The Bookity Book & Tall Grass Salon

Chris, that's very interesting about the educational system and it corroborates my attitude. Makes total sense to me that the British colonialists would have an entirely different educational approach with their own people, than with the subject races.

Also I want to amend something I said. I said colonialism decimated indigenous populations in nearly every continent. In some, it only destroyed cultures and indigenous economies, but left a good large population of relatively docile subservient indigenes. I guess it depended upon the particular economic requirements of the expansion in different circumstances. Plus, some people don't take to being enslaved as well as others, or so it appears in retrospect.

Chris, very interesting post. I'm going to send parts of it to my friend in Peace Corps in Burkina Faso if that's all right. She's working in education - just started. I know it's a different country but I'd like to get her take on things there.

Certainly, most colonized peoples have struggled with postcolonial self-rule.

It's also very clear, I think, that this is largely due to the legacy of colonialism and the destruction it caused to the pre-existing societal structures.

These days, our tribal governments are as corrupt as the state and federal governments, and of course, we often suffer for it. It doesn't help we were set up for failure.

The pueblos in the southwest took a lot longer to break than many of the other tribes. The eastern tribes were forced off their land from the beginning, and the plains tribes were broken by military conquest and the systematic genocide of the buffalo. After centuries of fighting the Spanish, the pueblos gave up relatively easily, but we managed to keep control of most of our resources. Where other tribes had been forced into federal dependence by the late 19th century, the pueblos were still economically independent (this is shown in the youtube video, taken from the midst of the Great Depression).

Zuni was under military occupation at the turn of the 20th century, because that economic independence allowed us a degree of autonomy, and rebellion. The military occupation occurred because of a witch trial, of Nick Dumaka, a Zuni man who had close ties to the white government, and who cared more about personal gain than the good of the people. When the bow priesthood put him on trial, he called on his white contacts, and the US military occupied the village. Years later, when we won tribal sovereignty, he — who had betrayed his people — was installed as the first Zuni governor of Zuni.

Since then, we have become caught up in the same capitalistic rat race as the rest of the country, and the democratic political process has produced many leaders more interested in self-advancement than egalitarianism.

The education circumstances are quite similar, too. In just the last decade, there has been a great rise in the number of educated native professionals who can help their communities in issues of modern technology and science and engineering, where before we had to rely on the expertise of outsiders.

But it is still difficult. People have to leave their community to get that education. Many do not return. Those who do return often have trouble regaining acceptance in the community. They've become outsiders.

Good morning.

kuwi, thanks for telling that about the witch and the government. If they can't get you one way, there's always another.

And it's impossible too, it seems, for that deadliness finally to succeed. It's like in the garden, no matter what you do, the grass keeps sprouting.

The Writer's Almanac for October 22, 2014

The poem today is moving for me; it's a simple prayer but stays quite grounded, on its roof, and the final line is rhythmically lovely.

Today the electric light bulb, Edison version, was invented. Doris Lessing was born, as were John Reed, John Gould (who taught Stephen King a few things) and Franz Liszt.

I ought to reread some Lessing one day soon. I found most of her books very depressing but read them anyway. I wonder how I'd take them now.

lacygnette said:

Chris, very interesting post. I'm going to send parts of it to my friend in Peace Corps in Burkina Faso if that's all right. She's working in education - just started. I know it's a different country but I'd like to get her take on things there.

Click to expand...

By all means, feel free! I'm interested to see the similarities and differences, since Burkina and most of West Africa use the French educational model (lycee, I think it's called) while East Africa uses the British.

And thanks for the insights, Max and Kuwi. Humans are complicated critters and don't always take care of each other very well.

Quite a thought provoking poem! The imagery of the world being a bridge is new to me, and deserves some reflection. But the not being afraid part speaks to me loud and clear.

I've recently been doing some shallow reading on Edison, Tesla and Westinghouse. The MC in my WIP is an inventor who served as an industrial spy for one of them (I haven't decided who yet) and has now broken off on his own and is using World War I as a way tonhave the government fund his inventions under the guise of the war effort. Storywise I think I've done better on earlier projects, but craftwise I think what I've learned over the past few years (thanks in HUGE part to the fine folks here at AW) is going to pay off.

My hubby always says we should have an Edison day - he changed the world more remarkably than most.

Enjoyed the poem - how the end circles back to an earlier image.

Chris your new book sounds interesting. And on point! I'll let you know what my friend says. I don't hear much from her - she has to bike a couple miles out of her town to get reception. It's 3 miles to the well on her bike and an uphill ride back to her village with a 10 gal. jug of water. Guess she doesn't have to work out! But she's loving it.

I lost 30 pounds in the Peace Corps, but the worldwide mystery is that men lose weight and women gain. We think it's the different ways men and women process the typically high-carb diets in developing countries. I was never a beefy guy, but a good portion of my weight loss was muscle mass from eating so little protein. The first time I went to the gym here I really noticed a loss of strength, not to mention that I had all the muscle definition of Kermit the Frog.

I suspect some photoshopping in the "Kermit Six Pack" pic about 1/5 down the page.

It's not easy being green, but Kermie sure makes it look so. http://www.dailybillboardblog.com/2012/08/kermit-frog-live-your-dreams-billboard.html

Good morning.

The Writer's Almanac for October 23, 2014

The poem today is by Robert Bridges, whose birthday it is. It's additionally poignant given what's shared about his life, and its end.

Also today is the anniversary of the publication of John Cheever's book of stories which won him the Pulitzer. Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis, was also published on this date, and it's Michael Crichton's birthday.

I read Main Street about six months ago and really enjoyed it. I really felt some scope of history when he described the new stuff on Main Street, and I realized that I had seen the same stuff, only when it was old and scheduled for demolition and Main Streets were largely abandoned. It's nice to see the more recent urban renewal in some cities.

I was also amused by Lewis's description of the rural areas. His description of the trsin ride to Gopher City could just as easily be a Ugandan bus, complete.with whole families carrying everything they owned, live goats and chickens, and half a (non-live) cow. The main character's attitude also reminds me of many Peace Corps volunteers, thinking we are bringing the light of modern society to a backwarss place and assuming the locals are going to be so thrilled with our new perspective. In reality, most people, no matter where, are for.theost part content doing what they're doing.

Anyway, great book for me.

It's creepy? I thought it was just silly-looking.

I did good then, achieving creepitude! Yay, me!

But you have to pick up knowledge when it is available and then wait till it is useful. --s6

Good morning.

The Writer's Almanac for October 24, 2014

Today, in a rare alignment, the almanac suits my mood. I think it's the juxtaposition of the stark poem with the lush quote from Alexandra David-Neel, whose birthday is today and who said, "Then it was springtime in the cloudy Himalayas. Nine hundred feet below my cave rhododendrons blossomed. I climbed barren mountain-tops. Long tramps led me to desolate valleys studded with translucent lakes ... Solitude, solitude! ... Mind and senses develop their sensibility in this contemplative life made up of continual observations and reflections. Does one become a visionary or, rather, is it not that one has been blind until then?"

I notice both the poem and the comment in the quote are reflecting on similarly barren landscapes. It's the dynamic between the two responses that fascinates me and energizes my mood.

Also today is the birthday of Moss Hart, and of the transcontinental telegraph. When I read the latter phrase I had a little rush of delight because I imagined it read "transcendental telegraph." Must have been the combination of a good night's sleep and the influence of David-Neel's words on an early morning mind.

I am very upset the almanac left of my birthday today.

I would think that my postings here would have been enough to merit a mention.

Anyway, thought I'd day hi. Revised revised revised book went back out to editors again. Fingers crossed, optimism fading.

Hope all has been well around here.

Hey, Matt! Happy Birthday! and may this be the year your book finds a home.

The Writer's Almanac for October 25, 2014

The poem today is a classic for good reason.

Today's birthdays include those of Anne Tyler, one of my favorite writers, who has little to say about the subject, and Pablo Picasso.

*sips coffee, up too early*

What a day! The poem by Tennyson was one of the first that I memorized on my own. I found it in an old old book of poetry and loved it enough to recite it from memory. I thought it was great poetry but that was the sixth grade. There are modern poets that I prefer now but something about Tennyson's marriage of cadence and imagery always grabs me. My all time favorite begins "The splendor falls on castle walls and snowy summits old in story ..." That's poetry!

Anne Tyler is my guiding star. Every time I read one of her novels I go dead for months out of sheer green envy. "Celestial Navigation" cold cocked me for a year--s6