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
Interesting about the Washington name.
ReplyDeleteThe latest poll of the top 10 presidents. You'll never guess who came in first:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/146183/Americans-Say-Reagan-Greatest-President.aspx
Surprise! Surprise! But, I imagine after the glow of his centennial wears off, he will slip back down the list.
ReplyDeleteAs Chris Matthews quipped, you are supposed to _think_ before answering the question. It's like asking what was the best movie of all time, and answering whatever movie you last saw. Doesn't show much thinking on the part of the US public.
ReplyDeleteThe war for Washington:
ReplyDeletehttp://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/the-war-for-george-washington/
North or South?
Reagan has been so much in the news lately that such a response to a poll is expected. I have to wonder how many Americans could name more than five presidents without prodding. It is not like Gallup asked historians who the best president was.
ReplyDeleteWow! Chernow just won a very big award for his bio:
ReplyDeletehttp://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/chernow-wins-history-prize-for-washington-biography/
I suppose at some point I will have to read Chernow's Washington.
ReplyDeleteIt is very good. Much better than the last Morris, but then he is covering Washington's entire life. (I still haven't finished, but intend to since it is really easy to read-- just long)
ReplyDeleteStill, he is smitten with Washington to the point that (again) I wish he could have been a little more objective. That's the part that's interesting about the AHA endorsement of the book. It is a significant, almost grand writing achievement (based on printed sources -- not archival research) but not what I would consider great "history."