In Colombia Books profoundly matter. In today's NY Times.
[ “I started out with 70 books, and now I have a collection of more than 4,800,” said Mr. Soriano, 36, a primary school teacher who lives in a small house here with his wife and three children, with books piled to the ceilings.
“This began as a necessity; then it became an obligation; and after that a custom,” he explained, squinting at the hills undulating into the horizon. “Now,” he said, “it is an institution.”
A whimsical riff on the bookmobile, Mr. Soriano’s Biblioburro is a small institution: one man and two donkeys. He created it out of the simple belief that the act of taking books to people who do not have them can somehow improve this impoverished region, and perhaps Colombia. ]
This is a mission filled with a danger and sacrifice, which is not untypical of a librarian's mission, one way or another.
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... a fox is a wolf that brings flowers ...
LINES OF THE DAY
". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15
". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153
Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot
". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153
Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot
What Do We Dare?
- Foxessa
- Vulpine, canine, feline, porcine & equine avatars. Gone to heaven Gone to hell Gone to jail Gone to work Gone to school Gone to lunch Gone to bed Gone to bad Gone to pee Gone to earth. Gone Gone Gone. Fox's earth is Blue Gotham City. Shorter sojourns are spent in other, more dangerous, locations.
My Historical Research Skills On Display
- The American Slave Coast: A History of the Slave-Breeding Industry; October 2015, Chicago Review Press - Lawrence Hill Books Imprint
- Postmamboism: Collected Writings (2011)
- Do Not Fear Death: Music And The Haitian Earthquake (January 2011)
- The Year Before the Flood: A Story of New Orleans (August, 2009)
- The World That Made New Orleans: Spanish Silver to Congo Square (January, 2008)
- Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo (July, 2004)
Some Of Za Fox's Published Works
- The American Slave Coast: A History of the Slave-Breeding Industry; October, 2015, Chicago Review Press - Lawrence Hill Books imprint
- Editor of the short-listed Philip K. Dick Award original anthology, Not of Woman Born.
- From The Della Stories: The Kingdom By the Lake: "Dark Moon Murmuration", "Made By Hand", "Mrs. Langdon's Diary -OR- They Carry It Too Far".
- Neb Short Story Finalist, "Flower Kiss".
- Novels: The Horsegirl; The Stalking Horse; Stallion Queen.
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2 comments:
Really good post.
I have more books than I'll read. The public library here sells old books, with the most expensive $4.00. I buy tons of paperbacks there for $.075.
Last week there was a big march of indigenous against repression in Colombia.
Maybe he needs another burro. The ones he's got don't seem very cooperative.
There is also a protest by Peace Corps workers who are being pulled out of Bolivia.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5junCV_511B-gpBQZ32RF8DYmomvwD93OC27G0
Love, C.
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