As I was finishing up the detail work on the last issue, Ellen Rocco wrote again from one of those other "north countries" with details about her radio version of Reading. (She admitted to knowing who Bucky Fuller is and the origins of Mother Earth News.
Bucky Fuller was in the news again, since a couple chemists who discovered a new form of carbon won Nobel Prizes. They called the new carbon "Bucky balls" because the structure of the atoms looked so much like Fuller's geodesic domes.
And I don't know the origins of the Mother Earth News. I do know that the Whole Earth Review (nČe CoEvolution Quarterly) began after the original Whole Earth Catalog people had a party and a lottery to give away the profits from the first few catalogs. The magazine is always on the verge of collapse, but innovation (moving the publishing office away from high priced, trendy real estate) and munificent benafactors with a passion or nostalgia keep it afloat.
At least one of its spin-offs survives: The Well, an online sidewalk cafe and library frequented by writers and intellectuals whose names you'd probably recognize).
Ellen wrote:
"Wanted to let you know what the NY north country literary mavens are up to. This year's Readers and Writers on the Air series received an NEH grant. I'd be worried if it looked like they were gonna give us money forever, but it's just this once.
"In a nutshell, we're using contemporary literature as a starting point for talking about how we do (or don't) sustain our individual ethnic identities at the same time we do (or don't) identify with an American cultural identity (if there is such a thing). Call it 'multiculturalism meets the melting pot' or something.
"Each of the authors will, once again, join us in the studio to take listener/reader comments and questions about their books. The new twist is that we're starting with a roundtable discussion; half a dozen ordinary people, from different ethnic backgrounds, will tackle the questions first. Then we'll get to the books in later programs. We'll end in the spring with a live broadcast of a 'town meeting' to see where--if anywhere--we've gotten to.
"Here are the books we're using:
"Maurice Kenny, Tekonwatonti / Molly Brant: Poems of War
"Her name, Tekonwatonti, translates to 'She who is outnumbered,' or 'Several against one.' Born Molly Brant and also known as Lady Mary Brown through her marriage to an Englishman, Molly Brant was the sister of Chief Joseph, and with him she ultimately led her people in a vain attempt to hold ancestral land. The book is a series of poems representing both Brant's perspective and those of the people who knew her.
Carol Ascher, The Flood
The story of Eva, a ten-year-old Jewish girl, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, who struggles to define her identity among gentiles, many of whom accept her family on the surface, but whose tolerance for difference is limited. Eva lives in Kansas City as the summer of 1951 unfolds in segregated Topeka with the workings of Brown v Board of Education playing out. Eva's mother insists that 'we're alle Menschen, all human beings,' while the next door neighbor supports segregation as the will of God. This book was originally published in the late '80s and then went out of print. Thanks to Peter Freitag, who will co-host this program with me, for bringing it to our attention and for the reprinting.
Susan Ward, ed., The Diary of Mabel Lila Wait
This diary comes from a member of the group traditionally self-defined as 'American': those whose ancestors were European immigrants...years ago. The diary allows such an American to speak for herself. At the same time the introduction puts her within the context of her time (1900) and place (northern New York). This book is being published by a local press and is available if you contact me, Ellen Rocco. [see below]
With a focus on class choices, political commitments and family dynamics, this book deals overtly with both racial and class identity from the perspective of Ursa Beatrice MacKenzie, who is divided between two cultures: her mother's African American background in the civil rights movement and her father's history in the Caribbean struggle for independence.
Esmeralda Santiago, When I Was Puerto Rican
Santiago's memoir of her Puerto Rican childhood culminates in her move to New York, where she gained an education but lost the sense of belonging--to a family and a culture--so strong in her childhood. Her journey to a new country recapitulates the assimilation experience of many American immigrant groups that came earlier, but with a critical difference: for Santiago's compatriots assimilation is not so obtainable.
Hogan's latest book (recently available in paperback) tells the story of five generations of Native American women in the Boundary Waters between Canada and Minnesota. It is a story of loss, ruin, scars and healing. It is not sentimental sap. The characters operate in a real--and really spiritual--world.
So, there you go. I'd appreciate help from all who have ideas for topnotch books for young adults (which could also appeal to old adults). Next year's series will focus on contemporary literature that works well for young people coming of age at the brink of a new century. Only requirement: the author must be alive. If you have any ideas or want to learn how to get any of the books mentioned above, write to
Ellen Rocco
Ellen, thanks for the wonderful and diverse collection of suggestions. And, since this is the second issue in a row in which someone recommended a book by Linda Hogan, I'm probably going to have to check out some of her books.
North Country Public Radio
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY 13617
or call at 315-379-5356
or e-mail at eroc@music.stlawu.edu.
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