as it relates to Gertrude Stein, gender roles, failed communication, and the machine in the garden. Simolke also looks at Anderson's concerns about mechanization, loneliness, and the mistreatment of many people. Simolke also wrote The Acorn Stories, a story cycle in the tradition of Winesburg, Ohio.