Resistance Writer Charles Dickens

For the anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens (died Jun 9, 1870), I read Charles Dickens: Compassion and Contradiction by Karen Kenyon.

This concise biography of 112 pages covers all aspects of the author: his childhood trauma; his career as an author and actor; his love affairs and unhappy marriage; and his commitment to social justice.

Dickens was a megastar in his day: a best-selling author, an outstanding orator and actor, an entrepreneur who started several magazines.

This was an era when literacy and cheap reading materials were peaking, and magazines were in their heyday. Dickens serialized his novels in the magazines. His readers would scramble for the next installment.

Charles Dickens in 1842

I appreciated learning about the events, places, experiences, and people who inspired Dickens characters and plot lines.

Kenyon notes that Dickens may have had epilepsy and he may have been obsessive-compulsive. He was a 'dandy' in his fashion and bathed daily. He had a strict schedule which included long walks daily. Often he walked the streets of London all night as well.

Obsessed with money and adulation, he was a workaholic who worked on several works at once. He also 'saw' and imagined his entire novel before setting pen to paper then put his heart and soul into his books.

The subtitle of the book points out the crux of Dickens' personality. He was a great social commentator whose novelizations of the plight of the poor actually impacted his society and lead to changes. The Industrial Revolution had brought rural folk to the cities for factory jobs. The lack of housing, air pollution, a lack of clean water, poverty, and long hours working for small wages brought the average age in London to 27. Only one child out of three attended school. There were over 70,000 prostitutes.

At the same time, Dickens was able to emotionally detach from his wife and family, casting his wife aside (after 11 children!) and idealizing her younger sisters.

Thirty years ago I read a two-volume biography of Dickens. It was nice to revisit his life again.

I received a free ebook from the publisher

Charles Dickens: Compassion and Contradiction
Karen Kenyon
The Odyssey Press
$3.99

Charles Dickens Quilt designed and made by Nancy A. Bekofske

Charles Dickens, Nancy A. Bekofske

It Takes a School by Jonathan Starr

Somaliland is a separate country from Somalia, though they share Somalian people in common. Jonathan Starr's uncle is from Somaliland so he knew about the country and its problems. After running a successful hedge fund firm, Starr retired and earmarked a half a million dollars with the intention of establishing a boarding school in Somaliland.

He planned an education system based on critical thinking skills and preparing students for higher education abroad. The Abaarso school faced many obstacles, from identifying teachers willing to work for room and board to learning the intricacies of clan-based social systems. That he was able to establish the school at all, nonetheless be a success, is a testament to his ideals and ambition and unfailing belief.

It Takes a School is the story of Starr's struggles to build and run the school.

But the book's heart is the stories of the students. Children who were goat herders with little education or English pass the admission test, and then give 100%, achieving remarkable success in a short time. Starr was able to place his graduates in MIT, Harvard, and a host of top-tier liberal arts colleges.

I kept remembering the old commercial, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste," for these children, boys and girls, were doomed to lives as goat herders and teenage brides. And what a loss it would have been for these children of such high intelligence, dreaming of becoming a doctor or an engineer, had they never had a chance. We root for them and are inspired by them.

I received a free book through a giveaway by the publisher.

Juvenelia: Flight into Space

I have written about how I was space crazy as a girl. I enjoyed make-believe play about going to outer space or being visited by space aliens. I dressed my Midge doll in 'Gone Fishing' and pretended she was Philip, the boy from Mars. How I ignored those curves is an act of imagination all in itself! My first story, The Saucer in Her Yard, was about a space alien stranded on earth. I wrote it in Seventh Grade. And in junior high, I filled scrapbooks with articles about the Space Race. 

from my scrap book

As I sorted through my memorabilia I came across this cartoon series I wrote as a teenager, perhaps at age 14 or 15. 'Flight into Space' has been edited to 'Fright into Space.' 

Here are links to Space Race books I have read recently:
Apollo 8 by Jeffrey Kluger
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2017/05/apollo-8-thrilling-story-of-first.html

Space Man by Mike Massimino
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-real-right-stuff-spaceman-by-mike.html

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2017/02/hidden-figures-by-margot-lee-shetterly.html

I made When Dreams Came True to celebrate Apollo 11
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2014/07/when-dreams-came-true-apollo-lunar.html

detail from When Dreams Came True
by Nancy A. Bekofske

Margaret Atwood's Hag-Seed, Retelling Shakespeare's The Tempest

Margaret Atwood's bestselling novel Hag-Seed is now out in paperback. It is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series, in which contemporary novelists reimagine the classic plays for a new age.

The brilliant, original, artistic director Felix was about to direct The Tempest when he was disposed from his job by self-seeking men. He retreats to an isolated primitive cabin, his only companion his sensing of the presence of his deceased daughter Miranda.

After many years he takes a job under a false name and becomes Mr. Duke, literacy teacher in a local prison, teaching inmates Shakespeare through performance of the plays.

When Felix learns his old enemies are now Ministers who want to end the prison literacy program he decides the time has come for him to take his revenge. The Ministers come to the prison to see a video of The Tempest performed by the inmates. But Felix and his prisoner actors plot a live theater experience that will bring his enemies under his power.

I loved the play within a play structure, so Shakespearean. The intricate structure of the novel knocked my socks off.

The prisoners become essential characters. Hag-Seed, a Shakespearean curse, is their name for Caliban, and the actor playing Caliban writes his own lines:

My name's Caliban, got scales and long nails,I smell like a fish and not a man--But my other name's Hag-Seed, or that what he call me;He call me a lotta names, he play me a lotta games:He call me a poison, a filth, a slave,He prison me up to make me behave,But I'm Hag-Seed!

"The last three words in the play are 'set me free'," says Felix." Felix has identified nine prisons within the play, and so we understand how Atwood conceived of Hag-Seed.

I received a free book through Blogging for Books in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Hag-Seed
Margaret Atwood
Hogarth Shakespeare
$15 paperback
ISBN: 978-0-8041-4131-4

I Love House Blocks: 14 Quilts from an All-Time Favorite Block

The fourth book in the Block-Buster Quilts series from That Patchwork Place is I Love House Blocks.

And I do love house blocks! Especially, I am loving these house blocks.

There is something here for every quilter, every style, 14 quilts including new blocks and new twists on traditional blocks, from traditional to Modern styles.

A chapter with color photographs teaches construction techniques for easy, precise sewing.

I love so many of these quilts!

Sherbet Town, 74 1/2"  x 74 1/2", uses
16" square blocks with double borders to
create an Irish Chain secondary pattern

Block Party, 65 1/2" x 70" is a
delightful neighborhood I'd love to live in

I love these houses. They remind me of three-story Philadelphia rowhouses.

The Street Where You Live, 64 1/2" x 72 1/2"
showcases floral prints worth of
My Fair Lady's Eliza Doolittle's dresses

This is so cool! Like a Modern Log Cabin. 

Sugar Shack, 60 1/2" x 64 1/2"

Modern minimalism is the style for
Village on a Hill, 44 1/2" x 66 1/2"

Welcome Home, 42 1/2" x 48 1/2"
Uses a strip fabric for architectural detail

I know some quilters who will love this cozy quilt.

Little Country Home, 21 1/2" x 33 1/2"
Sweet embroidery enhances a country cottage block

A neutral gray background makes these color pop.

My Hometown, 55 1/2" x 59"
a quirky and colorful quilt 

See all the quilts in the book at
http://www.shopmartingale.com/blockbuster-quilts-i-love-house-blocks.html

The book comes out June 6, 2017.
$24.99
ISBN: 9781604688580

A Sad Goodbye to Our Dear Suki

Our dear Suki

Last week we had to let our Suki go. She was about 16 years old and had been declining physically and mentally. 

Suki was a puppy mill breeder for her first seven years. The Shiba Inu Rescue Society bought her at auction and she spent a year as a foster dog. When we brought her home she was still very unsocialized, frightened, and ignorant of the world. We worked with her and she blossomed into a brave, smart dog.

Suki, when she came to us, huddled in a corner. I sat next to her
and pet her and talked to her. It took days to get a response.

Suki was a 'red' Shiba with dark hair down her back and on her face. She had a triple-thick coat that felt like velvet.

Suki had to learn to be on a leash, climb stairs, understand open spaces, and the concept that she couldn't go in a straight line when something was between her and her destination. 

Suki 

Suki was our third Shiba Inu. Over the last 30 years, we have had a Shiba Inu for 27.

Happy Suki

When we lived in the country she loved to run! I took her out to run four or five times a day. The wide, open space made her feel very safe. She hated corners and fences because anything could be on the other side. But in the open she was free.

Suki

Suki was large for a Shiba, her ears, head, and chest much bigger than our other Shiba's. She was powerful but a 'gentle giant' who was submissive to other dogs.

Our shy Suki

We wanted her to have a friend and fostered Kara. Sadly he died after nine months, but he did teach Suki to play and run. She was so happy, her tail up.

Kara with Suki (on the right)

She was very bright and a quick learner. She understood what we were saying, like 'back door' and 'front door'.  We could not say, "Do you want to walk the dogs?" because she would be at the door immediately. Then she knew "Do you want to w. the dogs" so we had to say, "Shall we perambulate?"

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She loved to sit up and beg for treats until I stopped her because I knew she had bad arthritis. Then she just had to sit, and later as she became blind I just made her 'come'. And, she learned to sit for a treat on the second command!

Our old Suki became blind. She loved 'cookie' treats.

Suki liked her cheek stroked and her back rubbed, but any semblance of holding or restraint sent her fleeing. In her younger years, she even enjoyed brushing and baths!

After we lost Kara we adopted Kamikaze. Kaze was a real pistol and bossed Suki around. But as they aged they gave each other great comfort.

Suki with Kamikaze

Suki's back had developed a white strip

Over this last winter, Suki no longer groomed herself, or rolled on her back like she loved. She wanted to go on walks but she had a limp in one leg, a quiver in another, and a front leg was so stiff it did not bend.

In her last months, Suki slept a lot.

As Suki lost her sight and experienced heart problems and arthritis she wanted me in her sight at all times. She became frightened of men again. She was hyper-vigilant all night, pacing and wanting to go outside and check the yard. And she panted deeply, from pain or stress. Some days she slept in past 3 pm or refused to eat her meals.

Suki loved when Kamikaze snuggled up

It was a hard decision to make but I know she was suffering. We will miss our beloved girl.

Suki's last meal was scrambled eggs.

We Hope for Better Things: Detroit 1967

The summer I turned fifteen a neighbor girl and I stood in our street in Royal Oak, MI watching planes and helicopters flying overhead. They were carrying National Guard from Selfridge Airbase to Detroit.

My dad and his worried coworkers at the Chrysler plant in Highland Park left work early. My church was collecting food and blankets to distribute to people whose homes had been burned.

I heard strangers at the grocery store saying, 'kill them all.' Mom came home from coffee klatches with neighbors, fuming after being told "you don't know, you never lived with 'them'."

I was aware that five miles due south the world was very different from the one I lived in. My dad stopped at Woodward and McNichols to pick up his lab's African American janitor so he didn't have to walk from the bus stop to work. Mom visited a hospital roommate at her Detroit home, and returned ashamed of her working class 'wealth'. And, thanks to my teachers at Kimball High School, I understood the issues behind the riot: housing, jobs, poverty, racism, and dreams deferred.

from Detroit 1967, tank in Detroit

1967, the summer of the Detroit riot, began a descent into hell, ending with the following spring's assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Before I turned 16 my childhood version of America had been turned on its head, my faith in humanity challenged. I wrote in my diary, "I expect to see an ark any day now."

We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes. Detroit motto

Reading Detroit 1967 for me was important and often emotionally draining.

The Historical Context

The twenty essays follow the history of African Americans in Detroit, showing the deep roots of Detroit racism.

How many Metro Detroiters know the personages behind our street names--Livernois, Dequindre, Grosbeck, Campau, Cass, John R-- and that these men were slave owners?

Michigan became a 'free state' when it entered the Union in 1837. And yet, The Free Press, started in 1831 with investments by Joseph Campau and John R. Williams, opposed the freeing of the slaves and did not support Lincoln.

Detroit became a crossroads of fugitive slaves, slave catchers, and the Underground Railroad. Fugitive slaves arrived in numbers after the War of 1812. In 1833 there was a riot over runaway slaves. The Underground Railroad helped runaways cross the river to Canada. In 1863,"the bloodiest day that ever dawned upon Detroit," saw a pogrom against African Americans when a white woman falsely reported she was raped by a black man.

European immigrants competed with blacks for jobs and housing, another source for racial tension. And immigrants resented being drafted into the Civil War to fight for black freedom. "If we are got to be killed up for niggers then we will kill every nigger in this town," a rioter proclaimed.

Henry Ford became the largest employer of African Americans in the country, but housing was limited; a wall was even erected. The auto industry whose jobs drew Southern blacks and whites left Detroit for Hazel Park, Dearborn, and Macomb County.

The KKK and Black Legion were active in Detroit in the 1930s. In 1943 there was another Race Riot. "Urban Renewal' destroyed African American neighborhoods. After the 1967 riot the white population fled to the suburbs.

Where the 1967 riot began

The Riot

The 1967 Riot is considered from many vantages, with eye witness memoirs, a time line, commentaries after the event, and viewpoints from a historical perspective. The first-hand accounts of how the riot began were especially revealing. I also appreciated the detailed timeline of events.

I had not known of the controversy over calling the event a riot or a rebellion; it is contended that when white Europeans protested it was called a rebellion, but when African Americans rose up it was labeled a riot.

I was interested in learning about Detroit before we moved here in 1963, how the progressive policies of Jerome Cavanagh and his police commissioners were unable to change grass roots racism, the rebellion against Police Commissioner Hart's attempt to integrate the police cars, and the failure of "top-down reforms."

The later essays address Detroit's death and rebirth. Will all Detroiters be included in the progress?

Learning that I live in "one of the most fractured regions in the country, with more than 150 separate municipalities" that "encourage extreme balkanization" was disturbing. But it is true. In the 1960s I grew up in an all white city, and now 50 years later I live a few miles away in a city with a non-white population of only 11.6%. Oakland County has the highest employment rate and one of the highest median incomes in the country. I live in a bubble.

When I recently blogged about summer 1967 people shared their memories of the riot. Several were returning through Detroit from Canada and saw the fires, or were stopped and checked at the tunnel, worried about getting home. Some recalled tanks going down Woodward. People who worked downtown saw kids carrying things they had stolen or drove by cars on fire. All recalled being afraid the riot would spread out of Detroit and worried about friends living in the city.

Clearly, the summer of the riot was a pivotal event in our lives.

Reading Detroit 1967 helped me to understand the riot from the inside. I am concerned that the conditions that sparked it have not improved.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Detroit 1967: Origins, Impacts, Legacies
Thomas J. Sugrue, Joel Stone, et. al.
Wayne State University Press @WSUPress
Publication Date: June 5, 2017
$39.99 hard cover
ISBN: 9780814343036, 081434303

For more Detroit history I recommend,

Detroit Historical Museum- Detroit 1967 at http://www.detroit1967.org

One In A Great City by David Marianis, my review at
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2015/09/once-in-great-city-detroit-story-by.html

Terror in the City of Champions by Tom Stanton, my review at
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2016/06/murder-and-baseball-in-depression-era.html