The Humanities and Universities

 Introduction:
   The broad subjects mentioned in the title of this post will not be covered since I already have too much information for the body of it. In short, I will briefly note that universities are under attack, underfunded (in Ontario) and the humanities are both under attack and underrated. As well, good news is in short supply, so I will offer some.
   I learned recently that a very generous donor had given $10 million to support the humanities at the University of North Carolina. He did so, because the humanities changed his life and a literature professor impressed him, even though he was a business major. Because I have to move on, you will find details about this Tar Heel donation at the tail end of what follows.
   When I read about the UNC donation, I was reminded that Western University here in London also had received $10 million which is to be used to support students in the Humanities. I had forgotten the details so I have gathered them here since it is highly likely you may have missed this significant announcement. The donor in this case is William Hodgins who grew up in London, went to Central and then through UWO. I am not sure whether Mr. Hodgins was impressed by a specific professor or Western generally, but he surely must have been impressed since he moved from London and Western many years ago and still left behind a large amount of money.  He certainly deserves to be remembered, so perhaps this reminder will help.

                                  A Homage to Bill Hodgins (1932- 2019)

Local Sources:

   In the Fall of 2022 there were two articles published about Hodgin's major gift to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Western University, and, it should be noted, it was not his first donation to the University.

1. “English Grad Bequeaths $10 M in Scholarships, Largest Gift Ever to Faculty of Arts and Humanities: Bill Hodgins, BA’54, remembered as a man ‘big in stature, with a heart to match’", By Keri Ferguson, Western News, September 28, 2022. A large portion of it is provided here:

"A Western English graduate who went on to become a preeminent figure in interior design has left $10 million to support students in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

William (Bill) Hodgins, BA’54, died in 2019, bestowing the faculty with its largest gift to date. His donation will fund more than 16 scholarships each year, in perpetuity.

The bequest extends the legacy of Hodgins’ contributions to his alma mater, honouring his mother Neen, who was unable to pursue her dream of studying English at Western because she couldn’t afford to do so. She worked hard to ensure it was a viable option for her son.

The first in his family to attend university, Hodgins embraced his Western experience as an English major, a cheerleader and member of the Purple Spur Spirit Club. As a donor, he wanted to give to others who otherwise couldn’t afford the same opportunity.

Through his first gift more than 15 years ago, Hodgins touched the lives of more than 90 students studying English at Western. Now his generosity will extend to students across all arts and humanities programs through additional merit and needs-based scholarships.

Hodgins’ bequest will generate $560,000 every year to support scholarships across the spectrum, helping high-achieving, first-generation, Indigenous and international students with financial need through entrance, continuing and graduate awards.

“Support for the arts and humanities has never been more vital,” said Western president Alan Shepard. “In these uncertain and rapidly changing times, humanities graduates bring empathy, imagination, perspective, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to the table. Bill’s generosity will open doors for students with diverse interests and backgrounds to pursue their passion and create positive change in the world. We are incredibly grateful to him for entrusting Western with this transformative gift.”

Hodgins found his English degree provided a strong footing for his career in residential design. He earned a reputation for creating thoughtful, comfortable and elegant interiors by working closely with his clients to understand their tastes and needs.

He shared his design approach with Stephen M. Salny, author of William Hodgins Interiors, noting, “My clients are very involved in the work we do, so their houses reflect their preferences. I do it for them, not for me.”

Hodgins is representative of what Michael Milde, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities sees in many alumni, who go on to careers in a vast variety of fields.

“We train the mind to face the world, with critical and creative thinking tied to communication skills that span the range of human expression,” Milde said. “This gives our students the ability to work and relate well with others, to put themselves imaginatively into another’s shoes and work toward solutions.”

Drawn to design

After graduating from Western, Hodgins went to England, where he worked for a British ambassador. He spent time in France before returning to Canada to work for the Hudson Bay Company in a management training program, and then in Montreal, designing brochures for Avon cosmetics.

At 30, he pursued his lifelong dream and applied to the Parsons School of Design in New York.

After graduating with honours in 1963, he worked as an assistant to design legends Sister Parish and Albert Hadley. He then moved to Boston, where, by his late 30s, he became president and owner of William Hodgins Inc., an interior design firm focused exclusively on residential design.

Long before the existence of the internet and online shopping, Hodgins travelled the world searching for the right pieces to suit the homes owned by a loyal list of clients, including American ambassadors and a Saudi prince.

Recognized as one of the “deans of American interior decoration,” and “the last of the great old-guard decorators,” Hodgins was inducted into Interior Design’s Hall of Fame in 1987 and was recognized as a designer of distinction by the American Society of Interior Designers for “his outstanding contributions toward achieving design excellence and advancing the profession of interior design.”

His residential commissions have been celebrated in the pages of Architectural Digest, House & Garden and House Beautiful, highlighting his signature pallets of whites, creams and jewel-toned lush furnishings. It is an aesthetic that stands the test of time, with his work appearing on countless Pinterest sites today.

Upon his passing, industry insiders lamented the loss of a design giant, but his colleagues commented most on the care Hodgins took with his clients, and how he expected those he mentored to take the same approach.

In addition to learning “the importance of antique furnishings coming up for auction, or quirky pieces that would be ‘just right’ for ‘Madame X,’” one wrote, “I learned (from him), importantly, of listening carefully to a client, what they were communicating and how they live, hope and dream.”

Another colleague observed how the six-foot-four Hodgins “gave generously to what he thought was right, with his time, consideration and financial resources. He expected the best from you for his clients. He was a big man in stature, with a heart to match.”

Jeff O’Hagan, vice-president (university advancement) agrees.

“What I remember most is Bill’s desire to help and make a difference. He was a fascinating, wonderful person and truly engaged with Western. We are fortunate to count him among our most generous, thoughtful alumni and grateful for the continued impact he will have on the lives of our students.”

Western will mark this donation with a celebration of the arts and humanities. The university will also name an outdoor study space in front of University College as a lasting memorial to Hodgins’ generous gift."

[ A list of scholarships funded by the estate of Willam Hodgins is included.]
-----------------------------

  

2. “Celebrated Alumnus Leaves Western University Landmark $10 Million Gift,” Jane Sims, The London Free Press, Sept. 29, 2022.

"Thursday, the university announced that Hodgins, who died in Boston at age 86 in 2019, left the largest gift ever to its Faculty of Arts and Humanities – $10-million that will fund 16 scholarships annually in perpetuity. The university said the bequest is so generous that it will generate $560,000 a year for scholarships.

They will be named after Hodgins’ mother, Neen Hodgins, who had a dream of studying English at Western, but couldn’t afford it.

His first financial gift to Western was 15 years ago and the university said that money has helped more than 90 English majors. His latest, final gift is so generous that Western is planning a celebration and to name an outdoor study space in front of University College in his honour.

Hodgins’ work has been celebrated in Architectural Digest, House and Garden and House Beautiful. He was inducted into Interior Design’s Hall of fame in 1987. The American Society of Interior Designers recognized him as a designer of distinction.

He was called one of the “deans of American interior decoration” and known for working closely with his clients, travelling the world to find the right pieces. He was known for working in classic white and cream pallets, complemented by bright furniture.

“My clients are very involved in the work we do, so their houses reflect their preferences,” he told the author of William Hodgins Interiors. “I do it for them, not for me.”

That sentiment reflects his generosity to Western. Hodgins was born in Peru, where his father worked for Standard Oil. He was raised in London and became the first member of his family to attend Western University, where he graduated in 1954 with a degree in English.

At Western, he was a cheerleader and a member of the Purple Spur Spirit Club.

After graduation, he moved to England where he worked for a British ambassador, then spent time in France before returning to Canada to enter a management training program with the Hudson’s Bay Company. He landed in Montreal where he designed Avon cosmetics brochures.

His dream was interior design and, at age 30, he applied to the Parsons School of Design in New York. He graduated with honours in 1963 and worked as an assistant to Sister Parish and Albert Hadley before opening up his own design firm when he was in his late 30s.

The scholarships will support “high achieving, first-generation, Indigenous and international students with financial need through entrance, continuing and graduate awards.”

Western’s president, Alan Shepard, said in a statement: “Support for the arts and humanities has never been more vital. In these uncertain and rapidly changing times, humanities graduates bring empathy, imagination, perspective, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to the table. Bill’s generosity will open doors for students with diverse interests and backgrounds to pursue their passion and create positive change in the world.”

Added Shepard: “We are incredibly grateful to him for entrusting Western with this transformative gift.” "

-------------------------------

Obituaries: 

1. “William Hodgins, AD100 Decorator and Champion of Pastels, Has Died,” Madeleine Luckel, Architectural Digest, Sept. 26, 2019.

2. “Hall of Fame Member William Lewis Hodgins Dies at 86,” Interior Design, Sept. 30, 2019.
"William Lewis Hodgins, who established his interior design firm in 1968 in Boston and earned a reputation as one of the country’s leading residential designers, died on September 24 at his home in Massachusetts. He was 86.

Hodgins, a native of Canada, attended Western University in London, Ontario, and later Parsons School of Design in New York. Upon graduation, he went to work as an assistant to “Sister” Parish and Albert Hadley at Parish-Hadley Associates, before moving to Boston and founding William Hodgins Incorporated.

Inducted into Interior Design’s Hall of Fame in 1987, Hodgins was known for crafting classic, elegant interiors for a roster of clients, including Elizabeth and Felix Rohatyn, Linda and Robert Taubman, and the three sisters of Annette de la Renta. The 2013 monogram,William Hodgins Interiors, featured nearly 40 of his residential commissions.

Hodgins’s celebrated style—a mostly white and cream palette paired with plush furnishings—exemplified old-guard glamour and in 2001 he was named a Designer of Distinction by the American Society of Interior Designers, one of its most prestigious awards celebrating individuals who have achieved design excellence and advanced the profession. Hodgins was also inducted into the New England Design Hall of Fame in 2007.

A funeral mass will be held on Friday, Oct. 11 at 11:00am in the Bigelow Chapel of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge."

 
3. “William Hodgins Obituary” Legacy, Published in the Boston Globe, Sept.28-30, 2019

"HODGINS, William L. One of the country's leading interior decorators, died peacefully at home September 24 at the age of 86. Born in Peru, where his father worked for Standard Oil, and raised in London, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Hodgins attended Western University in London, Ontario, and after some traveling went on to Parsons School of Design in NYC. Upon graduation, he worked as an assistant to Sister Parish and Albert Hadley at the Parish-Hadley firm prior to moving to Boston to establish his own firm, William Hodgins Incorporated. Mr. Hodgins was inducted into Interior Design magazine's Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2001, the American Society of Interior Designers named him the Designer of Distinction, one of ASID's most prestigious awards. The award recognizes an ASID professional interior designer who has made outstanding contributions toward achieving design excellence and advancing the profession of interior design. And in 2007, Hodgins was inducted into the New England Design Hall of Fame. He is survived by many friends, clients and several loyal and devoted associates who have worked with him for many years. Predeceased by his brother, Alec T. Hodgins from Lake Tahoe, and survived by his nephew Daniel Hodgins & wife Sara (Working) and their two children, Reno, NV. Funeral Mass will be held Friday, October 11 at 11:00 am in the Bigelow Chapel of Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge.

 --------------------------

Sources:

   The book shown above is an essential source and the photographs of Hodgins were taken from it. A copy is available in the Weldon Library at Western and it can be purchased from Amazon where this description is provided:

"A lavish look at the work, over nearly half a century, of one of the last of the great old-guard decorators.

One of the deans of American interior decoration, William Hodgins follows in the footsteps of the legendary Billy Baldwin and also Sister Parish and Albert Hadley, for whom he worked early in his career. Based in Boston since the late 1960s, Hodgins’s work encompasses residential commissions from New England to Florida, as far west as California, and overseas. His interiors have been celebrated in the pages of Architectural Digest, House & Garden, House Beautiful, and other magazines and books. This is the first publication entirely devoted to his oeuvre, which spans five decades.

Hodgins’s rooms are beautiful, thoughtful, and poetic; they are airy, light-filled spaces. They are also, in his words, as “extraordinarily luxurious as they can be in a quiet, understated way.” Handsome architectural detailing and a soothing palette work their magic and create visual flow; Hodgins is a master artist, his designs reminiscent of Merchant-Ivory films. A Hodgins interior is governed by white, and the decorator invokes the slightest of subtleties and different shades of white. For Hodgins, whites “reflect the quality of life and light in a room.” They “glow behind the art and furniture,” are restful, timeless, and age gracefully. Yet Hodgins is also noted for his judicious use of exquisitely clear and jewel-like colors: this skillful combination makes his interiors special, inviting, and comfortable.

Among the forty notable commissions covered in this generously illustrated book are the private quarters of the American ambassador’s residence in Paris (1997), a pied-a-terre in a 1920s Beaux-Arts apartment building on San Francisco’s Nob Hill, several prewar cooperative apartments in New York City, and a considerable number of houses and apartments in the Boston and Washington, DC, areas and in Palm Beach, Florida. The majority of his commissions have been carried out for repeat and loyal clients, many of whom have commissioned him to decorate multiple homes. This presentation of his work will be valued not only by professional decorators but also by everyone seeking the best in interior design."

Reviews of the Book:

1.“Editor’s Miscellany: William Hodgins Collected at Last,” by Kyle Hoepner  New England Home, Oct. 24, 2013. A good review with excellent pictures. It begins this way:

"This past Sunday, a hefty portion of Boston’s design world and many past clients came together at the Taj Boston hotel to honor William Hodgins, without question the Éminence grise of New England interior designers."

2. “A New Book Spotlights the Interiors of William Hodgins: A New Monograph Explores the AD 100 Designer’s Great White Ways,” Mitchell Owens, Architectural Digest, Sept. 30, 2013.

 "Bold hues are not often found in the rooms decorated by William Hodgins. Though the Boston-based designer peppers his interiors with robust wood and lacquer furnishings, it is his assured handling of neutrals throughout his half-century-long career that has made him an undisputed master of soulful elegance.

Thirty-four peaceful, uncluttered spaces he created from 1979 to 2010 are featured in William Hodgins Interiors (W. W. Norton, December), the first book devoted to his work, by writer Stephen M. Salny (who has penned volumes on architect David Adler and his decorator sister, Frances Elkins). The 320-page monograph is a paean to pallor—though, as the author points out, Hodgins “is also well-known for his understanding and judicious use of exquisitely clear and jewel-like colors,” which gently enliven his low-key schemes. Earthy textures, such as the worn paint of a Louis XVI fauteuil, say, or a wicker log basket, play an important role in the designer’s oeuvre, too, and subtle details, like baseboards as tall as ten inches, give his rooms a confident backdrop. “I never like just filling a room with furniture and accessories—I like to make the shell right first,” Hodgins says.

Born in Peru and raised in Canada, the designer opened his acclaimed firm in Boston in 1969, following stints selling ladies’ shoes at a department store, running errands for British MPs, producing brochures for Avon, and serving as an assistant at the storied decorating firm Parish-Hadley. Today, at 80, Hodgins is a discreet grandee in a world of superstar designers, with clients both blue-blooded (Annette de la Renta’s sisters Charlene Engelhard, Sophie Engelhard, and Sally Pingree) and boldface (financier Felix Rohatyn). Add a Saudi prince and a couple of Washington Post Grahams, and you’ve got a set of powerful patrons whose lives this courtly gentleman has significantly influenced—with curiously little fanfare.

Which is precisely how Hodgins likes it. “My clients are very involved in the work we do, so their houses reflect their preferences,” he says, adding, “I do it for them, not for me.”

Hodgins at UWO: Pictures from Occidentalia, 1953-1954:

   

The Tar Heel Donation (golf fans will appreciate this)

"$10 million gift seeks to ignite a ‘Humanities Renaissance’ at Carolina

Stephen H. Israel’s gift will provide full Honors Carolina scholarships for undergraduates majoring in the liberal arts," By University Development, Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

"A major gift from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumnus Stephen H. Israel ’66, Vice Chairman Emeritus of Korn Ferry, will provide full Honors Carolina scholarships for undergraduate students pursuing a major in the humanities, whether they came in with this intent or were undecided as to their major and discovered the value of broadening their lives and opportunities by way of a liberal arts education....

Steve Israel established the scholarship in honor of the late Professor O.B. Hardison ’50, whose literature courses changed his life. Hardison was a Renaissance scholar in the department of English who later became director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.  

“I started as a business major, but unexpectedly during my junior year, I took Hardison’s courses on John Milton and the Renaissance in English Literature, and my world changed forever,” Israel said. “A well-rounded liberal arts education is so crucially important today. I see evidence of it all around in my work. Studying the humanities instills wisdom, discernment, strong communication skills and good character no matter the career choice. My liberal arts education at Carolina expanded my world and my life. All Carolina graduates should have that opportunity as well.”

The Outer Banks

Things Are Rough in Rodanthe 
   Recently we were in the Outer Banks (OBX, for marketing purposes) and told you about the Wild Horses up near Corolla which is north of Rodanthe. If you enjoy fine beaches and the ocean, I highly recommend a visit. Go very soon, but wait until about a month after Labour Day to avoid the crowds. 
   I suggested "soon" because this long strand of sand along the east coast is disappearing. I mentioned a while back that in some areas of the U.S. it is now difficult to get home insurance; this is one of those areas.
   The picture above is from this article: "Another N.C. Beach House Just Fell Into the Ocean: Others May Follow." Brady Dennis, Washington Post, May 28, 2024. It begins this way and the section includes a rather odd metaphor in this context:

   Another home has crumbled into the sea in Rodanthe, N.C., the scenic Outer Banks community where rising seas and relentless erosion have claimed a growing number of houses and forced some property owners to take drastic measures to retreat from the oceanfront....

The demise of the five-bedroom house, which county records show had stood since 1970, makes it the sixth house to topple along that part of the national seashore over the past four years, the agency said.

   “Another one bit the dust,” David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said in an interview. And it probably won’t be the last, as many homes in the area are perilously close to the surf. “This situation will continue.”

  Septic Problems in the South
   That picture is from the same article and there is a link in it to another article that indicates that the septic tank, around which those waves are crashing, is something to else to worry about. The water level is rising in areas throughout the south, compromising the septic systems which exist in very large numbers in states like Florida. For more: "A Hidden Threat: Fast-Rising Seas Could Swamp Septic Systems in Parts of the South," Brady Dennis, et al. Washington Post, May 22, 2024. Here is a bit of the bad news:

"On the worst days, when the backyard would flood and the toilet would gurgle and the smell of sewage hung thick in the air, Monica Arenas would flee to her mother-in-law’s home to use the bathroom or wash laundry.

“It was a nightmare,” Arenas, 41, recalled one evening in the modest house she shares with her husband and teenage daughter several miles north of downtown Miami....

  For all the obvious challenges facing South Florida as sea levels surge, one serious threat to public health and the environment remains largely out of sight, but everywhere:

Septic tanks.

Along those coastlines, swelling seas are driving water tables higher and creating worries in places where septic systems abound, but where officials often lack reliable data about their location or how many might already be compromised.

“These are ticking time bombs under the ground that, when they fail, will pollute,” said Andrew Wunderley, executive director of the nonprofit Charleston Waterkeeper, which monitors water quality in the Lowcountry of South Carolina...

 To work properly, septic systems need to sit above an adequate amount of dry soil that can filter contaminants from wastewater before it reaches local waterways and underground drinking water sources. But in many communities, that buffer is vanishing....

  An estimated 120,000 septic systems remain in Miami-Dade County, their subterranean concrete boxes and drain fields a relic of the area’s feverish growth generations ago. Of those, the county estimated in 2018, about half are at risk of being “periodically compromised” during severe storms or particularly wet years.

   Miami, where seas have risen six inches since 2010, offers a high-profile example of a predicament that parts of the southeast Atlantic and Gulf coasts are confronting — and one scientists say will become only more pervasive — as waters continue to rise.

Rising seas will only exacerbate the problem, he added. “As the water table gets higher, all bets are off.”

Miami-Dade County is racing to replace as many septic tanks as possible, as quickly as possible. But it is a tedious, expensive and daunting task, one that officials say will ultimately cost billions of dollars they don’t yet have.

The Bonus: 
   To take us away from the bad news, consider "Rodanthe" which is a rather odd name. The place was originally called "Chicamacomico" by the Indigenous, but the derivation of "Rodanthe" is unknown. Now you are probably wondering how to pronounce it and you should say it this way:  row-DAN-thee.

   This gets me to the real bonus and again to the subject of libraries. While I plan to bring up the topic of "Names" (particularly the problematic ones) again, I will say here that we encountered a lot of interesting ones, like "Fuquay-Varina" also in North Carolina. Click on that link to find out how the simple "Piney Woods" became "Fuquay-Varina." If you want to actually hear how these words are pronounced, visit this link provided by the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina. 
Talk Like a Tar Heel (North Carolina Place Names)

Fuquay-Varina sounds like: FEW-kway vuh-REEE-nuh. Listen here to hear it.

Literary Landscapes

   This post is for those intending to go to the United States and who would like some literary guides. It is also meant for anyone who has no intention to go to the States, but would like to read about some of the more exotic locales from the safety of the couch.
   The literature related to particular places can be very interesting and useful for the travellers passing through them. The descriptions in fiction of the local areas visited are generally better than we can provide and reading them helps revive the memories of trips taken long ago. Local histories supply the background needed if one bothers to explore beyond the interstate intersections which are now all the same. If you are thinking of a road trip, Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon will put you in the proper mood. If you are staying home, settle in and read about such places as this one, which is the title of a book by Wallace Stegner about the west: Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs.
   More such books are found below. The first source will direct you to over a thousand novels. The other sources also include works of non-fiction. Many are related to the southeastern U.S., around where I grew up and will soon revisit. The northwest is not neglected, however, and we also hope to go in that direction when we can. 

Start From Here: "1,001 Novels: A Library of America," by Susan Straight. 
   No matter where you are, and whether you are leaving by car or staying on the couch, begin with this website. You can click on a map and quickly find the books and/or authors relating to a particular region. There are eleven of them which are nicely named and two are illustrated above. Some of the others: “Pointed Firs, Granite Coves and Revolution”, which relates to, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and “Golden Dreams & Sapphire Waves”, which is about California and Hawaii. Here is a description from: "Mapping USA Via Novels, Not Left and RIght Politics," Giuliana Mayo, KCRW, Los Angeles, June 29, 2023:
"Partnering with ArcGIS Story Maps, Straight began putting together novels that spoke to a broader America....The interactive map allows people to zoom in on locations where novels are set all over the country. “[Story Maps] made it so easy to navigate the map. You click on one of the dots, and you see the exact GPS location [where the book takes place], and then the book cover comes up,” she explains. She also wrote two-sentence thumbnail descriptions for all 1,001 books.

Heading South

 You have missed this year's New Orleans Book Festival, but you can take the SOUTHERN LITERARY TRAIL, to learn about the places lived in, related to or written about by authors from Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. Among them you will find: Shelby Foote, Lilian Hellman, Harper Lee, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty and Margaret Mitchell, about whom I have posted. 

There is also a Facebook page for the SLT, and for Alabama, more information is found in the Encyclopedia of Alabama. For Mississippi see the "Southern Literary Trail Gallery" at Mississippi State University Libraries. 

Heading Southeast
 Additional information about Georgia is found on the "Guide to Georgia's Literary Landmarks" which provides links to the Georgia Writer's Museum, Flannery O'Connor's Homes, Martha Mitchell's House and others. If you are really interested in O'Connor, see the book: A Literary Guide to Flannery O'Connor's Georgia. I wrote recently about Erskine Caldwell and you can learn more about him by visiting Moreland, Georgia. It is also the home of Lewis Grizzard and if you come by my house I will give you my copy of "Don't Bend Over in the Garden, Granny, You Know Them Taters Got Eyes, for reading this far. 
   For South Carolina, see Libby Wiersema's, "Six South Carolina Literary Landmarks" for information about: James Dickey, Pat Conroy and some other local authors.
   North Carolina's Literary Trails can be explored by ordering a three volume set which covers all the areas of the Tar Heel State, the east, the Piedmont area and the mountains.

 

   "The Mountains volume brings together more than 170 writers from the past and present, including Sequoyah, Elizabeth Spencer, Fred Chappell, Charles Frazier, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Robert Morgan, William Bartram, Gail Godwin, O. Henry, Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Anne Tyler, Lillian Jackson Braun, Nina Simone, and Romulus Linney. Each tour provides information about the libraries, museums, colleges, bookstores, and other venues open to the public where writers regularly present their work or are represented in exhibits, events, performances, and festivals."

 

  "In the Piedmont volume featured authors include O. Henry, Doris Betts, Alex Haley, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, John Hart, Betty Smith, Edward R. Murrow, Patricia Cornwell, Carson McCullers, Maya Angelou, Lee Smith, Reynolds Price, and David Sedaris."

"The third volume focuses on the eastern portion of the state. Georgann Eubanks has organized the manuscript into three “trails”: "The Southeastern Corridor" from Raleigh to Wilmington, "The Middle Corridor" from eastern Wake County to Carteret County, and "The Northeastern Corridor" from Wake Forest to the northern Outer Banks. Each trail is further broken down into several tours of half-day segments. Each tour features a map detailing how to get from site to site, brief biographies of the writers included in the trail, passages from the writers that refer to the places along the trail, reading lists, and web addresses linking to further information about sites and authors."

More Books About Regional Books

The Ideals Guide to Literary Places in the U.S Paperback – January 1, 1998

by Michelle Prater Burke (Author)

"Here is a travel book with a difference! For the armchair traveler, there are fascinating descriptions, sketches, and quotes from the authors. For the more adventurous, there are maps, directions, and information on how to ger there and the features of each place. And there are over 50 places included, each associated with one of America's greatest writers. Clearly and logically presented, this is a beautiful book that is fun to read as well as a practical guide to America."

Traveling Literary America: A Complete Guide to Literary Landmarks Paperback – January 1, 2005

by B. J. Welborn

"Readers and travelers are guided to more than 200 homes and historic sites of America’s greatest writers—from the Jack London Ranch in northern California to William Faulkner’s home in Oxford, Mississippi. Clear driving directions and visitor instructions are combined with unique tidbits about each site and author, such as the story of Jack London’s custom-made furniture and the roll top desk and Dictaphone on display in his study. Literary enthusiasts are guided to the site of Thoreau’s bean field, where they can poke around an exact replica of his cabin. They can drop in on Margaret Mitchell’s recently restored Atlanta apartment or visit John Steinbeck’s haunts in the cozy California seaside town of Pacific Grove. This family-oriented, user-friendly guide teaches literary folk about writers' work, their philosophies, and the forces that compelled them to write. All 50 states are represented, and the literary sites are divided by geographic regions."

A Literary Tour Guide to the United States: Northeast, Paperback – May 1, 1978

by Emilie C. Harting (Author)

"A comprehensive guide to visiting the homes and haunts of American writers and the settings of their works in the U.S. Northeast."

Northwest Passages: A Literary Anthology of the Pacific Northwest from Coyote Tales to Roadside Attractions, Bruce Barcott.

"Northwest Passages, an anthology of approximately 90 short pieces and excerpts from longer works published over the last two centuries, is by far the more exhaustive treatment of the region. Its selections, from the legends of native tribes to the stories and poems of the freshest transplants, provide a remarkably complete history of the Northwest. As for what the area is like, the answers to be gleaned from works by Rudyard Kipling, Chief Joseph, lack Kerouac, Theodore Roethke, and Raymond Carver, to name just a few, are as varied as a landscape that includes deserts, mountains, fertile valleys and plains, forests, beaches, and water in unparalleled abundance. The only unanimity is inspired by the weather. The explorer William Clark reported "rain falling in torrents," and, on the evidence of these pieces, the sky has scarcely cleared since. As Seattle poet Denise Levertov notes, "Gray is the price/of neighboring with eagles, of knowing / a mountain's vast presence, seen, or unseen."

Local London Readers: 

  As I mentioned above somewhere, I am willing to part with my copy of Grizzard's book about Granny. Almost by accident, I suppose, I have acquired other books of regional interest, which I am quite willing to lend if you want to come by and pick them up. Without looking around much, I can think of:

About ten books by Reynolds Price (North Carolina.) 
About the same number by RIchard Russo (New York State.)

A few by Pat Conroy and Padgett Powell (South Carolina)

A few about the Northwest - e.g. Notes From the Century Before, Passage to Juneau and Far Corner.

If you wish to leave the continent, there are more books, such as this one about some remote islands in the Indian Ocean - Kings of the Cocos. 

Just remember, I used to work in libraries and there will be fines. 

Beyond the Palewall (11)

How Bad Is It?
   About eight years ago I provided a post with the title "It's Even Worse Than It Looks." It copied the title of a recently published book which answered the question posed above. A few years later, a new edition of the book appeared with a cover proclaiming, It's Even Worse Than It Was.  A few might want to quibble about the indefinite "It's", so I will say, Things Have Gotten Even Worse Than They Were Then. Proof is offered.
   The Republican nominee for the Superintendent of Public Schools in North Carolina disagreed with the suggestion that Barack Obama be sent to Guantánamo Bay for treason. She offered a better idea (note, she is not a Proud Boy, just a good ol' GOP mom):

I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad. I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death.

She also called for the killing of then-President Elect Joe Biden. We live in an age of both misinformation and disinformation, so I will offer supporting sources, which some of you may distrust: "One Purple State is 'Testing the Outer Limits of MAGAism,", Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times, Mar.27, 2024 and, "GOP Nominee to Run North Carolina Public Schools Called for Violence Against Democrats, Including Executing Obama and Biden," Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck, CNN, March 15, 2024. 

The Canadian Drought
   Canada is not much noticed south of here, but appeared recently in this headline: "World News: Drought Hampers Canada Push To Become a Hydro Superpower --- About 70% of the Country is Suffering from Abnormally Dry Weather Conditions," Vipal Monga, The Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2024. It may be the case that this publication is more concerned about Nestlé's stock price than thirsty Canadians.

The Canadian province of Quebec has big plans of becoming the "battery of the U.S. northeast" by feeding power generated from its dams and other hydro plants to millions of people in Vermont, Massachusetts and New York state. But dry conditions that have affected energy output worldwide are forcing one of the world's largest hydropower producers to cut exports....
But drought conditions extending from the west coast to the east are so bad that rivers and lakes in parts of Canada are drying up....
While one bad year shouldn't cause too much concern, the north often has periods of persistent drought, and climate change could make those periods much worse, threatening the sustainability of Quebec's hydro supply, Boucher said. "The past is becoming less of a good analog for what is going to occur in the future," he said.
The impact threatens to undermine Canada's reputation as a stable provider of clean and sustainable energy, and risks derailing the nation's efforts to cut greenhouse-gas emissions....
The province of British Columbia, Canada's second-largest hydro producer, has been in a drought since the middle of 2022. Water levels in the giant reserves in the northern and southeastern regions of British Columbia have fallen because there has been less snow in the winter and less rain in the spring, forcing the province to conserve water, said a spokesman for BC Hydro, the provincial utility.

Scam Alert!
  Another disconcerting headline is this one from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission:  "As Nationwide Fraud Losses Top $10 Billion in 2023, FTC Steps Up Efforts to Protect the Public: Investment Scams Lead in Reported Losses at More Than $4.6 Billion," Feb. 9, 2024. You also probably received yesterday, an alert from Amazon which notes that, "In 2023, we initiated takedown of more than 40,000 phishing websites and 10,000 phone numbers impersonating Amazon. However, the fight against scammers is never over."
A picture is worth a billion words:

                                              Quotes Worth Quoting

For Husbands: Notice Your Wife's New Glasses or Hair Cut:

In The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., Ammi Midstokke reacted to the latest compliment from her husband. “I was struck by a realization: Either I am perfect or my husband enjoys the relative peace that reigns when we both pretend I am,” she wrote.

On Politics: This title and brief summary will save you from having to read all of the polls between now an November: 

"The Meme-ification of American Politics," Clare Malone, The Atlantic, Jan.25, 2024

"Why more and more voters will be forming opinions in the 2024 election based on a funny video that their cousin’s husband’s sister shared in the group chat."

On The Culture Wars and Cancel Culture: If you are older and accused of becoming more conservative, keep this quotation in mind and reply that, you are not more conservative, but just continuing to be reasonable:

"That is why cancel culture is so worrisome: not because it reflects the familiar political divide between left and right, but because it reflects a generational war between old and young, a war between liberals and illiberals across parties. Liberals in my generation are surprised, and not a little uncomfortable, to find themselves opposing illiberals to their left and supporting conservatives to their right, sharing concern about cancel culture’s methods and the take-no-prisoners ideology that justifies them."

That is from this review: 

- “The Ghost of Joe McCarthy: Why Universities Have Surrendered on Free Speech Again,” Carol Tavris, Times Literary Supplement, Feb. 9, 2024.

Local Food

Joseph Mitchell

The author in Fairmont, in Robeson County, North Carolina, in the nineteen-fifties.
Courtesy Estate of Joseph Mitchell

I tend to not think much about ‘local food’ since for most of the year here in Ontario, there is not much of it. Resident members of the "100-Mile Diet Club" surely have to travel much farther south than that to find sustenance in the winter and much, much farther to obtain spices during any season. Still, right now we have an abundance of ‘sweet corn’ and fine tomatoes from the garden of my father-in-law.

But, if one did drive all the way to North Carolina, here is an excellent and evocative description of what you might find:

“Some days, in June, July, and August, it would seem to me that the branch was overflowing with things to eat. On such days, I would often take a tin bucket along and pick huckleberries and take them home, and my mother or our cook, a Negro woman named Anna McNair, would make deep-dish huckleberry pies out of them. Or I would pick wild strawberries. Or I would pick wild blackberries—around home, they were called brier berries. Or I would pick a couple of buckets of wild plums—they were called Chickasaw plums—and my mother would make dozens of glasses of wild-plum jelly out of them; it was one of her specialties. She would set the glasses of ruby-red jelly on shelves in one of the kitchen windows and the morning sun hitting the window would transform it into a stained-glass window. Or I would pick a couple of buckets of wild grapes and my mother or Anna would make wild-grape-hull pies out of them, an old country-Southern dessert that, according to one of my grandmothers, originated in the Hard Times—the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. My mother’s grape-hull pies were unusually delectable; she used fox grapes and scuppernong grapes in them, and she used the seeded pulps of the grapes as well as the hulls. In the fall, when the coarse, spongy outer hulls of the black walnuts started turning from green to yellow to black, I would take a bushel bag to the branch every afternoon for a week or so and fill it half to three-quarters full of walnuts (with the hulls still on, they could be quite heavy) and tie a rope to the bag and drag it home and spread the walnuts out on the dirt floor of the cellar to dry. And after the first frost I would go to certain wild-persimmon trees on the hill of the branch whose fruit I knew from experience and pick a bucket of persimmons and my mother would mash them through a colander and mix them with milk and butter and cornmeal and honey and nutmeg and make a pudding out of them, baked persimmon pudding, which was another delectable old country-Southern dessert.”

Obviously this was written many years ago and I am sad to report that the ‘branch’ also, long ago, went the way of many wetlands. These words were taken from a manuscript left by Joseph Mitchell who wrote for (and stopped writing for - another story you probably know) The New Yorker. The title of the story is “Days in the Branch” and the subtitle is “Memories of a North Carolina Boyhood”.  He used to leave his house early in the morning, having heard the warning “Watch Out For the Snakes” and return late in the day after hours  of tree climbing and poking around in the streams. It is even sadder, I think, that the children of today are unlikely to gather such memories or berries. (for the story, see The New Yorker, Dec. 1, 2014).