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 Pic!,I started "Fatal Journey" today about Henry Hudson's last voyage mainly because it's been so hot and sticky here the past 4 days.I figure a book about Northern Climes is much better right now than"Empire of the Summer Moon" and it's southwest setting.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't received my copy of Empire -- or Immortal Life. Hopefully they'll start arriving soon.....
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of northern climes, I picked up Independent People last night -- I love the mythic quality of the opening (and the dog) -- but think I may pass that book on to a friend to read first since he is enamored of all things Iceland at the moment -- even the national anthem!
Interesting look at Louisiana.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071602721.html
Montana is sort of a "third world country" in that way, too, but for some reason we've managed to hold our own on at least some of the social indicators, if not the economic ones.
My copy of HeLa came today, so I should be ready by the first of August.
ReplyDelete7/29-8/7 I'll be on vacation (whole family's off to Maui, which took some doing to organize and will be unlikely to happen again after grandbaby arrives) but will do my best to catch up with all y'all upon return.
ReplyDeleteBon Voyage, NY. Have a great trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks much, avrds.
ReplyDeleteMeandering question: does anyone else ever have the urge to make up meanings of those "words" (series of letters) that appear when one goes to post.
One blog on Cape Cod I read that's just what a lot of us do.Make up meanings to those random letters that are sometimes quite funny.I just finished Alan Furst's"Spies of Warsaw" another nice read in his historical fiction of Europe on the verge of WW2.This is his tenth with number 11 about the Balkans just out.Only two had the same lead character and they are all different which is why I love reading them."Fatal Journey" about Henry Hudson almost done and it's a entertaining easy read and since I haven't read much on Hudson very informative.I think I'm moving onto Kurlansky's book about Gloucester or Rory Nugents book about New Bedford"Down at the Docks"Nugent wrote one of my favorite offbeat travel books"The Search for the Pink Headed Duck" so I'm interestedto see how he does historical narrative Kurlansky style.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone has ever posted this here, but it was just brought to my attention. It's about the number of nuclear explosions and the countries that conducted them between 1945-1998. It's about 12 minutes long.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ctbto.org/specials/1945-1998-by-isao-hashimoto/
It as also posted in Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/5600704/the-explosions-of-every-nuclear-bomb-to-date
Thanks marti
ReplyDeleteI finished Mark Kurlansky's book on Gloucester"The Last Fish Tale" It was a quick read and pretty good but some of it he'd been over in "Cod" before.Don't know if I should read Down by the Docks about New Bedford next to continue the New England port thing or take up Empire of the Summer Moon.On a non history note the collection of Victorian Vampire Storys"Dracula's Guest" edited by Michael Sims is excellent.Each story has an author intro and all have been first rate so far.Only one story"Count Magnus" by M.R. James have I read before and there is a nice opening essay on the origins of Vampires in Europe.
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