Fenwick vs. Felicity
Students earn scholarships
Minster vs. Southeastern
Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2008 > September
September 2008
who needs a brilliant vice president?
Sarah Palin is being mocked a lot these days. Her mediocre performances in interviews have made her a laughingstock in some circles. They say that she isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Some comments are truly cruel: dumber than a box of rocks, etc.
OK, so maybe she makes George W. Bush look like a genius…is that such a bad thing? Our current vice president, Dick Cheney might be one of the most intelligent Veeps ever. Look what that got us…chaos…utter chaos.
Maybe we would be better off with a VP who is more like Joe SixPack? Average. Loves to hunt. Can’t answer complicated questions. You know, someone like Sarah Palin?
I’m reading ANGLER - The Cheney Vice Presidency (The Penguin Press) by Barton Gellman. It’s a sobering read. Cheney is an intellectual force. Some would say that he possesses an evil genius.
Perhaps next time we would be better off with a VP of a more moderate intellectual rigor? This former beauty queen. This true believer…
After all, we have had a genius in the VP slot for 8 years now and look where it got us…..
Strange days indeed….Joe Biden must be drooling at the prospect of debating Palin on Thursday….
Vick Mickunas
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reflections on the Dayton Literary Peace Prizes and more…
Last night I attended a wonderful event at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton; the awards ceremony for the Dayton Literary Peace Prizes. (disclaimer: I do have some personal involvement in the process).
Junot Diaz autographs my book. (DDN photo by Peter Wine)
As I entered the lobby I spotted Junot Diaz, the recipient of the DLPP for Fiction this year. We chatted for a moment. He looked tired and explained that he had just concluded a 30 city book tour. Exhausted. Plus, Diaz is a Mets fan. His team had just collapsed on the final day of the season for the second year in a row. Disheartening.
Then I got into a very interesting conversation with Taylor Branch, the winner of the DLPP Lifetime Achievement award. Branch was recognized for his outstanding trilogy on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I wanted to talk to Branch about his highly anticipated new book; “THE CLINTON TAPES - Wrestling History in the White House”. Branch had unique access to the Clintons. He has known them for many years. He tantalized me with tidbits about the process of interviewing Bill Clinton. Later on, after the ceremony I spoke to Branch again and he expressed his desire to get back to Baltimore. The book is due out on May 12 and Branch told me that he hasn’t finished writing it yet.
After the ceremony I also spoke to Edwidge Danticat, winner of the DLPP for Non-Fiction. I interviewed Danticat years ago on WYSO Public Radio about her first book. I reminded her of that conversation and was delighted that she actually recalled it and then she told me that it was one of the first interviews that she ever did. That tickled me.
Then I spoke to Mark Kurlansky, last year’s winner in Non-Fiction. I have interviewed him several times. He didn’t remember me. Oh well - they were done over the telephone. One can hope to be memorable…
It was a splendid literary soiree in Dayton, Ohio.
There was a fascinating review today in the New York Times of a new biography of Warren Buffett.
Let’s see, what else is happening? Looks like the stock market is tanking and lots of members of the US House of Representatives are feeling nervous about their chances for re-election….
The White Sox just beat the Tigers to earn the right to play the Twins in a playoff game to see who will go on to post season play….
and I’m on deadline….tick…tick…tick….
Vick Mickunas
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none dared call it SCRABBLE…it is LEXULOUS!
Living without electricity for 8 days was a painful experience. Without a well pump there was no water. No baths. No showers. A real stinky deal.
The food in the refrigerator spoiled. Any cooking was done outside over a fire. Thank heaven the weather was good!
For me one of the most disgruntling aspects was losing the use of my computer. I missed deadlines. I could not blog. And I lost the ability to play on-line SCRABBLE through the SCRABULOUS application that two brothers in Calcutta have created. This fantastic application became embroiled in a lawsuit. The owners of the SCRABBLE copyrights, Hasbro and Mattel went after the Agarwalla brothers in court in India. That lawsuit has apparently been resolved in part.
I learned about the court’s decision after I tried to log on to the SCRABULOUS website and discovered that the site had vanished. Perplexed - I checked Google News and found several news stories about that litigation. The court ruled in favor of the Agarwalla brothers. There was also a judgment that the Agarwallas needed to change the name of their application because SCRABULOUS was too close to SCRABBLE.
I kept checking the news knowing that the Agarwallas would quickly create a new website under a new name. Last night I was surfing the net and I found a mention of the new website. I clicked on it. I tried to start a game. Nothing happened. Then, right before my eyes the site went from some sort of beta test mode to the real deal. The familiar game rooms appeared along with my personal statistics. Nobody was in any of the game rooms.
I clicked on my favorite game room, SOWPODS JUNCTION. I was alone there for a moment. Then Minna, from Sydney, Australia clicked in. We played a game. She stompled me. It was heavenly!
To play the new on-line game that is exactly like that game we won’t ever mention in the same breath click on www.LEXULOUS.com.
I just did a search on Google News for LEXULOUS and didn’t get a single match. You heard it here first…..
I’m in heaven! I’m in heaven!
Vick Mickunas
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Garrison Keillor can be so depressing…
Clint Bunsen is bursting with pride. As chairman of Lake Wobegon’s July Fourth celebration, Clint put Lake Wobegon on the map last year when CNN broadcast its parade all over the world. Hard to believe that some Lake Wobegon residents are grumbling about Clint Bunsen.
Devotees of the public radio program “A Prairie Home Companion” will recognize immediately this community and the characters that populate it in Garrison Keillor’s book “Liberty.”
The fictional town of Lake Wobegon, Minn., is at the center of Keillor’s radio world and this series of novels.
Clint Bunsen and his brother, Clarence, run Bunsen Motors. As “Liberty” begins, Clint is feeling depressed and unappreciated. About to turn 60, Clint thinks he has wasted his life. He reflects on all his past mistakes and squandered opportunities.
Clint is unhappily married to Irene. Brother Clarence wants to retire, sticking Clint with full ownership of their failing business. Recently Clint got the results of a DNA test and it convinced him that he is living a lie.
Fifty-seven million people watched Lake Wobegon’s Independence Day parade last year on CNN. Clint made that happen.
Keillor demonstrates how Clint’s triumph became his liability: “Success was the problem. You bring forth a triumph and people (1) resent you for it, (2) expect you to do it again, (3) watch for signs of pride on your part, and (4) await your debacle with cheerful anticipation.”
In Lake Wobegon, the Fourth of July also is known as Deliverance Day in memory of the Great Tornado of 1965. The town survived a frightening and absurd disaster then.
In a footnote, Keillor describes how during the tornado “a wooden crate containing 36 bowling balls lifted off from the Breckenridge train depot, flew for miles, split open and rained bowling balls down on Lake Wobegon — some splintered, some embedded themselves in soft ground, one bounced on the loading dock behind Ralph’s Grocery, flew a hundred feet in the air, bounced on Main Street and landed on the roof of the Sidetrack Tap — there was no warning at all, just small objects in the sky suddenly getting larger, and none of them touched a soul, though the town was packed with people.”
In Keillor’s last Lake Wobegon book, “Pontoon,” elements of farce, converged in a hysterical climax that was utterly charming and thoroughly ridiculous.
“Liberty” is a much darker novel. Clint’s feelings of hopelessness and disillusionment cast shadows over the proceedings. And Lake Wobegon seems overrun with more moody, angry people than usual.
As the town prepares for this year’s big celebration, there are ominous undercurrents that ripple with a sense of forboding and impending violence.
Fans of “A Prairie Home Companion” realize that Keillor cannot always be at the top of his game. Sometimes his tales fall flat.
If you seek Keillor’s sparkling humor, check out the previous book, “Pontoon.”
“Liberty” can be as depressing as wintertime in Scandinavia.
Vick Mickunas
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A small victory for word lovers
I tried to log onto Scrabulous.com this morning and got a blank page. Puzzled, I googled “Scrabulous” and found out why….
This just in from the Silicon Valley Insider:
Scrabulous Vindicated In Court - Way Too Late
Vasanth Sridharan | September 26, 2008 12:58 PM
In July, Facebook took the popular Scrabble-clone Scrabulous off of the network, after the rightsholders to Scrabble complained that the game was infringing on their copyrights and trademarks. But a court in New Delhi sided with the Agarwalla brothers and told Mattel that the game doesn’t infringe on any copyrights, AllFacebook reports.
But, at best, it’s a moral victory for the brothers. The game has been long gone from Facebook, and their new game, WordScraper, is doing well, but it’s not at Scrabulous levels yet. It’s also a moral victory because Mattel doesn’t hold the rights to Scrabble in the U.S., Hasbro does. So even if the rest of the world was to go along with the Delhi court’s ruling, the Agarwallas would still have to fight to get the game turned back on for Americans.
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Banned Books Week
Next week is BANNED BOOKS WEEK. Here is a list of the top BANNED BOOKS according to searches on YAHOO. I wonder how many of these titles Governor Palin has read? I wonder if she even reads books? Her answers to questions in interviews would seem to indicate a genuine lack of substantive knowledge and/or poor preparation……
“Harry Potter” (Series) (J.K. Rowling)
“Gossip Girl” (series) (Cecily von Ziegesar)
“To Kill a Mockingbird” (Harper Lee)
“Goosebumps” (Series) (R.L. Stine)
“The Outsiders” (S.E. Hinton)
“Lord of the Flies” (William Golding)
“Where’s Waldo” (Martin Hanford)
“Of Mice and Men” (John Steinbeck)
“The Catcher in the Rye” (J.D. Salinger)
“Jumper” (Steven Gould)
“Bridge to Terabithia” (Katherine Paterson)
“Junie B. Jones” (Series) (Barbara Park)
“The Giver” (Lois Lowry)
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (Mark Twain)
“Captain Underpants” (Dav Pilkey)
“Flowers for Algernon” (Daniel Keyes)
“Brave New World” (Aldous Huxley)
“American Psycho” (Bret Easton Ellis)
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (Ken Kesey)
“The Lovely Bones” (Alice Sebold)
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (Maya Angelou)
“James and the Giant Peach” (Roald Dahl)
“The Things They Carried” (Tim O’Brien)
“Go Ask Alice” (anonymous)
“A Time to Kill” (John Grisham)
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GOOGLE yourself
Do you ever GOOGLE yourself? If you read BLOGS you probably also indulge in a bit of GOOGLING. Yourself. Your friends. Your enemies.
GOOGLE is my favorite internet search engine. I love GOOGLE. Right now I’m reading “PLANET GOOGLE - One Company’s Audacious Plan to Organize Everything We Know” (The Free Press) by Randall Stross. Wow! What an eye opening read!
Check it out. Then, go GOOGLE yourself. Isn’t it fun?
Vick Mickunas
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Wall Street Fat Cats need our money now!
Usually I respond to e-mail solicitations asking for my participation in monetary deals by hitting the delete key. This one seems different somehow? Do you think that they are on the up and up with this? Do you think that your average American taxpayer will benefit by agreeing to these demands??
Dear American:
I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.
I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.
I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.
This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.
Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.
Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson
When the history books are written about this period I wonder what they will say?? If this bailout happens the way they are insisting that it must happen every single person in America will be on the hook for an average of 2300 dollars.
What do we gain by it? Is this going to help the average American taxpayer or is it just a cynical looting to benefit those who created this financial disaster in the first place? According to Forbes Magazine the Treasury Department admits the $700 billion bailout figure is “not based on any particular data point. We just wanted to choose a really large number.”
Vick Mickunas
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Discovering Jim Harrison
Jim Harrison is one author who I have always meant to read. I never got around to it. Until last night.
The luxury of reading by electric power for the first time in over a week was simply too wonderful to pass up. I picked up a copy of Harrison’s latest, THE ENGLISH MAJOR (Grove Press) and I literally could not put it down.
Harrison has written 25+ books - he has always been on my radar. I’m so pleased to have finally plunged into this literary pool. Wow! What a writer he is.
This latest novel is written in the form of a memoir - Cliff is a sixty year-old cherry farmer in Michigan. He used to be a schoolteacher. Life seems fairly settled until he and his wife Vivian attend their high school reunion. Shortly thereafter his wife of thirty-eight years leaves him for some guy that she was sweet on back in high school.
Cliff isn’t exactly devastated - more like puzzled. When his former wife sells off the farm after their divorce Cliff realizes that he can pursue his dream of going to all 50 states.
He embarks in his decaying automobile for grand and glorious adventures. This lovely book will be published on October 7th.
Vick Mickunas
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TRUE CRIME
The Library of America has just published a truly amazing collection of crime writing. TRUE CRIME - An American Anthology is a bloody smorgasbord of the most compelling crime writing published in America since the beginning of this country.
Ghastly crimes have been detailed by some writers who might surprise you; Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln for example.
Some of my favorite writers were included in this collection; Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, H.L. Mencken, and James Thurber. There’s even a selection of murder ballads that includes Poor Naomi, Stackalee, Belle Gunnes, and Trail’s End.
Some modern standouts include THE BLACK DAHLIA by Jack Webb, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CARYL CHESSMAN by Elizabeth Hardwick, THE SHAMBLES OF ED GEIN by Robert Bloch, and CHARLIE MANSON’s HOME ON THE RANGE by Gay Talese.
It even has Jimmy Breslin’s classic “SON OF SAM.” Not to be confused with crime fiction, these are stories of TRUE CRIME.
Vick Mickunas
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I dreamed about Studs Terkel
Perhaps the lack of electricity is beginning to influence my dreams? I tend to dream about books that I have read.
Recently, I finished reading the new book by Garrison Keillor. Last night I had a dream where I saw Keillor. I know that he is a friend of our foremost oral historian, Studs Terkel. I have been thinking about Studs a lot lately so in my dream the first thing that I said to Garrison was HOW IS STUDS DOING?
Studs Terkel is just a few years shy of the century mark in age. He is still productive. He just put out a new book. Even so, Studs Terkel is in the twilight of his life and career.
Two years ago I spent the day with Studs in Dayton when he came to town to receive the first Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement. I hung out with Studs and JR, his personal assistant all day long and into the evening.
Studs gave a magnificent speech that night. He called it his “valedictory.” I’ll never forget the conversations that we had over the course of that day. The depth and breadth of his knowledge and experience will not be seen again.
I’m thinking about you, Studs.
Vick Mickunas
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Day Six among the powerless
Apparently I’m not alone in my frustration with DP&L’s seemingly glacial response to the widespread power outages that resulted from last Sunday’s wind event. The front page of today’s DDN features a photo of a 90 year-old woman holding a sign aloft. Her sign is emblazoned with the slogan D.P.L. Sucks.
The DDN’s reports today include the most recent assessment from DP&L of the numbers of their customers who remain powerless. Where I reside in Greene County that number stands at 11,500. That’s not 11,500 people.That’s 11,500 DP&L accounts. There are 65,000 accounts areawide without power according to the report.
I keep watching out for utility trucks. None have been spotted in my neighborhood so far. I did see an AT&T truck this morning checking lines along SR343.
That downed power line I mentioned in my last post remains in the roadway. Hopefully it is not a live wire?
Friends have offered the use of their showers, offices, etc. Last night I saw a compatriot of mine from the DDN at an art opening. She is a fine writer. She is also powerless. It was good to see that we were both out and about, living life as normally as we can under the circumstances.
Tonight we have an invite to eat pizza. A friend has built an old style wood fired clay pizza oven in her yard. I’m imagining fresh tomato slathered with cheese. Mmmmmmm.
How have you been faring this week?
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DP&L where are you??
Day Five of being powerless. We keep watching for utility trucks in my area. Five days have passed and no utility trucks have been seen yet.
There is a power line actually down in my road. I tried calling DP&L to report it. I was unable to do so. I was on my cell phone in the road looking at the wire. I called DP&L’s toll free number and was unable to report the problem because it only gave me two “voice activated” options: I could report a problem involving my account OR I could report a problem involving another account. Bizarre. I could not report this downed power line?
All I wanted to report was a deadly danger in the road and DP&L had no ability to accept this report into their system? Way bizarre.
I kept calling the number in an attempt to navigate to an actual human being. No luck with that either. Three times in a row when I rang the number I got a message that said that I had reached Florida Power and Light? Same number I had called to reach DP&L before? On the 4th try I got the DP&L message again.
I read this morning in the Dayton Daily News that DP&L still had 70,000+ customers without power 5 days after the “event.” Another article indicated that some DP&L customers were feeling frustrated about the situation.
I know that I’m small potatoes in this picture. My food spoilage problems, inability to bathe, and general state of darkness and depression are nothing when held up next to a Galveston or any other current devastation. Still, I’m mucho annoyed. Mucho.
Call me FRUSTRATED.
Vick Mickunas
Note: I just went by the downed line again. It is still in the road. Houses on one side of it have power. Houses on the other side do not. Is that power line in the road a hazard? One might imagine that it is? I will assume that I’m not the only person who has attempted to contact DP&L to notify them of this potential danger? Perhaps nobody has had any luck getting that info to them? I’ll presume that if DP&L knew about this particular power line that they would remove it from the roadway?
Hey, if you see an actual representative of DP&L do us all a favor, tell them that there is a downed power line in the road near the intersection of SR343 and Meredith Road in Greene County. The line is about 50 yards past the intersection on Meredith Road. Thank you.
Let’s hope that nobody is injured by this downed line.
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I fell off the grid
That windstorm on Sunday was brutal. The power went out early in the afternoon. Then the trees came crashing down.
The top of the silver maple crashed down upon the roof. A black cherry crushed the front fence. The neighbor’s maple smashed the side fence. The stately locust snapped in two. An osage orange broke off and was caught up among the ash trees. It’s nature’s way of telling us….
I fell off the grid. No power. Still. No water. No refrigeration. No computer. Nothing.
I missed my deadline for the first time in 4+ years. Other deadlines came crashing to earth like those poor trees. As I write this 4 days later we are still in the darkness-off the grid.
Did my team win? Who knows? I have been checkin the newspapers and I cannot even find the baseball standings? I came up to the Yellow Springs library to surf the net, get my scores, do a blog post…YES! Here it is….
But I’m still off the grid. DP&L have not been spotted in my neighborhood. I live near the Greene County line. Over in Clark County, just a few hundred yards away, they lost power for just a few hours on Sunday. I look at their lighted windows and drool…
I’m so glad that I have some good books to read by flashlight. We have been cooking over a fire in the firepit. We fantasize about bathing…
What’s your windstorm horror story?
Vick Mickunas
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Farewell Inspector Rebus…
When Ian Rankin conceived of the character Detective Inspector John Rebus, he imagined a crime fighter who would age in real time. Rebus weathered 20 years and 18 books while solving puzzling crimes around the Edinburgh, Scotland, area.
It was finally time to go. Rebus has reached mandatory retirement age. His partner, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke is ready to take the reins. As “Exit Music,” the final novel in this series opens, it is November 2006. Rebus is counting down the final nine days in his career as a cop.
He has some loose ends that need tying up. His long time nemesis, the hoodlum “Big Ger” Cafferty was still up to his old tricks. Rebus would love nothing better than to find an excuse to arrest Cafferty just for old time’s sake.
A Russian poet is found brutally murdered. The dead man was an outspoken critic of the Russian government. Meanwhile, wealthy Russian tycoons are doing big business in Scotland. Rebus suspects that the poet’s demise might have been underwritten by Russian mobsters.
When Rebus discovers that “Big Ger” Cafferty was seen hanging out with some of these Russian entrepreneurs, it sets off inner alarm bells. He wants to believe that Cafferty was involved in this homicide. The pressure is on. Rebus feels compelled to solve this case before he retires.
Fans of this series will probably find that “Exit Music” is a bittersweet experience. After spending the last two decades enthralled by this cranky curmudgeon we hate to see him go. In interviews with Rankin over the years, I have pressed the author to determine if this final book would really spell the end for Rebus.
Rankin always left that door open. He didn’t want to kill off his beloved character. And if Rankin decides to embark on a new series featuring Siobhan Clarke we can imagine that Rebus might pop out of retirement to provide her with his expertise and advice.
In “Exit Music” we find a Rebus who is more ornery than ever. When they banned smoking in Scottish pubs, Rebus took it as a personal affront. He once liked nothing better than nursing a single malt scotch and a smoke in some quiet pub while he deciphered clues and solved cases.
They took away that pleasure. Now, they are taking his badge away too. Rebus was never one to follow the rules. In “Exit Music” he quickly runs afoul of his boss, Chief Constable James Corbyn. When Rebus does some snooping into the Russians and their links to Cafferty, his boss orders him off of the case.
Pulling Rebus off this case on the eve of his retirement proves futile. The battle of wits waged between Rebus and Cafferty is adversarial but also almost brotherly. They have been going at it for decades. They feel as sad about it ending as we do.
Rankin concocts another tightly plotted mystery to send his last Rebus out in grand style.
Vick Mickunas
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Why George W. Bush (hearts) John McCain…
Paul Begala has published THIRD TERM - Why George W. Bush (hearts) John McCain in paperback just in time for the final laps in this grueling race for the White House.
I never cared much for Begala. He was formerly a senior strategist for President Bill Clinton so that’s one big strike against him in my book. Still, I try to be open-minded so I’m reading it.
There are lots of photos of John McCain and George W. Bush hugging. That was rather disconcerting. I thought that John McCain was running against Washington? He never even mentioned George W. Bush during his acceptance speech the other day in St. Paul? I wonder where they got all of these photos?
The chapter titles say it all:
The Hug
McSame Old Thing
Economy: McWorse than Bush
Iraq-Bush on Steroids
Health Care: the McCain Plan won’t even Cover McCain
You get the idea. Another hatchet job on this bold maverick. I did chuckle at the section Things John McCain is Older Than…
Here’s the list: John McCain was born in 1936. That makes him older than:
the nylon toothbrush
the Republic of Ireland
the ballpoint pen
Teflon
the Margarita
LSD
Israel
fiberglass
M&M’s
Penicillin
color television
spray paint
the atom bomb
the credit card
Gosh, that’s quite the list! If this political landscape gets any more bizarre I just might have to have a Margarita. Or two…
Vick Mickunas
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what were you doing on 9/11?
I remember the morning of September, 11, 2001 as if it happened yesterday. It was a glorious Tuesday morning. There was a slight crispness in the air but it was warm and sunny with brilliant blue skies. A gorgeous day until…
We were in our Tuesday morning staff meeting at WYSO Public Radio in Yellow Springs when we heard the news; a plane had reportedly crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York.
Our station manager actually tried to go on with the meeting. Our news director objected. We tuned in on television right before the second plane hit the other tower.
Those moments are seared into my memory. I remember everything that happened that day in minute detail. I was wearing my Charo t-shirt. Our world would never be the same.
One of the most powerful accounts that I have heard of what happened on that day was given by a man who was inside one of the towers. He ran down many flights of stairs and managed to escape. He was at the WTC for a meeting. After he got out he drove all the way home to Pennsylvania without stopping until he arrived at his church.
His account was one of many stories recounted by real Americans in the book LISTENING IS AN ACT OF LOVE - A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project (2007).
9/11 was one of those moments that most of us will never forget…like when he heard that President John F. Kennedy had been shot…like when we heard about the first space shuttle disaster……
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard about the tragedy of 9/11?
Vick Mickunas
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furnishing the Palin Drome…
As the celebrity Veepette Sarah Palin prepares for her first unscripted interview with the press some Op-Edettes are wondering how well she will do. Maureen Dowd for instance. In her column today in the New York Times Dowd suggests that Charles Gibson of ABC News should pose the following questions to Sarah:
“What kind of budget-cutter makes a show of getting rid of the state plane, then turns around and bills taxpayers for the travel of her husband and kids between Juneau and Wasilla and sticks the state with a per-diem tab to stay in her own home?
Why was Sarah for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against the Bridge to Nowhere, and why was she for earmarks before she was against them? And doesn’t all this make her just as big a flip-flopper as John Kerry?
What kind of fiscal conservative raises taxes and increases budgets in both her jobs — as mayor and as governor?
When the phone rings at 3 a.m., will she call the Wasilla Assembly of God congregation and ask them to pray on a response, as she asked them to pray for a natural gas pipeline?
Does she really think Adam, Eve, Satan and the dinosaurs mingled on the earth 5,000 years ago?
Why put out a press release about her teenage daughter’s pregnancy and then spend the next few days attacking the press for covering that press release?
As Troopergate unfolds here — an inquiry into whether Palin inappropriately fired the commissioner of public safety for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law — it raises this question: Who else is on her enemies list and what might she do with the F.B.I.?
Does she want a federal ban on trans fat in restaurants and a ban on abortion and Harry Potter? And which books exactly would have landed on the literature bonfire if she had had her way with that Wasilla librarian?
Just how is it that Fannie and Freddie have cost taxpayers money (since they haven’t yet)?
Does she talk in tongues or just eat caribou tongues?
What does she have against polar bears?”
If you could ask Sarah Palin one question what would it be? We will never get to ask her anything but we can still imagine the opportunity to choose the decor for this first interview - I call it furnishing the Palin Drome.
Two more months of this….how will we ever endure it? Fortunately, we have wags like Garrison Keillor to furnish a few chuckles along the way…
Vick Mickunas
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an interview with Marilynne Robinson
In my previous post I reviewed HOME (FSG Books), the new novel by Marilynne Robinson. I also interviewed the author (by e-mail) but I did not get her responses until after my deadline for submitting my review had passed.
Readers of this blog are getting a special treat; an interview with Marilynne Robinson
Vick Mickunas: “Gilead” was one of my favorite books of 2004. I was delighted to see that you had written “Home.” After reading it I was curious about how you conceived of the relationship between these books? In “Gilead.” the Rev. Ames is slowly dying from a heart condition. In “Home” his good friend, the Rev, Boughton is also slowly dying while Rev. Ames is still living and seemingly no worse for the wear. “Home” isn’t a sequel per se to Gilead - it’s more like a neighbor, almost a contiguous novel? What are your thoughts here?
MR: I am happy to accept any of the categories you suggest. I seem
to have done something a little unusual in writing novels that are
related in the way these two are. Home is simply the book I wanted
to write. I had no conception, other than a feeling that to write it
would be interesting, and would allow me to explore characters who
had stayed in my thoughts. (And Ames has not told anyone but Lila
about his heart. But you will notice that, in Home, Boughton has
suspicions.)
Vick Mickunas: You published an essay recently in the New York Times where you alluded to some distinctive traits possessed by some Iowans. You have a long association with the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa. “Gilead” and “Home” are set in rural Iowa some fifty years ago. What is it about this region, people, and time period that you find so compelling for spurring your imagination in works of fiction?
MR:I made a study of Iowa history when I first came here, and of the
landscape as well, and I have been here for almost twenty years. So
the place is both interesting and familiar to me. I am interested in
the ‘fifties because that period was a watershed in American history,
and I like it because there was vastly less saturation of the
atmosphere with industrialized culture, commercialized religion,
media-driven politics—the echo chamber we live in now that
interferes with actual thought, and cheapens language.
Vick Mickunas: Both books have ministers who devoted their lives to interpreting scripture. “Home” is a contemporary explication of the Biblical parable of the Prodigal Son. Jack, your wayward, prodigal wanderer in “Home” suffers from a severe case of existential angst. How did this character arise from your imagination?
MR: I never know how any character arises from my imagination. That
is part of my fascination with the work of writing.
Vick Mickunas: “Home” offers readers an intimate view of the interactions between Jack, his sister Glory, and their father, the Rev, Boughton. There are universal themes about family and vocation that will resonate with many readers. “Gilead” was well received. I expect that “Home” will also be deeply appreciated by readers. Before you wrote these books you had not published a novel since “Housekeeping” in 1980. During that 24 year interval between novels were you working on these books? What inspired you to write them?
MR:I wrote nonfiction in the years between novels, and I am writing
it now. It has been a huge part of my education, and a stimulus to
thinking that carries over, very obliquely for the most part, into my
fiction. I value both genres equally, and write whatever is on my
mind. I have written all my novels quickly as such things go. None
of them has required more than 18 months.
Vick Mickunas: “Gilead” and “Home” strike this reviewer as novels that break the mold of what most modern fiction seems to be. They are warm, tender, family stories that defy most of the stereotypes that readers might expect. Do you read much modern fiction? If so, who are some of the writers that you enjoy?
MR: I think the feelings and behaviors that sustain families are much
more complex and interesting and individual than conflict or
fracture. The emphasis on dysfunction that has been so strong since
Freud has distracted attention from the bonds and rituals and so on
that are much more central to people’s experience of life, and are
the esthetics of their lives. I think any writer wants to defy
stereotypes. But we are not of one mind about what is
stereotypical. I read nonfiction for the most part, history and the
kind of science writing that is suited to my layperson’s
understanding. They are the things that refresh my mind.
Vick Mickunas: Thank you for your wonderful books!
MR: Thanks for your kind words about my books.
Marilynne Robinson will be appearing at Cedarville University’s Dixon Ministry Center Recital Hall, 251 N. Main St. in Cedarville, at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12. For more information, call (937) 766-7808.
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be it ever so humble there’s no book like HOME…
In 2004, Marilynne Robinson published “Gilead,” a jewel of a novel that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Set in the 1950s in the fictional town of Gilead, Iowa, it is the story of the Rev. John Ames, a minister nearing his 77th birthday. Late in life Ames, a widower, falls in love with a young woman. With his heart failing, he records his thoughts and feelings to pass them down to their young child. He wants the boy to know what kind of man his father was. Luminous, tender, “Gilead” goes straight to the heart.
Robinson has written a companion novel to “Gilead.” “Home” doesn’t read like a sequel. This book feels more like a good neighbor. John Ames and his family are still living in Gilead. His best friend since childhood was the Rev. Robert Boughton. Both men are quite elderly. Boughton’s health is failing faster than that of John Ames.
Boughton has been a widower for 10 years and his health has been declining. One of his seven children, a daughter named Glory, returned to Gilead to care for him. Glory has been unlucky in love. She’s 38 years old and returned home when her fiance announced that he would not marry her.
“Home” is written from Glory’s viewpoint. As the story begins, Rev. Boughton hears that his son Jack is coming home for a visit. Jack is the black sheep of the family. He hasn’t been home in 20 years. Nobody in the family knows where he has been.
Jack is seven years older than Glory. He left home when she was still a girl. They never really knew each other very well. She is resentful about his visit. Caring for her father is difficult enough. The prospect of dealing with her mysterious brother Jack overwhelms her.
Rev. Boughton is excited about Jack’s visit. Jack was always his favorite. They wait for Jack and his arrival keeps getting delayed. When Jack finally shows up, it is a real shock. In Jack, Robinson has created one of the most striking characters in recent memory.
Jack left two decades before under a cloud of scandal. His return recasts this shadow over the sweet town of Gilead. “Home” is a poignant tale about the enduring strength of family bonds. Robinson’s delicate depiction of this tangled web of family is mesmerizing While the main focus of “Home” is the Boughton family’s relations, the Ames family flits through these pages like moths dancing amid the sparkling shimmers of Robinson’s prose.
As we turn the pages of “Home,” we collect each precious morsel, the hints that Jack doles out like rare gems. He has always been running from himself. Finally at home, Jack crashes through the shards of his tormented soul.
Home is the one place where you feel safe. When Jack is leaving again Glory says: “Don’t worry. If you ever need to come home. I’ll be here.” In a world that is so very uncertain there’s no book like “Home.”
Robinson will be appearing at Cedarville University’s Dixon Ministry Center Recital Hall, 251 N. Main St. in Cedarville, at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12. For more information, call (937) 766-7808.
Vick Mickunas
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an interview with Jaime Adoff
Jaime Adoff has written a phenomenal new book for young adults, THE DEATH OF JAYSON PORTER (Hyperion). Recently, I interviewed Jaime about it on WYSO Public Radio. To listen to that conversation click here:
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remembering Robert Giroux
The noted publisher Robert Giroux has died. Over a long career he worked with some of the biggest names in literature. His list of near misses is fascinating. He almost published Salinger’s CATCHER IN THE RYE. He almost published Kerouac’s ON THE ROAD. As one might expect, the New York Times did justice to his legacy with an amazing obituary.
To peruse it click here:
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a Wasilla resident explains Sarah Palin
Strange things do come to me. Sometimes, they are important documents. They might fall off of trucks? Or mysteriously slipped beneath doors. Faxed at midnight. E-mailed from remote places (like Alaska). Mailed without return addresses…..guys in trenchcoats lurking in the alley ways…..watching.
This letter came to me last night from the land of caribou and hockey moms. It was written by a resident of Sarah Palin’s hometown. She knows Sarah Palin very well. You’ll realize that by reading her letter. Have you noticed how some people in Wasilla decline to make public comments about Sarah? Is it out of loyalty? Or, something else? The press has been met with a dense wall of NO COMMENT when making inquiries about Palin in Wasilla. One might wonder why?
The author of this letter has asked that her name be kept confidential. I have checked it out and I believe that this document is the genuine article….I Googled the author. This letter was forwarded from an Alaskan (and McCain/Palin supporter) to a friend of mine in Sitka, Alaska, then on to me. That’s the unbroken chain of correspondence from Wasilla to you, the readers of this DDN blog.
Much hay has been made during the Republican National Convention about Sarah Palin’s executive experience. This letter illuminates some of the aspects of Palin’s experience that have not been described in much detail. Up until now. Read it. There’s a lot that we can learn about Sarah Palin…..
Dear friends,
So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up …
Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their gender and their good looks. :)
You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts…
ABOUT SARAH PALIN
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because she is a “babe”.
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.
She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.
Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She’s smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.
During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported?
The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later—to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.
These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s surplus, borrow for needs.
She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal—loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help.
The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work.
Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit, exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects—which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance—but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.
She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state initiative that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.
There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.
However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT
.”Hockey mom”: true for a few years
.”PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since .
“NRA supporter”: absolutely true .social conservative: mixed.
Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
.pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
.”Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation.
.”Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
.political maverick: not at all
.gutsy: absolutely!
.open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
.has a developed philosophy of public policy: no .”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
.fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
.pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
.pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents .pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla’s history.
.pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools…
Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings…
Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that’s life…
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s attempt at censorship…
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall—they are swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000”, up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.
(Note-the author of this letter continues to reside in Wasilla, Alaska)
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did John McCain even mention…..?
Tonight I listened very closely to John McCain’s speech as he accepted the nomination to run for President of the United States from his own Republican Party.
There were some things that I expected to hear. For example, our departing President George W. Bush is finishing eight years in office. I expected John McCain to acknowledge the fact that his fellow party member, the President he campaigned for and supported most of the time was leaving office soon. John seems like a nice guy. I thought he would thank President Bush for his years of service? They are in the same party, right? I guess McCain forgot? I never heard him mention George W. Bush at all!
He kept talking about this Sarah Palin. Did he mention Dick Cheney, our Vice President who has spent the past eight years running this country? No. Not a word.
Strange? Then I expected John McCain to speak about the financial markets that seem to be melting down right now? Did he even mention the stock market? I don’t think so? I’ll admit that I almost fell asleep during his speech but I blame Cindy McCain for my comatose state. She could sure use some help reading that teleprompter?
So John McCain never mentioned George W. Bush or the stock market or a lot of other subjects I expected to hear about. Health insurance? He spent a few phrases on it. Didn’t say much. The mortgage crisis? Not much on that either? I suppose he didn’t want to remind people that his Republican party was in power as the economy headed south?
Those seemed like some very obvious points to cover. Perhaps, too obvious?
“Strange days have found us.” (Jim Morrison/Strange Days-Elektra Records)
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Dayton Literary Peace Prize winners announced
This press release just came in from the folks who announce the Dayton Literary Peace Prizes:
JUNOT DIAZ, EDWIDGE DANTICAT NAMED WINNERS OF 2008 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE
Diaz Receives Fiction Prize for “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”; Danticat’s “Brother, I’m Dying” Receives Non-Fiction Prize
Dayton, OH (September 4, 2008) - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat today were named winners of the 2008 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for fiction and non-fiction, respectively.
Celebrating the power of literature to promote peace and non-violent conflict resolution, The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is the only international literary peace prize awarded in the United States. It was founded in 2006 as an outgrowth of the Dayton Peace Prize, which commemorates the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords ending the war in Bosnia.
The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Committee also announced this year’s runners-up: Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcon (Fiction) and Are We Rome? by Cullen Murphy (Non-Fiction).
Winners receive a $10,000 honorarium and runners-up receive $1,000.They will be honored at a gala ceremony hosted by award-winning journalist Nick Clooney in Dayton on Sunday, September 28th. Civil rights movement historian Taylor Branch (America in the King Years trilogy) will also be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Past Lifetime Achievement honorees include Elie Wiesel (2007) and Studs Terkel (2006)
The contemporary American immigrant experience and the struggle to overcome the scars of political and physical violence are the centerpiece of both Diaz’s and Danticat’s critically-acclaimed books. Both of the authors immigrated to the United States when they were children from the island of Hispaniola - Diaz from Dominican Republic and Danticat from Haiti.
“This year’s winners explore both the devastating impact of violence and the power of the human spirit to overcome great pain and adversity in order to move communities and society forward,” said Sharon Rab, chair of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. “We are proud to honor artists whose creativity and unique perspectives remind us that lasting peace comes from our recognizing a shared humanity.”
In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Penguin Group), Diaz mixes pop culture and political criticism to tell the story of an obese sci-fi fan growing up in New Jersey and his Dominican family during the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship. The book has won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Diaz is the author of the celebrated story collection Drown, as well as stories published in The New Yorker and The Paris Review.
“Those of us who have lived without peace know of its elemental importance and yet how few cultures and institutions and organizations honor or recognize or promote this essential and elusive human practice,” said Diaz. “On many levels this award honors what is best in us as a people and is a testament to the forward-looking humanity of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. It is a tremendous honor for me and the communities that made me possible.”
Brother, I’m Dying (Knopf Publishing Group) is Danticat’s moving memoir of her Haitian immigrant family’s struggle to stay connected in spite of living apart. Earlier this year, the book won the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. She is the author of numerous books, including Krik? Krak!, a National Book Award finalist; The Farming of Bones, an American Book Award winner; and The Dew Breaker, a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist.
“I am honored and humbled to have been awarded The Dayton Literary Peace Prize in nonfiction for my memoir, Brother, I’m Dying, a book which deals with not only my own family history, but with the devastating consequences of xenophobia and anti-immigrant acts,” said Danticat. “Many of us have turned to literature in difficult times and have found comfort and greater understanding there. I hope my work and that of my fellow finalists and winners will continue to help contribute to that conversation.”
The 2008 runners-up are:
• Fiction: Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcon (HarperCollins Publishers): Taking place in a nameless South American country, this powerful story illustrates war’s devastating impact on a society transformed by violence.
• Non-fiction: Are We Rome? by Cullen Murphy (Houghton Mifflin Company): Comparing the politics and culture of Ancient Rome with that of the contemporary United States, Murphy, a former editor at The Atlantic Monthly, reveals lessons on how America can avoid Rome’s demise.
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will John McCain dump Sarah Palin?
That decisive maverick John McCain impulsively named Sarah Palin, a virtual unknown, to be his running mate the other day, right here in Dayton. The fallout was immediate. And it keeps getting worse.
Palin is slated to give a speech tonight at the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul. It better be good.
The odds that McCain will pull the plug on Palin are increasing. It’s apparent that McCain failed to properly vet his running mate. The closet is open now. The skeletons are rattling.
Here’s my question. Will McCain take a page from George McGovern and unceremoniously dump Palin? McGovern dumped Thomas Eagleton quicker than you can say shock treatment back in 1972. Will McCain pull another maverick move and jettison Palin before that pile of skeletons comes rattling onto the GOP’s heaving deck?
What do you think? I’m not asking if McCain should dump her - I’m asking if you think that he will toss her overboard before the sharks come leaping past the mast of this foundering GOP flagship? Will he? Or, won’t he?
Vick Mickunas
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is 39 CLUES the next Harry Potter?
Scholastic, the company that sold millions of Harry Potter books, is looking for another project to replace the publishing goose that laid so many golden eggs. They think they might have found it. Here’s more from the New York Times:
Author of Book Series Sends Kids on a Web Treasure Hunt
By MOTOKO RICH
“When Rick Riordan was recently researching the life of Benjamin Franklin for the first book in a new children’s fiction series about the most powerful family in the world, he came across an essay about flatulence written by the founding father better known for his experiments with electricity and awaking early.
“Come on, when you’re writing for kids, that’s just a must right there,” said Mr. Riordan during an interview at the New-York Historical Society, where he sat on a bench in front of a glass case full of busts of Franklin. “It’s an automatic connection. I had to put that in there.”
So far Mr. Riordan (pronounced RYE-r-don) is chiefly known as the author of the popular Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, about the adventures of a young boy who is half Greek god, half human. Now he has written “The Maze of Bones,” the first installment of “The 39 Clues,” a new series that Scholastic, the American publisher of the Harry Potter books, is releasing next Tuesday.
Calling upon his experience of 15 years as a middle school English and history teacher, Mr. Riordan sought to fill the book with details that would be educational but also ensnare the average preteen reader.
“My goal in the classroom was always to make sure they were having so much fun that they didn’t realize they were learning,” he said. “I saw ‘The 39 Clues’ as a potential vehicle for doing some education in a fun way — to take some of these amazing stories from history, dust them off and make them alive.”
“The 39 Clues” is planned as a 10-book mystery series for 8-to-12 year olds, with a different historical figure making a central appearance in each one. Scholastic is publishing it on an aggressive timetable, with plans to release one book every two to three months. In addition to writing the first book, Mr. Riordan has outlined the next nine novels, which will be written by other authors.
The story, devised in part by Scholastic’s editors, follows the exploits of Amy and Dan Cahill, two orphans, 14 and 11, who are competing against other branches of the sprawling Cahill family (a clan that has had “a greater impact on human civilization than any other family in history”) to discover the first of 39 clues. Those clues are the keys to a secret that, when revealed, will lead to ultimate power.
Scholastic has deployed its considerable marketing fire power behind the new series, which is tied to a Web-based game (www.the39clues.com) and collectors’ cards. The publisher, which thrived on the enormous success of the Harry Potter novels, is now facing the reality that many children are now as engrossed in the Internet and video games as they are in books.
“The idea is that every aspect will add to the storytelling in its own way,” said David Levithan, an executive editorial director for multimedia publishing at Scholastic. “The Web or card experience is not at all going to replicate the book experience, nor is the book experience going to replicate the Web.”
When giving Mr. Riordan guidelines for writing the first novel, Mr. Levithan and three other Scholastic editors wanted to make sure that the books would complement the Internet game. One instruction was that the 10 books would reveal only one clue per title, leaving gamers to find the other 29 online; another was that the series take place in a number of locales around the world.
Mr. Riordan, who looks the part of a prim schoolteacher, showing up for an interview on a blazing hot summer day in a wheat-colored blazer and dark slacks, said that throughout the writing of the book he checked in with the team of editors at Scholastic, who asked him to add or change details.
He said writing a book with a committee was not selling out, but was in some ways “liberating.” Writing the Percy Jackson books, he said, “was a very solitary experience.”
“The manuscript is pretty much done before I show it to anybody — my editor or even my sons,” he said.
Mr. Riordan said that he always thought of his two sons before embarking on a project. “Are my own sons going to enjoy this book when I’m done with it?” he said. “If the answer is yes, and they’re excited about it, then I’ll probably go ahead and do it.”
The Percy Jackson novels grew out of bedtime stories he told his older son, Haley, now 13, shortly after he was identified as having attention deficit disorder and dyslexia five years ago. Mr. Riordan started by telling Haley the Greek myths, but when he ran out of tales, he invented the story of a modern Greek hero. “Percy was born out of desperation,” he said.
At Haley’s request, Mr. Riordan, who had by then already published five detective novels for adults set in and around his native San Antonio, decided to write a manuscript for what became “The Lightning Thief.”
The book was sold at auction to Miramax Books in 2004 for a low six-figure sum, enough for Mr. Riordan to quit his teaching job and focus full time on writing. The first four books in the series have sold nearly 1.5 million copies, according to figures from Nielsen Bookscan, which tracks about 70 percent of sales.
Mr. Riordan has just completed the fifth and final book in the Percy Jackson series, now published by Hyperion Books, a division of Disney. That will be released next May. The film version of the first book, which was optioned by Fox 2000, a division of 20th Century Fox, is being directed by Chris Columbus, the director of the first two Harry Potter movies; it is scheduled to come out in November 2009.
Mr. Riordan is working on a new fantasy adventure, as well as another book, based on new characters, set at Camp Half-Blood, where some of the action of the Percy Jackson novels takes place.
He will also continue to provide feedback to Scholastic as its editors send him subsequent manuscripts from the 39 Clues series.
Despite the fact that he is writing full time, he says he still feels like a teacher because he meets so many children on book tours. “I see hundreds of kids at a time rather than knowing one classroom very well,” he said.
“My modus operandi hasn’t really changed that much from when I was an English teacher,” Mr. Riordan added. “I wanted my students to leave my classroom loving reading and wanting to read more, and if they left my classroom thinking that reading is boring, then I haven’t done my job.”
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The GOP brings new meaning to Labor Day
When John McCain makes a decision he certainly does it impulsively. Case in point: his selection of a Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Wow, this latest story brings a whole new meaning to the terms “family values” and “Labor Day”. It seems that there is an unwed, pregnant, teen-aged daughter involved. I wonder if McCain really knew about this? According to the New York Times:
Palin’s Teen Daughter Is Pregnant; New G.O.P. Tumult
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
ST. PAUL — “The 17-year-old daughter of Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate, is five months pregnant, Ms. Palin announced today, adding a new element of tumult to a Republican convention that had already been disrupted by Hurricane Gustav.
The daughter, Bristol, plans to marry the father, the statement issued by Governor Palin and her husband said.
“Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned” Ms. Palin’s statement said. “As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows that she has our unconditional love and support.”
The announcement was intended to counter rumors by liberal bloggers that Ms. Palin had claimed to have given birth to her fifth child in April when, according to the rumors, the child was her daughter’s.
Groups that oppose abortion rights had been thrilled with Mr. McCain’s selection of Ms. Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running mate, partly because of her opposition to abortion. It is not clear how social conservatives will respond to the latest news.
Steve Schmidt, the chief strategist for the McCain campaign, was surrounded by reporters and cameras as he walked through the media center next door to the Xcel Center in St. Paul, where the convention is taking place. Asked over and over when and how Mr. McCain found out about Bristol’s pregnancy, he repeated, “Senator McCain was aware” of it and called it “a private family matter,” He would not say when he found out or how, calling it a “private conversation.”
“The fact is, John McCain had a thorough search and made the decision to add Sarah Palin to the ticket because he believes,” he said, that she “will change America.”
He said how big this becomes depends upon the media. “I think the American people will see this news and they’d have good wishes for the young lady and they’ll respect the privacy of the family,” he said.
Asked if Ms. Palin will be able to judge the demands of the vice-presidency with her complicated family life, Mr. Schmidt said, “She’s been a very effective governor and again I can’t imagine that question being asked of a man.”
The McCain campaign says it was aware of her daughter’s pregnancy before it named her as the running mate on Friday.
Mrs. Palin’s statement identified the father only by a first name, Levi. “Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family,” the statement said. “We ask the media, respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.”
In a brief press conference in Monroe, Mich., here to talk about Hurricane Gustav, Senator Barack Obama was asked about the suggestion by some Republicans that Democrats - particularly liberal bloggers - have pushed a story about the family of Ms. Palin, who was named last week as the running-mate for Senator John McCain. In a statement earlier Monday, Ms. Palin said her daughter was pregnant.
Mr. Obama, in his first remarks on the matter, raised his voice when asked whether his campaign or other Democratic operatives were working to advance rumors surrounding the Palin family.
“Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be,” Mr. Obama snapped. “And if I ever thought there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they’d be fired, OK?”
Mr. Obama said the pregnancy “has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president.” He added that, “my mother had me when she was 18. How family deals with issues and teen-age children - that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics.”
“So,” he added, “I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories.”
At a rally at a ballpark Saturday evening in Washington, Pa., Bristol Palin did not join the rest of her family on stage.
“Then we have our daughter Bristol, she’s on the bus with the newborn, and then we have our daughter Willow, who is here, and our youngest daughter Piper,” Ms. Palin said as she introduced her family. “On that bus we have our son Trig, who is a beautiful baby boy we welcomed into the world just in April. It’s his naptime, so he is with his big sister on the bus. But we thank them for being here. “
“And speaking of Trig, and other things, some of life’s greatest opportunities come unexpectedly,” she said. “And this is certainly the case today. I never really set out to be in public affairs, much less to run for this office.”
Early reaction among women at the Republican convention to the news about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy was almost uniformly supportive.
“This happens to people in all walks of life,” said Karen Minnis, 54, a state representative from Oregon.
She also said she had no problem with Gov. Palin continuing to campaign while her daughter is pregnant and she herself has an infant son.
“She’s already proven herself as a very good multi-tasker,” Ms. Minnis said. “She comes from a great family and it just shouldn’t be an issue.”
When Pam Younggren, 61, of Fargo, N.D., was told the news of the 17-year-old’s pregnancy, she shrugged. “Well, she wouldn’t be the first one,” she said.
“We can’t control what our daughters do,” she said. “I don’t see it as a problem. She will have appropriate care for her baby.”
Mikey Hoeven, 50, who is married to the governor of North Dakota, said that while the situation was difficult, she also said that Mrs. Palin is “tough” and would get through it.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to her,” Mrs. Hoeven said. “Just being a governor will be a challenge, but if anyone can do it, she can. This baby ultimately will be a blessing to the family.”
The women had gathered in St. Paul at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, at an event about women and heart disease. It was one of the first events of the convention and began just after the news about Bristol Palin was coming over their BlackBerries and cell phones.
Some of them said, “Oh, my God” when they first heard the news, but they declined to discuss the matter with a reporter.
Many more said they could relate to Mrs. Palin and saw no problem with her continuing to campaign.
Doni Ingram, 61, assistant director of Economic and Community Development for the state of Alabama in Montgomery, said she felt sympathetic to Mrs. Palin because she had raised four children herself.
“She’s raised five kids and has a professional career, and she’ll be just fine,” Mrs. Ingram said.
At least two Democrats were at the event. Julie Zimmerman, 27, who is a program adviser with an educational program called The Washington Center, said she found the news “shocking.”
She also said she hoped the Republicans would undergo “a fundamental re-evaluation of what they mean by family values” and also use the moment to teach young women about sex education.
But she and a friend, Dr. Rachel Sondheimer, 29, also with the Washington Center and an assistant professor of political science at West Point, said they did not really see a problem with the situation.
“If she thinks she can deal with her family and can do that, that’s fine,” Dr. Sondheimer said.
Many of the Republican women, too, had a sense that this was just another challenge that women and mothers face all the time.
“My heart aches for them, I’m sure it’s a tough time for them,” said Sandy Boehler, who is the soon-to-be Republican national committeewoman for North Dakota. “But we have to support them. Look at all the working mothers. Sarah sounds very capable.”
Kathleen Wrigley, 38, who has three children and is married to the United States Attorney for North Dakota, brought up the example of John Edwards, who continued to campaign for president after his wife, Elizabeth, announced last year that she had a recurrence of breast cancer.
“When Edwards announced that, I hated to see anyone pass judgment on him,” she said. “This is not for anyone else to judge. I pray for them that they have the strength to do what’s best.”
Michael Cooper, Jeff Zeleny and Mary Ann Giordano contributed.
Labor Day is usually a slow news day. What do you think? Will this news help or hinder the Republican slate? Will the Palin/McCain ticket remain intact after this story has had some time to incubate??
Politicians (and their families) are humans too. I love politics!
Vick Mickunas
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