Across the River

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cultural geography, culture, history, Illinois, rural life, The Art of the Rural

When I was growing up in Missouri, I didn’t pay much attention to events in Illinois, despite its proximity. I had a set of cousins over there, and our local TV station (based in Cape Girardeau) always covered Illinois news and weather, but other than those offhand connections I remained mainly unaware of the state’s history and events.

Now comes The American Bottom project, an interdisciplinary effort from academics and artists that provides an interactive map, historical and cultural commentary, and location guides to dozens and dozens of sites of interest, from Cahokia Mounds to Sauget and everything in between (culturally) and stretching geographically from Alton in the north to Kaskaskia in the south. The main participants in the project appear to be Washington University and The Art of the Rural, which is an interesting organization I follow on Facebook.

The interactive map looks to be still a-tweak, a little; I can’t always get the legends to show up on mouse-over in my browser, although the links all work, as far as I’ve gotten, anyway. Each link is a great bit of cultural history and I’ve already learned a lot. The East Side has been the overlooked side of the St. Louis metropolitan region for as long as there has been a St. Louis metropolitan region; its history is fascinating and troubling in roughly equal amounts. And in that mixture, I suppose, it reflects the American experience better than some of the sanitized, triumphalist histories we are accustomed to hearing.

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Honest Work, Just Reward

Tags

human nature, Illinois, Quincy, reviews, theater, writing

– That’s the way to please the Lord,

or so says Javert in the musical version of Les Misérables. I had the pleasure of seeing that show at the Quincy (Ill.) Community Theatre last weekend, and for various reasons, that line stuck with me more than it had in previous performances.

Before I go on about that passage, let me gush for a moment about the QCT’s production. Quincy is a town of 40,000, with a community theater that relies on all-volunteer casts (although this production brought in a professional singer to play Jean Valjean). Yet despite those limitations, the QCT brought in a version of Les Misérables that was remarkably robust and accomplished. I give the music director, Larry Finley, a lot of credit for coordinating a tight 20-person pit orchestra with the singers. The performance was a real triumph for a small-city community theater group and a fitting 400th production in its history.

But back to Javert. He speaks that line when he is sending Fantine on her path to ruin, and of course we are meant to recognize it as the heartless abstraction that it is. It’s a way for Javert to not-think about the human being in front of him, casting her as an example of a principle rather than a person with particular circumstances. We all know people like that; I work with some of them, and there are few more frustrating sorts to deal with than those who insist on an inflexible abstraction in the face of compelling circumstances before them.

What struck me about the line this time, though, was not merely that it shows the limitations of Javert’s spirit, but that it’s so palpably false. Some of my dearest people live for their honest work – devote themselves to it – and receive no reward at all. We’ve all known people who have seen their honest and devoted work get snatched away by workplace politics and the selfishness of others.

So what’s a person to do? There’s no good answer. Persist in your work and ignore the reward or lack of reward that may come from it? Nice idea but it feels like surrendering to those who choose to play the game instead of focusing on their proper work. Play the game yourself? That’s abandoning your principles.

Dealing with our fellow human beings is a messy business, and only the Javerts of this world make it tidy in their own minds with comforting, fake abstractions. And who wants to be a Javert?

Radio Interview Time!

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Civil War, Icarians, Illinois, KSMU, Mary Griffith, Michele Skalicky, Quincy, Slant of Light, utopia, WTAD

I’ve done two fun radio interviews in the past week. The first was with Michele Skalicky of Ozarks Public Radio in Springfield…..you can listen to it here.

Then this morning I talked with Mary Griffith of WTAD in Quincy. WTAD is a Quincy institution, and Mary’s show is the best part of its programming. People love to listen to the Mary Griffith show! She keeps things fun and fast-moving most of the time, but I’ve heard her really skewer some of our local politicians sometimes too. Here’s my interview.

Blackberry Picking

Tags

favorite_places, Illinois, Missouri, nature, rural

This is blackberry-picking time — in my youth, the trip was always down to Sinking Creek, where wild blackberries grew in abundance in the river bottom. Then in later years, I have great memories of Rod Walton taking us to his secret blackberry-picking place, an old farm owned by a friend. The edges of all the fields were overgrown with blackberry vines about three feet tall, and we had to push through briars every step of the way — but the berries were great! After a while, it was hard to tell which smears on our hands were berry stains and which ones were bloodstains, but hey, it all washed off eventually.

More photos

Tags

bookstores, fiction, historical fiction, Illinois, Missouri, Quincy, Unitarian, utopia, writing

Some nice photos, courtesy of my daughter, of some recent appearances.

Talking about utopias at the Quincy Unitarian Church.

Signing at Great Debate Booksin Quincy.

The super-cool merchandise that Expressions by Christine in Quincy came up with to help me promote my book! Authors, take note…..they do wonderful work!

Talking About Utopia

Tags

historical fiction, human nature, Icarians, Illinois, Quincy, Slant of Light, utopia, writing

I recently gave a talk at the Quincy Unitarian Church about the impulse to utopia and why I have found utopian movements fascinating. You can listen to it or read it here.

Next reading/signing

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bookstores, historical fiction, Illinois, Quincy, Slant of Light, Unitarian, writing

This weekend I’ll be doing readings/signings at the Quincy Unitarian Church on Friday evening and at Great Debate Books on Saturday afternoon. Although I am not living in Quincy now, I still consider it “home” and still love to visit the church–in fact, I’ve never transferred my membership out of it, despite my departure. When the folks at the church heard that my book was coming out, they immediately wanted to put on a celebration–so that’s what this will be! Wine and cheese and hors d’oeuvres, with a brief reading and lots of happy conversations.

Then for those who prefer Saturdays, a signing in a more traditional location: Great Debate Books, an independent bookstore at the corner of Sixth and Maine. Looking forward to both events!

Libraries – 2

Tags

Illinois, libraries, reading

Man, I love libraries!

I’m in the Chicago suburbs, having arrived for a conference downtown a little early to check into my hotel. What else to do but find a library?

So I’m working on a chapter of Book #2, enjoying the free internet, eavesdropping on conversations, and watching all manner of humankind — children and grownups, besuited business-types and sweatsuited retirees, the well-off and the unemployed — making use of this free public institution.

And for Anna Louise, here’s a bonus–there’s a poster of Ewan McGregor on the wall across from me. He’s reading a copy (or at least posing with a copy) of The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter.

Origins

Tags

historical fiction, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, utopia

Every idea has a thousand sources. For Daybreak, one important source was the story of the Icarians, a utopian group that emigrated to the United States in 1848. They bought land in Texas near what is now Denton; found that this site was utterly unsuitable; returned to New Orleans. From there, they acquired the town of Nauvoo, in Illinois; lived there until a split divided them into two group — one moved to St. Louis and the other to Corning, Iowa. The St. Louis group petered out during the Civil War, but the Iowa group continued, with an offshoot moving to California. After another split that divided the colony into two smaller groups, the last Icarians formally disbanded in 1898 — a fifty-year run. Were they a success or a failure? Depends on how you define “success,” I suppose.