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
I need to get some Mose Allison CDs. I love his voice, and am pretty sure I have friends who have played with him.
ReplyDeleteOne of the advantages of being a life-long student is that I can take advantage of the student discount at Apple -- which has amazing screens in their laptops. I've totally worn out my Dell, so have decided to make the switch. And it comes with a free IPod Touch, so I'll have music wherever I go. Mose Allison would be a good first addition, I think.
You can't go wrong with Mose. He's still going strong. I love these anthologies that Rhino has done over the years.
ReplyDeleteRhino has resurrected many a great musician!
ReplyDeleteDo we have a consensus on a book or books yet? Or are we waiting for the new TR, which is fine with me. I'm swamped at the moment.
Seems not. Although interest seems to be shifting toward Dylan.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is way off topic, but for those of you in the Bay Area who are fans of Shel Silverstein, one of my old music friends who used to play with Dr. Hook is part of a musical memorial to the great songs of Shel Silverstein this weekend.
ReplyDeleteFriday night at the Make Out Room in the Mission, 7:00-9:00. Should be a GREAT show. Wish I could be there.