Archive - July 2014

After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife biology from Michigan State University in 1969, Rich Schneider volunteered for the Peace Corps, which had sounded like a life-altering opportunity – and he wasn’t ready for marriage and a career. As a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) assigned to the Philippines, Rich lived in the remote mountain village of Villar from June 1969 through June 1971, and worked with Pinatubo Aetas, an indigenous people, to increase their rice yield. The Aetas lived in permanent dwellings on a government reservation each assigned about 0.6 hectare (1.5 acres) of land suitable for planting rice. They had given up slash-and-burn agriculture, and on this land started traditional rice farming. Rich’s assignment was to assist the Aetas increase their rice yield per hectare from 30 to 80 cavans (1 cavan = 50 kilograms) using the improved rice varieties and enhanced cultivation practices developed at the . . .

The Huffington Post reports: More than a decade after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, veteran journalists Peter Eisner and Knut Royce are releasing a new [Kindle] edition of their groundbreaking book, The Italian Letter [first published in 2007]. More relevant than ever, The Italian Letter provides explosive, historic insights for a greater understanding of the Iraq War and how the United States got there. Here is a report by Royce on the hoax that helped launch the U.S. invasion and led to today’s disintegration of the country. Read Knut’s report at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/knut-royce/italian-letter-iraq-invasion_b_5574204.html The Italian Letter by Peter Eisner and Knut Royce Amazon Digital 288 print pages $5.95 (Kindle)

The first panel discussion I had for and about Peace Corps Writers was held in September 1986 under a huge tent on the Mall in Washington, D.C. at the 25th Anniversary of the Peace Corps.  That was twenty-eight years ago. At the time we had several dozen RPCV writers who had established international reputations with their writings. Among them were Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963-65) who by that summer of ’86 had already published 20 books, including Great Railway Bazaar, published in 1975. This book “reinvented” travel writing. In 1986 Richard Wiley (Korea 1967-69) published Soldiers in Hiding, winner of that year’s PEN/Faulkner Award; Bob Shacochis (Eastern Caribbean 1975-76) first collection of stories, Easy in the Islands, won the ’86 National Book Award for First Fiction. His second collection, The Next New World, was awarded the Prix de Rome from the Academy of Arts and Letters; Kathleen Coskran (Ethiopia 1965-67) won . . .

It is time to nominate your favorite Peace Corps book published in 2013 for the Peace Corps Writers annual awards. Make your nomination(s) in the comment section following this announcement so people can see what books have been recognized. You may nominate your own book; books written by friends; books written by total strangers. The books can be about the Peace Corps or on any topic. The books must have been published in 2013. The awards will be announced in August. Thank you for nominating your favorite book written by a PCV, RPCV or Peace Corps Staff. A framed certificate and money are given to the winners. Email your nominations to jpcoyne@optonline.net. Paul Cowan Non-Fiction Award First given in 1990, the Paul Cowan Non-Fiction Award was named to honor Paul Cowan, a Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Ecuador. Cowan wrote The Making of An Un-American about his experiences as a Volunteer in . . .

Padre! A Place Whose Rules Rearrange Your Own By Raven Moore (Cote d’Ivoire 2000-02) Books by Raven, $19.99 (paper); $9.99 (Kindle) 338 pages 2013 Reviewed by Deidre Swesnik (Mali 1996-98) “The Ivoirien children who you see me living with on the cover of this book are poor, but poverty is not a permanent condition, nor does it have a recognizable face.  Color was and is not often the reason for our mistreatment of one another.  The Egyptians, the Moors, the Mongolians, the Romans, the Jews, the British, the Ottomans, the Dutch, the Americans, the Mandinka, the Mayans, and more; the list of conquerors is as diverse as those conquered.  Ivoiriens in the Ivory Coast – La Cote d’Ivoire as it is called in West Africa – have it badly, but I’m not here to make you feel sorry for Ivoiriens.  Feel sorry for me that it took me so long . . .