As Harry Mathews has said, Wiebe is "unsettlingly original." The satires of Skyblue's Essays explode with sardonic humor, surreal parody, mad exhilaration, quirky vigor and a superb style.

Dallas Wiebe has spent all his life in the Midwest. Born in Newton, KS, he now lives in Cincinnati.


"In these stories Dallas Wiebe strengthens his position as one of our best writers of innovative fictions.... What do we find in this feast of short fiction? Energy, passion, parody, satire, a rich and often superb style, and somewhere in all this the credible, delicate confrontation of a lunatic culture and a struggling self."

--Doug Bolling, American Book Review


"The stories are as remarkable as they are unusual. Wiebe's often sardonic narration takes his characters through a hostile and absurd world with a sense of humor that makes you want to laugh and shake your head at the same time... a unique and engaging view of the world."

--Jeff Erdie, Ohio Writer


"The often hilarious, occasionally touching series of wonky disquisitions, fictions, and afflictions...now childlike, now suddenly mortal... Wiebe's goofiness inhabits a big heart. His writing continually reminds us how much of our laughter is born of grimness.... This book is a Vanitas, a memento mori, as surely as that rosary of skulls you long to finger in the museum."

--W.B. Keckler, American Book Review


"If you read this book, your life, not to mention your conversations, may become more interesting."

--Charles Alexander, Rain Taxi


"Wiebe has committed the ultimate creative act: setting loose his imagination to explore the language and the body and the soul indiscriminately. ...an energetic romp through the many layers of human life, rooted in the rhythms of the King James Bible, ancient epics, straightforward plain speech, and hymn-singing.... Dallas Wiebe is our James Joyce."

--Warren Kliewer, Mennonite Life