Who’s to say why we stay?
Going along with the discussion of To Kill a Mockingbird and whether we can understand an Atticus Finch or the people of Maycomb, Alabama, I found an interesting essay on Picher, Oklahoma that made me think again about whether we make presumptions about other people and places that are not always fair or accurate. The essay is in the book, Hard as the Rock Itself: Place and Identity in the American Mining Town, by David Robertson. Picher has been plagued by severe environmental problems as a result of lead and zinc mining in the early twentieth century. Despite all the problems and subsequent health concerns Picher “retains value as a community and home for many.” So who are Picherites and why would they want to hang on to their beseiged landscape.
First Picher started as a prosperous and booming mining community during the heyday of the Tri-State Mining District. These were tough people, surviving harsh conditions and proud of their ability to endure and make a living from the land. Then the Great Depression, labor conflicts, and plenty of unemployment contributed to deteriorating living conditions. This gave rise to social reformers, like Charles Morris Mills, claiming Picherites “lacked the commonest incentives for decency”, and other scathing reports by journalists and social reformers marked the town as a doomed community. While social reform was definitely needed, the feelings and actions of the people who called Picher home were completely left out of the perception of these well meaning folks. Times changed, problems remained, outsiders thought Picherites should leave, the town had fallen to the fate of many small rural communities, population loss, and hard economic times. Later as mines closed, environmental conditions worsened, the government sought relocation for the citizens, why did people stay?
Some insight lies in the booklet produced by the Picher Centennial Committee, C. Allan Mathews describes Picher in this way” “We’ve a long way to go. On the other hand we’ve come a long way too!”.
“Picher is sixty years old. She’s not the lusty lead and zinc boomtown of yester-year. She’s put her roots deep. She’s weathered those intangibles common to evey boom camp…That has been the story of her past. Perhaps that, more than anything else, is her future. By every conceivable, logical deduction, these chat piles should have been her tombstone. But there was a human factor that can’t be overlooked in the miracle that is Picher. A people who wouldn’t give up.” –C. Allan Mathews, resident.
So my response to Malcolm Gladwell and all the other Malcolm Gladwells comes straight from Atticus Finch, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view–until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
For a much better understanding of the culture of mining communities and the people who lived and still live there, check out Hard as the Rock Itself.
What is another word for resolution?
I always hate to make New Year’s Resolutions. That’s usually the kiss of death for any proposed changes to my life. So I’m hunting for a new word to get this year off on a better foot. Hmmm… online dictionary has these Synonyms:
aim, boldness, constancy, courage, dauntlessness, decidedness, decision, declaration, dedication, doggedness, earnestness, energy, firmness, fixed purpose, fortitude, guts, heart, immovability, intent, intention, judgment, mettle, moxie, obstinacy, perseverance, pluck, purpose, purposefulness, purposiveness, relentlessness, resoluteness, resolve, settlement, sincerity, spirit, spunk, staunchness, staying power, steadfastness, stubbornness, tenacity, verdict, willpower.
I’m leaning toward a “Gutty Fixed Purpose ” ; “Dogged Fortitude” or maybe “Plucky Purpose”, whichever way I go it needs to be a better effort than my lame attempts last year. My past promises to myself; to read more, write better reviews, quit procrastinating, etc. have not been realized. So with a Sincere Spirit I hope to improve my blogging this year, take you along for some great reads, highlight Oklahoma authors and remind you and myself that reading is fun, relaxing, entertaining and informative.
So lets start the New Year with Oklahoma’s Creativity Coach, Romney Oualline Nesbitt’s book, Secrets from a Creativity Coach. It’s a 
great tool to get your life and creative juices flowing. I first heard about this book at the Red Dirt Book Festival’s author book review panel. I had been feeling overwhelmed by work, blogs, housework, and all the other annoying minutiae of everyday life. The review got me hooked.
Ms. Nesbitt has some very good, practical advise. She’s in the life coaching, creativity promoting business. She shares her techniques in the book by focusing on people, just like us, having a hard time getting their act together. She gives examples of how to turn things around by doing very simple changes. Her six changes to combat procrastination and perfectionism (my own downfall) are :
1. Be Present. “Be present in your seat whether that is at your computer, drawing table or piano bench.” “You can’t write a novel while you’re mowing the lawn. You can’t paint a portrait while you’re at the mall.” In my case, it’s you can’t read a book when you have the television on.
2. Stay. Get in your work space and stay there. She suggests using a timer if you have to. Give yourself a chance to get those creative jusices flowing. “Give yourself the gift of time.”
3. Don’t Look Back. I think I like this suggestion best. I’m always going back over why I didn’t accomplish something. Romney says: “Administer your own absolution. Forgive yourself for your pattern of inaction and start anew.”
4. Believe in the power of “good enough”. Every thing around you doesn’t have to be perfect for you to get going. Just getting started is the way to go. There’s no perfect time or place.
5. Take action and don’t stop. “Write one word, one sentence, squirt out your paints, or put your hands on the keyboard.” “Start and don’t stop. Do something!” I personally need to stop thinking about doing something and actually do it.
6. Today! “Today is the best possible day to begin, don’t wait for Someday.
and I’m going to add a seventh step, Go out and get this little book, start your New Year off with some optimism and creativity.
Look around at all the great buildings, past and present
Bill is so right about the Skirvin. We have lost many of our architectural treasures, and it’s been a delightful positive for Oklahoma City to hang on to the Skirvin.
Unfortunately the Criterion Theater was one of our lost buildings. 
I remember going to see Gone with the Wind there. We had fancy programs and it was a grand old theater. And of course the sad demise of the Biltmore Hotel. My husband and I went downtown to witness the demolition.
We have buildings built by Bruce Goff, but it also includes the tragic loss of Shin’en Kan. But the good news, we’ve hung on to some wonderful architectural structures; like the Price Tower in Bartlesville, which sat dormant for years, the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church in Tulsa and the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City.
And we’re lucky to have books that have preserved our architectural heritage.
Prairie Skyscraper: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower
Historic Photos of Oklahoma City
Bob L. Blackburn, The Physical Legacy: Buildings of Oklahoma County, 1889 to 1931 (N.p.: Southwestern Heritage Press, 1980).
Available at your local libraries and book stores are many other delightful books showing the varied and wonderful architecture of our state. See if you can’t spot some awesome landmarks you would hate to see disappear in your own hometown.
Literary news
The nationally renowned Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference is inviting all non-fiction writers and those who appreciate the non-fiction craft to its annual conference held in the Dallas area. This is one of the country’s finest literary conferences. Find out more by visiting Oklahoma Department of Libraries’ Mayborn conference page
I have only heard good things about this conference. All writers of nonfiction should find their way down to Grapevine.
Eight Months with Young Ari
Young Bill Young here. I’ll be your guest blogger for the next couple of days while Kitty is out of town. First up: Oklahoma author CJ Cherryh’s latest sci-fi triumph, Regenesis. (Yes, I know CJ has moved to cooler climes, but she was raised here, taught school here, and wrote here for many years. We still claim her. Who wouldn’t?)
Regenesis is the long-awaited sequal to the Hugo Award-winning Cyteen—and yes, you do need to read Cyteen before tackling Regenesis, despite what some reviewers say. It took more than two decades for the sequel to see light, and Cherryh dedicates the book to Daw Books publisher Betsy Woolheim’s “determination.”
Cherryh’s Union/Aliance universe, the setting for Regenesis, is rich and complex, and I’ll let you follow this link to find out more about it.
When Regenesis opens, Arianne (Ari) Emory is 18 years old, and heir to the Reseune company which operates on the planet Cyteen, headquarters for the Union government. She is the clone of the original Arianne—a brilliant, but morally suspect, scientist whose genius has allowed Union’s population to grow (through cloning), giving it an advantage over its Earth and Alliance foes. Following the murder of the original Ari, Emory is cloned. Much of Cyteen focuses on the effort by Reseune personnel to make sure young Ari turns out as brilliant as her predecessor. This leads to cruel familial separations so that young Ari has the same traumatic experiences as her “parent,” but it ultimately makes Young Ari very different from the original: Old Ari doesn’t trust. Young Ari wants desperately to trust. Old Ari has no friends. Young Ari has several friends. Old Ari doesn’t (or can’t) love. Young Ari *does* love.
Where Cyteen was epic in scope, Regenesis is more intimate, taking place in the space of only eight months. But it is an eight-month period filled with political and psychological suspense as the young genius works to keep herself alive, solve her parent’s murder, protect Reseune and Union interests, and protect those she loves.
While telling the story, Cherryh weaves in the big issues that humans deal with: the need for development versus the need to respect nature; the meaning of identity; the need for self preservation versus the need to trust; and (especially in a post 911 world) the rights of the individual versus the need to stay alive and protect a way of life.
Cherryh doesn’t shy away from the big issues. (Why would you write science fiction if you were timid?) But she knows how to tell a story, too, and how to make you care about the characters (both born and cloned) that populate Regenesis.
Alternative Oklahoma, the “real” history of our state
Davis Joyce, my hero when it comes to describing Oklahoma history and values. He reminds us of our “real” cultural heritage. Here’s a recent video from Democracy Now. It certainly doesn’t do his discussion of these issues justice, it’s way too brief. But if you haven’t heard of Dr. Joyce or read some of his work, it’s time to do so.
After listening to the segment, check out his latest work published by University of Oklahoma Press, Alternative Oklahoma.
And for additional primary source information on the Tulsa Race Riots go to Oklahoma Crossroads.
Crosstimbers
Crosstimbers magazine is an amazing find. Published by the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, it includes; poetry, reviews, art, non-fiction and fiction articles and mostly by Oklahoma authors and illustrators.
( my scan of the magazine cover isn’t all that great, but please don’t judge this magazine by its cover)
For example, this issue has poetry by Sandra Soli, Robert Ferrier, Carol Hamilton, Chris Ellery, Audrey Streetman, Ann Brown and Robert Cooperman. There’s an article on Mary Welborn, “Art with a Mission : the New Botanicals.” She has an exhibit at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, from Feb.25th to April 22.
The exhibit is on display at the McDermott Learning Center from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day during the spring. The Wildflower Center is located at 4801 La Crosse Avenue in Austin, just off Loop 1 South (MoPac Boulevard). For information, call 292-4200. or www.wildflower.org
This month’s Crosstimbers also includes a thought provoking article by Tonnia L. Anderson, “On Remembering the Familiar: The Cultural Politics of Depression Era Photographs of Blacks.” Reviews of books like, Weigland’s Books on Trial and Klein’s Grappling with Demon Rum“. There’s an article on Nathan Brown, one of the Oklahoma Center for the Book finalists in poetry. And even an article on Train travel in America by Layne Thrift and J. C. Casey.
But if you want to read all this for yourself, USAO is very kind to post the current issue on the internet. Current issues are located on the Crosstimbers website. This is one great deal.
Memoirs, true or false
The latest book news was Oprah being duped by another memoir. I just wish people would write fiction and then there is much less to worry about. Apparently the love story between Herman Rosenblat and his wife Roma has been embellished. They are still Holocaust survivors and very much in love, but the sweet but non-existent story of her throwing apples to him while he was in the concentration camp, just didn’t happen. 
I really don’t know what to think about all this memoir fact checking. I’m sure most auto-biographies are embellished to some degree. Oklahomans have their own fictionalized autobiography of our folk hero, Woody Guthrie. Does it diminish the book Bound for Glory, or Woody? I know that sometimes we call it autobiographical rather than autobiography but who are we kidding, go to any library in Oklahoma and it’s shelved as biography and considered nonfiction. 
While I think authors who write biographies of others should check their facts, and provide accurate accounts of the lives of the people they write about, I don’t think we can expect the same adherence to facts when people relay their own stories. They become storytellers rather than historians, and perhaps the reader should either accept or reject improbabilities and judge for themselves the validity of the story.
New title from Full Circle Press
From the Full Circle Bookstore website:
Juxtapositions
by Christiane Faris and Margaret Flansburg and award-winning graphic designer Carl Brune
Full Circle Press, is proud to announce its latest release–Juxtapositions, a retrospective of the life of artist and instructor Brunel Faris and his contribution to the visual arts community in Oklahoma City from the late 1960s until his death in 2005. Brunel Faris’s life and career as an artist, teacher and administrator was uniquely entwined with the growth and development of an increasingly confident visual arts community in Oklahoma City. For ordering information, please contact Full Circle by email at customerservice@fullcirclebooks.com or by phone at (405)842-2900 or (800) 683-READ.
For more book reviews to peruse for the holidays go to the Oklahoma Gazette Book Review section.
Steinbeck redux
There seems to be another Steinbeck dust-up. Apparently Bob Burke has taken Mr. Steinbeck to task for his treatment of us Okies in his book, John Steinbeck was Wrong about Oklahoma! Dennie Hall, Books editor for the Oklahoman, in the September 28th paper didn’t think the book was all that, even though he remains a Burke fan. Then on the heels of this article I see an article in the November 5th Oklahoma Gazette, by William W. Savage comparing the Burke book with Rick Wartzman’s Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. I think the comparison is probably unfair since both authors were trying to accomplish totally different objectives. But whatever the discussion, I find it tiresome.
Stop the Steinbeck madness, could it be time to explore some other alternatives to literature about Oklahoma during the dustbowl, depression and the migration to California, besides the “Grapes of Wrath”?
During the 2006 Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma statewide reading and discussion program, Sanora Babb’s book, Whose Names are Unknown (University of Oklahoma Press, 2004) was selected as one of the nominations. This is a beautifully written portrayal of the dust bowl in Oklahoma and the migration of workers. Written by an Oklahoman born in Oklahoma Territory in 1907, who actually worked with refugee farmers in the FSA camps of 1930s California, it equals any dust bowl book with it’s honesty, humanity and sensitivity to a people laid low by tragedies not of their making.
Excerpt: “We’d better go in or we’ll choke,” he said bitterly. The dust rolled over them in thin clouds, stealthy, quiet, moving as if by an obscure power. There was no sound. They retreated into the dugout. Milt was last. He shielded his eyes and nose and looked up. The top was far above him, taller than a tree. Then it passed over the house and he could see nothing but dust before his eyes. The barn was a mere shadow. He noticed in surprise that the dust was fine and soft, unlike the harsh grains that cut against his skin on windy days. He felt it in his throat like fur and had to cough. He went in and shut the door securely, kicking a sack against the crack.”
Another book, by Oklahoman, Rilla Askew, about people struggling through the Great Depression is Harpsong. She is the equal to any great American novelist around. This is no easy read but worth the effort. Poetic and deeply moving, it captures life on the road and riding the rails during the Great Depression.
So give Steinbeck a break, turn to something new on an old topic.
