It is hard not to think of Nebraska without thinking of its greatest writer. Here is a marvelous piece by Capote, Remembering Willa Cather . I remember seeing a stage production of O Pioneers! and being deeply moved by its raw emotions. I had read My Antonia before, and soon found myself hooked, like Capote was by the simple elegance of her prose and the way she was able to evoke so many feelings through her characters. Much of it came from the fact that she had lived those experiences herself. Her father dragged the family from Virginia to Nebraska in 1883, when it was still a young state, settling in the town of Red Cloud. named after one of the great Oglala chiefs. Red Cloud was still alive at the time, living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, in the aftermath of the "Great Sioux Wars" of 1876-77. I don't know whether Cather took any interest in the famous chief, although it is hard to imagine not. Upon his death in 1909, he was eulogi
Great photo!
ReplyDeleteJohn Muir anyone? This, along with a rereading of Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency, will be my beach reading:
http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Nature-Life-John-Muir/dp/0195166825
Or is there something totally off the beaten path we should be pursuing?
I'm deep into "Ghost Wars" about the CIA, Afghanistan & bin Laden before 9/11, recommend it highly but recognize I'm way behind others in reading it.
ReplyDeleteGintaras' suggestion of "Zeitoun" looks to me like something that would be great for holiday season others may want to read it earlier.
I will know before long if I am to be on a jury for a 3-week trial--of the very kind of case I deal with every single work day! Apparently, this is not considered a hardship.
Good luck with jury duty. I've been called several times but they never want me -- too educated and a writer besides. My guess is they won't want you either because of your profession. It's weird watching them pick a jury. There's obviously an art to it.
ReplyDeleteThanks avrds--case, incl. jury selection was postponed til mid-Oct. in which time perhaps a plea can be negotiated (though that seems unlikely considering the charges & penalties for conviction of them). I will likely not need to resort to the tactic of one prospective juror who came to court in a t-shirt emblazoned with "Time to Kill." (I was thinking of one saying "Harmless Error" but maybe only the judge would get it and the judges don't pick jurors, the attys do.)
ReplyDeleteIn one case where I was in the first 12 to be seated, we were asked about our feelings about spousal abuse. The man to my right said he felt there was too much made of all of that and it didn't belong in the courts. Then the lawyer asked me and, pointing to the man sitting to my right, said I feel basically the opposite of him. The lawyer asked for my dismissal right there on the spot, but the judge asked if I could evaluate the evidence fairly. I agreed that I could so the judge said I was to stay. The lawyer looked totally frustrated but moved on. But he cut me anyway when they went into chambers.
ReplyDeleteSo it goes on juries..... The man, whom everyone told me later was probably guilty, got off.
I wish you good luck whichever way it goes!
I was a juror on two short criminal cases, both robberies. More recently, I've been on jury panels for civil cases but not picked for the juries.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Robert is doing and if he's ready to do some reading again. Maybe we should ask him if there's a book we should all be reading?
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking of Robert before I clicked on this website. Hope he's doing better.
ReplyDeleteI sent him a note but haven't heard back. My guess is typing is difficult. Hopefully he's on the mend. They have really good treatments now for stroke.
ReplyDeleteI do as well. It is very sad not having Robert around. He is game for almost any book, which, along with his trenchant comments, is what makes him so special.
ReplyDeleteI know. He also keeps me in check! Hopefully he's on the road to recovery.
ReplyDeleteAlas, my next "must read" after "Ghost Wars" has to be Margaret Atwood's new one, companion to "Oryx and Crake." Heard her on NPR today and fell for her all over again. She's so very funny --you should have heard her talking about turning 70 in a creaky "little old lady voice" --oh wait, you can! The interview is here (please excuse the interviewer, he can be obnoxiously overly familiar with his writer guests): http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R910061000 (Sudbury, Ont. celebrates her b'day, as well it should!)
ReplyDeleteAmerican Historical Perspectives doesn't include "speculative fiction," please excuse my wandering off the reservation.
We don't seem to be getting any closer to a selection. I ordered Zietoun. I'm also intrigued by the Muir book. I see NYT is planning on reading Ghost Wars. What other thoughts are there?
ReplyDeleteAnyone read "The End of America" by Naomi Klein?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/End-America-Letter-Warning-Patriot/dp/1933392797/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255258215&sr=8-5
interestin op-ed piece in the Guardian,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/24/usa.comment
I think history will look back on that period in a similar way. Remember they even talked about canceling elections? Those were scary times.
ReplyDeleteLooks like I was confusing Naomi Klein with Naomi Wolf. My bad.
ReplyDeleteTwo different women but same world view.
ReplyDelete