Archive - 2018

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Winner of the 2017 Travel Award for Best Travel Book
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Winner of the 2017 Award for Best Short Story Collection
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Winner of the 2017 Moritz Thomsen Award for Memoir 
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RPCVs Are Everywhere! (Uzbekistan)
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Latest List of RPCV Ambassadors 8/20/18
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Winner of the 2017 Paul Cowan Non-Fiction Award
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RPCVs Alan Toth and Lauren Schwartzman are finalists in Student Academy Awards
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Winner of the 2017 Maria Thomas Fiction Award
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Lesotho RPCV Madeline Uraneck will talk about her book in Raleigh, NC
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A GAME IN THE SUN AND OTHER STORIES by John Coyne (Ethiopia)
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W. Patrick Murphy (Cameroon) nominated for ambassadorship
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Review — NATURE’S POETRY by Eldon Katter (Ethiopia)
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Vanity Fair article by Maureen Orth (Colombia) on Colombia’s most-feared female revolutionary
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Peace Corps and Sri Lankan Ministry of Education sign memorandum of understanding
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4 reasons you should not hire a returned Peace Corps Volunteer

Winner of the 2017 Travel Award for Best Travel Book

To further fulfill its goals to encourage, recognize and promote Peace Corps writers, RPCV Writers & Readers, the newsletter that was the precursor of PeaceCorpsWriters.org and PeaceCorpsWorldwide.org, presented its first annual awards for outstanding writing in 1990. A total of 143 awards have been given since that time. Winner of the 2017 Award for Best Travel Book Writing Abroad: A Guide for Travelers By Peter Chilson (Niger (1985-87) & Joanne B. Mulcahy The University of Chicago Press 224 pages $22.50 (paperback), $67.50 (cloth), $13.50 (Kindle) Reviewed by David Arnold (Ethiopia 1964-66) EDITING THE WORK of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, I have learned that travel writing seems at first to be the easiest form of written narrative. That may be true if only you and your grandchildren are going to read it, but publishable travel writing is hard work. Most readers of a travel story in a magazine, a book or on . . .

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Winner of the 2017 Award for Best Short Story Collection

To further fulfill its goals to encourage, recognize and promote Peace Corps writers, RPCV Writers & Readers, the newsletter that was the precursor of PeaceCorpsWriters.org and PeaceCorpsWorldwide.org, presented its first annual awards for outstanding writing in 1990. A total of 143 awards have been given since that time. Winner of the 2017 Award for Best Short Story Collection Spectators (Flash fiction — stories) by Rob Davidson (Grenada 1990–92) Five Oaks Press May 2017 $16.00 (paperback) Reviewed by D.W. Jefferson El Salvador (1974-6) & Costa Rica (1976-77). This is a slender volume of only 56 pages, but, unlike a novel of similar length, it should not be a quick read. These essays deserve re-reading and study. Ultimately this book is about the compulsion to write or engage in other artistic endeavor, the need to give meaning to life by expressing oneself. For that which one cannot help but do becomes that which one . . .

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Winner of the 2017 Moritz Thomsen Award for Memoir 

To further fulfill its goals to encourage, recognize and promote Peace Corps writers, RPCV Writers & Readers, the newsletter that was the precursor of PeaceCorpsWriters.org and PeaceCorpsWorldwide.org, presented its first annual awards for outstanding writing in 1990. A total of 143 awards have been given since that time. Winner of the 2017 Moritz Thomsen Award for Memoir  Walled In Walled Out by Mary Dana Marks (Iran 1964–66) Peace Corps Writers Books 348 pages April 2017 Reviewed by John Krauskopf (Iran 1965–67) WALLED IN WALLED OUT IS A CAPTIVATING MEMOIR.  The Kennedy-era idealism lured young Mary Beckett Marks into the Peace Corps to serve for two years in conservative Kerman, Iran. This sojourn forced the author to struggle to adjust to the Kermani culture and to mature many of the ideas that have guided her life since. The memoir traces Mary’s emotional reaction to the culture, her feelings, frustrations and adjustments. During a . . .

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RPCVs Are Everywhere! (Uzbekistan)

Leafing through Unhinged An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman that was published a week or so ago by  Gallery Books, an Imprint of Simon and Schuster, I checked out the ‘Acknowledgements’ (page 332) as I often do to see if there is anyone I might know. Omarosa signals out to thank, Valerie Frankel, a well respected freelance writer in New York City who obviously did the ghost writing of this book. Omarosa writes to Valerie, “Thanks again for helping me share my memories and make happy new ones.” She then goes onto to thank her fact-checkers and writes, “Without researchers like Beatrice Hogan….this book would not have been possible.” Beatrice Hogan (Uzbekistan 1992-94) is a well respected freelance researcher for magazines and books in New York City. RPCVs are everywhere! (But, thankfully, not in the White House.)

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Latest List of RPCV Ambassadors 8/20/18

LATEST LIST OF RPCV AMBASSADORS—8/20/2018 Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, U.S. Ambassador to Malta (2012-16); (PCV Oman 1980-82) Charles C. Adams Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Finland (2015); (PCV Kenya 1968-70) Frank Almaguer, U. S. Ambassador to Honduras (1999 to 2002); (PCV Belize 1967–69) & (PC/CD Honduras 1976-79) Larry E. André, Jr, U.S. Ambassador to (Djibouti November 2017 to present) & (Mauritania 2014-2017); (PCV Senegal 1983-85) Michael R. Arietti, U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda (2005-2008); (PCV India 1969-71) Charles R. Baquet III, U.S. Ambassador to Republic of Djibouti (1991-94); (PCV Somalia 1965-67) Robert Blackwill, U. S. Ambassador to India (2001-03); (PCV Malawi 1964-66) Julia Chang Bloch, U.S. Ambassador to Nepal (1989-1993); (PCV Malaysia 1964-66) Parker Borg, U.S. Ambassador to Mail (1981-1984) & Iceland (1993-1996); (PCV Philippines 1961-63) Richard Boucher, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2009-2013), (PCV Senegal 1973–75) Peter Burleigh, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka (1995-1997); (PCV Nepal 1963-65) Katherine Hubay Canavan (formerly Peterson), U.S. . . .

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Winner of the 2017 Paul Cowan Non-Fiction Award

To further fulfill its goals to encourage, recognize and promote Peace Corps writers, RPCV Writers & Readers, the newsletter that was the precursor of PeaceCorpsWriters.org and PeaceCorpsWorldwide.org, presented its first annual awards for outstanding writing in 1990. A total of 143 awards have been given since that time. Winner of the 2017 Paul Cowan Non-Fiction Award Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit By Chris Matthews (Swaziland 1968-70) Simon & Schuster October 2017 426 pages Hardback $16.41, paperback $14.54, Kindle $14.99 Reviewed by David Arnold (Ethiopia 1964-66) Chris Matthews (Swaziland 1968-70) was in Canada when he heard the news of Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 assassination at a Los Angeles hotel just hours after the 42-year-old candidate won California’s Democratic primary. Matthews had gone to Canada for a few days with a graduate school friend who was looking for a job and a way to avoid the draft. Matthews’ own options weren’t looking so . . .

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RPCVs Alan Toth and Lauren Schwartzman are finalists in Student Academy Awards

The documentary, Mining Phosphorus   http://www.mining-p.com produced by RPCV Alan Toth (South Africa 2010-2012) is a finalist for the Student Academy Awards.  Rising Dust by RPCV Lauren Schwartzman, (Panama 2013-215) is also a finalist for the prestigious award. Alan Toth has also produced a feature documentary about the modern Peace Corps Experience in South Africa.  Lauren Schwartzman is a member of the team. See the website to learn more:  Posh Corps http://www.poshcorps.com   Here is the ACADEMY AWARDS Announcement: http://www.oscars.org/news/meet-2018-student-academy-awards-finalists Documentary (Domestic Film Schools) Veronica Wangshen, “1,500 Miles 23 Days,” New York University Mathieu Faure, “An Edited Life,” New York University Lauren Schwartzman, “Dust Rising,” University of California –  Berkeley Jiayan “Jenny” Shi, “Finding Yingying,” Northwestern University Grace Oyenubi and Nani Sahra Walker, “Forced,” University of California – Berkeley Yiying Nikki Li, “Love & Loss,” University of Southern California Alan Toth, “Mining Phosphorus,” University of California – Berkeley Congratulations to Alan Toth and Lauren Schwartzman and Good Luck!

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Winner of the 2017 Maria Thomas Fiction Award

  Dead Cow Road: Life on the Front Lines of an International Crisis by Mark Wentling (Honduras 1967–69, Togo 1970–73; PC Staff: Togo, Gabon, Niger 1973–77) Page Publishing March 2017 506 pages $24.95 (paperback), $9.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Bob Criso (Nigeria 1966-67, Somalia 1967-68) •   Dead Cow Road is an ambitious work of historical fiction told through the eyes of a Foreign Service worker assigned to Somalia during the political struggles and famine crisis in 1992. Mark Wentling combines real and fictional events with real and fictional characters to weave an engrossing and complex tale unfolding during a chaotic time in a desperate country. With over 45 years experience living and working in Africa with the Peace Corps, USAID, US Foreign Service, Care and World Vision, Wentling is well-equipped to be writing about it. He has the rare distinction of having lived or worked in all fifty-four African countries. Ray Read . . .

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Lesotho RPCV Madeline Uraneck will talk about her book in Raleigh, NC

The official Peace Corps web site especially for RPCVs has now posted news of a RPCV Author appearing in Raleigh, NC.  RPCVs might want to check out this new webpage addition to the Peace Corps Office of the Third Goal at https://www.peacecorps.gov/returned-volunteers/ Here is the announcement “Meet an RPCV Author Aug. 22, 2018 07:00 PM – 09:00 PM Finlator Hall, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church 1801 Hillsborough Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27605 United States Hosted by North Carolina Peace Corps Association (NCPCA) Disclaimer: This RPCV event is listed here for your information. This event is hosted or sponsored by an RPCV group or Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows partner. Even though these events support the Third Goal of the Peace Corps, they are not sponsored, funded, endorsed, or hosted by the Peace Corps. When Lesotho RPCV Madeline Uraneck said hello to the Tibetan woman cleaning her office cubicle, she never imagined the moment . . .

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A GAME IN THE SUN AND OTHER STORIES by John Coyne (Ethiopia)

  I set this story, “Game in the Sun” —  one of three “Peace Corps” stories in my collection of ten short stories in this book — in Dessie, Ethiopia. At the time — and this was about 1965 —  there was an American couple running a religious mission in Dessie. I knew them slightly, and they were well known to the PCVs in the town. They were, I believe, a a nice couple and nothing like the missionaries in this story. Also, to my recollections, there were no Peace Corps couples in Dessie. — JC •  A Game in the Sun Betsy was not allowed to play croquet with her husband and the Reverend, so she sat in the shade of the trees at the top of the mound. The mound overlooked a lush African rainforest which grew thick and dense to the edges of the Mission Compound. The . . .

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W. Patrick Murphy (Cameroon) nominated for ambassadorship

  Thanks for the heads-up from Dale Gilles (Liberia 1964–67) — • — from www.phnompenhpost.com/international   US President Donald Trump on Friday appointed W Patrick Murphy as the new US Ambassador to Cambodia, replacing incumbent William A Heidt. A press release posted on the White House’s website said nominee W Patrick Murphy is currently acting principal deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US State Department. He has served over 25 years in senior positions in the Foreign Service, including as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs since 2016. Murphy has also worked as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires in Bangkok, Thailand, from 2013 to 2016 and as acting special representative and policy coordinator for Myanmar from 2012 to 2013. US Embassy spokesman in Phnom Penh Arend Zwartjes said he has not been informed of . . .

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Review — NATURE’S POETRY by Eldon Katter (Ethiopia)

  Nature’s Poetry by Eldon Katter (Ethiopia 1962–64) CreateSpace 112 pages July 2018 $5.99 (paperback)   A Review by Andrew Tadross (Ethiopia 2011–13)   This assemblage of words is about a man I feel I know. After seeing the way his words flow, off the page and into my mind Named Eldon, he’s lived a life of creation From our nation to many others he’s roamed He joined the Peace Corps back in 1962 With his wife Adrienne, before cell phones and email and what’sapp Teaching in Harar and Uganda, sketching the countryside as he went along He kept drawing and painting, collaging, and writing his poems From his days in the bush, to his 8th decade, he wrote About nature and cats and birds and beaches, trees, and seasons On places . . . domestic as Indiana, as a foreign as Vietnam The name of the book is Nature’s Poetry, 100 pages long His . . .

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Vanity Fair article by Maureen Orth (Colombia) on Colombia’s most-feared female revolutionary

She was Colombia’s most-feared female revolutionary. Can she help it find peace?   As one of the few women FARC commanders, Elda Neyis Mosquera, also known as “Karina,” has confessed to a host of barbarous crimes—including forcing abortions on her own soldiers. Now that peace has broken out, she is helping to give voice to the history of entrenched sexual violence against women in the movement. by Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964-66) Vanity Fair September 2018 • Ex–guerrilla commander Elda Neyis Mosquera, known by her nom de guerre Karina, under house arrest at a 17th Brigade army base in northwestern Colombia. Her nom de guerre was Karina, but her given name—the name she goes by now—is Elda Neyis Mosquera. She was the youngest of five children born in northwestern Colombia to Jose Leopoldino Mosquera, a black man, and Flor Ester García, a white woman. Neither ever learned how to read. From the . . .

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Peace Corps and Sri Lankan Ministry of Education sign memorandum of understanding

Peace Corps Press Release Today,(08-09-2018) Peace Corps/Sri Lanka Country Director Kris Besch and Sri Lankan Secretary to the Ministry of Education Sunil Hettiarachchi announced a new Memorandum of Understanding to formalize efforts to develop an English education sector. Chargé d’Affaires to Sri Lanka and Maldives Robert Hilton and Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam witnessed the signing at the Ministry of Education. “The Peace Corps has a long history of partnership with the people of Sri Lanka, and I am honored to be here today to formally confirm our commitment,” said Besch. “I look forward to collaboration with the Ministry of Education, local schools and community partners as we develop our program, create new success stories and strengthen our long history of respect, partnership and friendship.” The event was attended by leaders in the education sector, government officials and community members. An oil lamp was lit to formally commence the signing . . .

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4 reasons you should not hire a returned Peace Corps Volunteer

  Thanks to the ‘heads up’ from Dan Campbell (El Salvador 1974-77) First published on the peacecorps.gov website.     4 reasons you should not hire a returned Peace Corps Volunteer By Caitlin Bauer (Ghana 2011-13)   Yes, you read that right: should not. The Peace Corps used to have a saying: “At Peace Corps we are practical idealists.” Those kind of crazy ideas make returned Peace Corps Volunteers terrible employees. Here are a few reasons why hiring a returned Peace Corps Volunteer will ruin your business. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) question the status quo. Business as usual is exactly what a PCV is trained to rebel against. We are indoctrinated to look for the status quo and squash it. Cashew farmers in Ghana were just given cashew trees when the great drought of the 1980s destroyed all the cocoa. They’ve continued farming the same way, because it works. But we taught . . .

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