Zora Neale Hurston, Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo"

Zora Neale Hurston, Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo.” (Amistad, 2018).

Zora Neale Hurston is known for her award-winning fiction and poetry, but her latest book is a precious gem of nonfiction. She was one of the stand-out writers of the Harlem Renaissance, and she informed her stories and poems with astute observations of the people and cultures about which she

wrote. She frequently set her stories in northern Florida where she grew up and transcribed her characters' speech to represent how they actually spoke. (This was innovative then, but we see it often now.) A trained cultural anthropologist, Hurston traveled in 1927 to Plateau, Alabama, near where she was born, to interview Cudjo Lewis.

Cudjo Lewis was the last survivor of the illegal slave trade. He arrived in Alabama aboard the Clotilda in 1860. Hurston tells two stories about Lewis in this important book. First, there’s Cudjo Lewis as an old man of 86, not sure he should trust Hurston, and not always forthcoming about his history. She visits him frequently, observing his daily routine, and her persistence pays off. He becomes somewhat comfortable with her, at least most days. The second thread winding through this book is Lewis’s personal tale of the slave traders violently capturing him (then known as Kossola) and some other people from his village and then the Middle Passage, their journey to the United States. His ship, the Clotilda, was the last slave ship out of Africa to cross the Atlantic Ocean. He and his countrymen were considered “cargo” and he remembers the awful experience clearly. Both stories, 1927 Cudjo and 1860 Kossola, are illuminating, gripping, and long overdue, appearing 91 years after Hurston’s interviews.

Zora Neale Hurston, Photographed by Carl Van Vechten, around the time she was working on Barracoon

THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean

I read this book with my ears. I wished for photos and illustrations, but I just can't own every book I read. But I wanted this one. I really wanted this one, considering my 25-year history working in libraries and a lifetime of loving libraries and simply the idea of libraries. I read it with my ears, meaning I listened to the author read it as I drove around in my car. Susan Orlean is one of my top-shelf favorite Creative Nonfiction authors of all time, so it was a treat to hear her interpret her work just for me. Then my friend, Sue, a different Susan, told me that she got me a book for Christmas and she hoped I hadn't read it...and I pulled the red-covered book out of the wrapping... and gleefully shrieked, "I DID read it, BUT I really wanted to HAVE it!" I was so happy. After listening to Susan O.'s descriptions of the L.A. Public Library, and the person of interest who may have set it on fire, and other interesting personalities in the history of libraries, I now have photos of them and the correct spellings of their names, and I can re-read sections any time I want. I am so happy. YAY!

The Library Book, (Simon & Schuster, 2018), is the story of the big L.A. Library fire of 1986 told in-depth with information about events leading up to, stuff happening simultaneously, and things that happened after. That story alone is compelling, but I mentioned Susan Orlean writes Creative Nonfiction. She goes in and out of library history, and then back to the L.A. story, and never loses the reader's interest. I don't know if you are aware of this, but you can check with my friends who have heard my stories: libraries are not boring. Susan Orlean, lover of libraries, has done her research and interviewed people, and come up with fascinating stories to weave into the tale of the 1986 California fire.

Orlean pays homage to the institution of libraries, and the idea of libraries, and the movers and shakers of the library world, past and present. The Library Book got a lot of positive buzz in late 2018 when it was released and made it onto many end-of-the-year best-of lists. In this digital age, when I still get questions from the unenlightened about the future of libraries and librarians, this is sweet validation. (We'll always need human brains to organize information, retrieve it efficiently, and teach other humans how to retrieve it.) This is a treasure of a book and should be required reading (or listening) for everyone, enlightened or not.

A librarian reading The Library Book in a library

REALITY HUNGER: A MANIFESTO, by David Shields

Reality Hunger is a thought-provoking book. Nonfiction writers like me will probably come away from it thinking about where to draw the line between fiction and nonfiction. Should there be a line at all? Maybe a blurrier line? Do we need new forms or a new taxonomy? Are we obsessed with reality? (I think I am.) Non-writers will probably ponder how the books they read are put together. Did the author base this novel on facts, possibly autobiographical? Is this alleged nonfiction piece journalistically nonfiction? Consider the books you read, but the magazine articles, too, and the television you watch. (Reality TV!) True? Not true? Have you investigated? Are you skeptical?

Reality Hunger is made up of short, numbered entries that circle around a particular cryptically-named topic: Memory, Books for people who find television too slow, Contradiction, Thinking, Manifesto. Don't get too hung-up on the section titles, though, because the numbered entries are all interesting, even if the section titles are not inviting. Check this one out:

615 What actually happened is only raw material; what the writer makes of what happened is all that matters. 

This rings true for me, the creative nonfiction writer, because I take an experience, a thought, a place, or even the concert I'm watching on PBS right now, and create some analysis of it. It is a fact that I am watching the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's concert right now on my TV. You can't argue with that. To make this story my own, I have to provide some sort of analysis or reaction. You may disagree with me that this concert is an annual treat, but you can't disagree with me that I see it as an annual treat. Tonight's host, Hugh Bonneville (from Downton Abbey) was just standing in the Vienna Opera House!!! You may not be excited by Hugh Bonneville or the Vienna Opera, but I am because I am a Downton fan and I got to tour the Vienna Opera when I was there in 2015. I remember its opulence, and I remember being impressed at how important opera is to Viennese culture. While you may not agree with me or share my taste or travel history, but reading my thoughts, you understand why I enjoy watching this concert on TV. Maybe I haven't convinced you to watch it, but I have explained my music nerd-ness. Go back to #615 above and read it again.

The Vienna Opera on the Ringstrasse, 2015

573 To write only according to the rules laid down by masterpieces signifies that one is not a master but a pupil.

Think about Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms (staying in Austria) for example: if they hadn't broken the musical rules they were taught we probably wouldn't remember them today. They broke the rules and created new art that got attention. They were innovators! I chose this excerpt because it illustrates the concept in this book that got the biggest reaction out of me. At the end of the book is an Appendix. Here, the author, David Shields, explains that the numbered quotes were not all his original thought. Some are. Some, like #573 above, are not. Personally, I did not appreciate not knowing as I read the book that these were not all David Shields's thoughts. In fact, in the Appendix he writes, "However, Random House lawyers determined that it was necessary for me to provide a complete list of citations; the list follows (except of course for any sources I couldn't find or forgot along the way.)" He encourages the reader to tear these pages out and destroy them. WHAT?!?!?!?! I spend my life teaching college students how to cite their sources and why this is necessary. Unlike David Shields, I don't emphasize copyright. I tell students that it is important to cite borrowed material in case your reader or listener would like to follow up on some quote, and to read more. Here's a perfect example: #573 above is a quote from Prokofiev, a Twentieth-Century composer who will probably be included in one of my 2019 lectures. I'd love to know the context of this quote so that I can use it (and cite it), but I won't get that from Shields. I'll have to start from scratch to find where, when, and why Prokofiev said or wrote this sentence. All I find in the Appendix is that #573 came from Prokofiev. I'm not even sure if he's referring to Dmitri Prokofiev, the composer, or Fred Prokofiev, the barkeeper.

Aside from my disagreement with David Shields over the provenance of these quotes, I found this to be an intriguing, thought-provoking, and worthwhile book. I marked many of the quotes to re-visit when working on various upcoming projects, and some just to think about further. If you have an interest in writing, reading, truth, or fiction vs. nonfiction, get your hands on this book! (Just know that not all of the entries come from the same mind!)


 

THE SENSE OF AN ENDING by Julian Barnes

I don't know about you, but the end of the year I get reflective. I think about the previous year's successes and failures, pros and cons, hits and misses, and use these to plan the next year(s). My professional life, my writing, speaking, and my librarian gig, is governed by an academic calendar, but my personal life and learning are still attached to a traditional January-December schedule. This month being December, the month's blog book is about life, learning, and existential considerations, and I thought it would be a good choice to round out the year.

The Sense of an Ending is a novel with a unique form. The narrator, Tony Webster, introduces the reader to his school friends in some detail in Part One. There are Colin and Alex, his long-term friends, and then the noticeably brilliant Adrian Finn who manages to add himself to the trio. A quartet only briefly, each guy goes off to a different college and mostly lose touch, except that an old girlfriend of Tony's provides a link of sorts. Tony zooms through his middle age and we arrive at his retirement. This is where Part Two starts.

Tony the narrator reflects on his relationships in this section and how memory can be faulty. Evidence surfaces which takes Tony and the reader completely by surprise. This evidence makes a start at understanding why people have acted as they have, but as soon as the reader believes they've figured things out, more surprising details surface to shed new light on why people are how they are, and in one case why a person is at all. Oh, the novel is thick with surprises alright, and so many have to do with the slipperiness of memory.

I heard about this book at a memorial service. It was one of the last books the deceased English professor had read with his elderly eulogist. They loved the book, and that was enough of a recommendation for me. I relished imagining them in the elderly gentleman's apartment discussing the thoughtful novel with their intellectual ideas and wry observations. I live for those kinds of conversations over literature, music, art, and film, and wished I had known that my late colleague was such a devout reader! I purchased my copy of The Sense of an Ending and read it soon after, reflecting on how appropriate, or perhaps ironic, the title is. It's the kind of book I'll pick up again, I'm sure, and in it find new surprises and treasure.

STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova

This month's novel deals with a topic most of us don't want to think about. Perhaps we know a loved one who has or had Alzheimer's Disease, or maybe we live in fear that we'll get it ourselves. Either way, it helps to know how the disease works so that we can deal with it better. Knowledge is Power, right?

Still Alice (2009) is a compelling novel about a Harvard professor of Linguistics named Alice who finds herself increasingly confused and forgetful. She seeks medical help and her worst fears are confirmed. She has Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Alice is a fictional character, but because of the nuanced character development here, readers will feel that they are inside the head of a living person. I heard Lisa Genova speak about the book recently, and she revealed that Alice is actually a composite of people she met who have the disease, and of the facets of her deep knowledge of how the brain works. She has a very interesting TED Talk here where she shares what she believes are the best ways to avoid getting Alzheimer's Disease. Reading books, attending classes, and generally acquiring new knowledge are examples of ways to ward it off, but you'll realize these did not work for the scholar Alice. Sometimes all the learning in the world can't combat what's already in the genes.

Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist and believes that she can educate people about brain diseases and conditions more effectively by attaching the symptoms and medical knowledge about the disease to a story. In this case, it is Alice who has Early-Onset Alzheimer's, but her other books explore realistically the facets of Huntingdon's Disease, brain injuries, and autism. Still Alice is her flagship book, though, and Julianne Moore won an Oscar for portraying the main character in the "Still Alice" movie!

Read this book for more understanding of Alzheimer's. It's all around us. If you haven't encountered it yet, you probably will, and the best way to deal is to know what is happening. In spite of its gloomy subject, it is a good read with rich detail and compelling characters.

DESIGNER YOU by Sarahlyn Bruck

This morning I woke up from a dream in which I was walking around my hometown library with a hamster. I was holding the squirmy creature in my hands and showing him or her the renovations the library had undergone, and explaining how the various areas used to look. I'd been using this library since age 10 and I worked there as a young librarian for seven years, so I was a good guide for this hamster. Upon waking, I thought how strange it was that I didn't have some kind of carrier for the little guy. In real life (IRL), when I transported my hamsters (usually from college to home and back), I would carry them in a clear ball, the same one in which they would roll around on the floor exploring whatever environment we found ourselves.

You're probably wondering why in the world I would start this blogpost about a novel with a hamster dream. I will make that point, I promise.

Designer You is the first published novel by my colleague at Bucks County Community College,

Professor Sarahlyn Bruck. As Sarah was working on this book, I would hear tidbits and clues about it, but the plot and characters didn't take shape until I began reading. I became absorbed in the story immediately. The protagonist, Pam, loses her husband early in the story (Chapter One, Page One to be exact), and the reader is compelled to read on to find out the details of this tragic death. Nate succumbed to an accident while he was building a rooftop deck for the family. After I read the details of this accident, I saw rooftop decks everywhere. Rooftop decks are a thing now, especially in urban areas. I asked Sarah about this, wondering where the idea came from, and knowing from social media that Sarah's husband was still alive and healthy. This hadn't happened to them, but while her husband was building an actual rooftop deck for their family, Sarah would worry that something terrible would happen. That worry turned into Nate's backstory.

All of this is tragic enough for our protagonist, but add to the story the fact that Pam and Nate are a well-known design and home-improvement team with books, TV appearances, and a line of stuff available through Lowe's. The name of their company is Designer You. Is Pam going to be able to keep Designer You going without Nate? Will she have to reinvent herself somehow?

Just like author Sarahlyn Bruck, Pam has a teenage daughter. This daughter has a hard time dealing with her dad's death and makes some really bad choices.These are NOT based on autobiographical elements. Other than their approximate ages, the author's real daughter and the fictional one don't share characteristics. Sarah brings that fictional girl to life, though and the relationship between mother and daughter is stunningly realistic. Will Pam be able to guide her daughter back onto the right path after some rather serious setbacks?

I'm not here to tell you how the story plays out, but I will say that the story remains compelling throughout. Pam has a lot to deal with ("When it rains, it pours") and although we recognize her feelings of self-doubt (we've all been there), she shows herself to be resourceful, agile, and strong. This is an authentic, contemporary story, rich with nuance, and as a bonus it is set in Philadelphia!

Are you still wondering about my hamster dream?

It occurred to me as I drove to work this morning (my car is my best thinking place) that when I read fiction and even some nonfiction, I'm like that hamster in a clear ball. I'm looking around at the world created by the author with all of the characters and places and nuances of detail. I'm safe in my bubble, too, permitted to safely check out the situations while the action happens. Thanks to Sarahlyn's elegant writing, I'm in the house with Pam and her daughter, I'm on the awkward date, and I'm in the basement with the contractor struggling to speak knowledgeably about that job.

Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover

As a librarian and avid devour-er of books, I like to recommend books to people. In this case, the tables were turned. This book was recommended to me by a friend who knows the kinds of books I like. She was right about this one! As soon as she told me about it, I started seeing it mentioned in my online book group and in the media. It made quite a splash this summer, and for good reason.

It's a memoir, so this is stuff that actually happened. "Duh," you say. But I feel I have to remind the reader that the protagonist's tales of an abusive and over-the-top religious childhood (I do not mean to imply that the two are related) fall into the category of "You Can't Make This Stuff Up." In education, we remind ourselves constantly that our students have to contend with many barriers and obstacles that we may not have encountered or even knew existed when we were in school. This is the case with Tara Westover, who was raised in a fundamentalist Mormon household. She and her siblings were supposed to have been homeschooled, but weren't at all. They learned how to work in their dad's scrapyard, roof sheds ('roof' is a verb there), or how to mix their mother's homeopathic, organic salves and concoctions. History, popular culture, math, and science were mysteries to them. Three out of the six (or seven) siblings somehow overcame these monumental educational deficiencies and earned PhDs.

Tara Westover compellingly describes her childhood, teenage years, and young adulthood. If you thought your parents were strict, wait until you read about hers! Along the way, Tara meets adults who see the promise in her intellectual curiosity and encourage her to learn. She's the quintessential autodidact, tutoring herself in ACT (standardized test) preparation so that she might get into a college. She does. There's no money, but she has so much promise that she is awarded scholarships through graduate school. Her struggle through education (and basic conformism) is astonishing.

Her other struggle is with her family. Her parents and most siblings do not approve of women pursuing an education. In fact, she is labelled a whore for not succumbing to their zealous beliefs and taking up residence in some husband's kitchen. They believe that she has gone to the devil and dis-own her. One of her brothers abuses her from childhood and even threatens to kill her. I'll let you find out from the book who condemns whom, who attempts reconciliations, and where schisms still exist at the end of the book. On the one hand it is heartbreaking. On the other hand, Tara is stronger and more intelligent for it. She has grit.

My favorite aspect of this book is Tara's discovery and enlightenment as she learns about history and popular culture. She made it all the way to college without knowing about the Holocaust. Are there other religions besides Mormonism? Science! Math! Music Theory! When she is upset and needs a break from the stress of reality, she binge-watches old television shows. Imagine making discoveries like these for the first time! Her education is multi-faceted, not academic alone.

Read this book. Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover.