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 was surprised I got my copy so soon. I remember the official release date being Nov. 30. We almost share the same birthday.
ReplyDeleteIt's available now here as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd Huckleberry Finn turns 125:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-mark-twain-20101114,0,5921342.story
I would really love to start the new year by reading the Twain book with everyone; can it be deemed history? It certainly is historic.
ReplyDeleteI think the book is in the spirit of this place and many of us already have it. Might take a year long commitment to read it, though -- it's LONG and this is only volume 1.
ReplyDeleteIf you do read it, we can always set up a page for your thoughts/comments where others can join in if they decide to also read it.
And ... it's a best seller!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/books/20twain.html
Yardley is fast becoming my favorite reviewer:
ReplyDeleteReading the "Autobiography of Mark Twain" too often is like being trapped in a locked room with a garrulous old coot (Twain turned 70 just before these dictations began) who loves the sound of his own voice and hasn't the slightest inclination to turn it off.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111906788.html
Rather sad to see Twain get bumped by Dubya in the Amazon Top 100.
ReplyDelete