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
Here's Atomic Cafe from 1982,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOUtZOqgSG8
Yes! That's a great film.
ReplyDeleteInteresting -- in that Times article, it notes that Obama has hosted a screening of one of the atomic bomb films at the White House. We need more of that.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Gary Wills book on the bomb. I read Gary Wills books regularly and will see if Kindle has it and download a sample and let you know if I end up buying it.
ReplyDeleteRobert, this is a really interesting book -- one that you will probably enjoy. Although the focus is on the bomb, it is basically a presidential history. Fascinating material. And highly readable (I have a hard time reading Wills).
ReplyDeleteI just looked up Bomb Power on Amazon and so far it's not available for kindle. I clicked the "I'd Like to Read on Kindle," but am not expecting much.
ReplyDeleteHow about Dylan? Hopefully you can join us Marti.
ReplyDeleteI think the Dylan book is available for Kindle -- quite overpriced for an ebook, but available. I'll sit this one out. I have a lot in my TBR pile (always will, but when you're reading something that grabs me, I join you). Thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me that about a year ago, Bob Dylan was stopped by the police in my hometown (Long Branch, NJ). Asked him for I.D. Seems typical for the police there to stop anyone for any reason.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/bob_dylan_stopped_by_long_bran.html
Sounds like the makings of a song to me!
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