Archive - February 16, 2011

I mentioned Ann Neelon (Senegal 1978-79) last week and her publication, New Madrid, when I wrote about the AWP Conference in Washington, D.C. I want to go back to Ann and her literary magazine as there are two more connections to the Peace Corps. (By the way, New Madrid(pronounced New Mad-drid) takes it name from the New Madrid seismic zone, which falls within the central Mississippi Valley and extends through western Kentucky. Between 1811 and 1812, four earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 7.0 struck this region, changing the course of the Mississippi River, creating Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee and ringing church bells as far away as Boston.)   That all said, Ann invites submissions of poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction for her literary journal. Your work should be sent directly (and only online) to the Submission Manager. Go to their website: www.newmadridjournal.org for details. In the issue of New Madrid (Winter 2010) the theme is: The Dynamics . . .

A School For Others; The History of the Belize High School of Agriculture George LeBard (Belize 1981-86) Xlibris $19.99 269 pages 2010 Reviewed by Lawrence F. Lihosit (Honduras 1975-77) MORE THAN a Peace Corps experience memoir, this is a story of redemption. Very few people honestly confront personal weakness and fewer change. I do not refer to the new found frugality we all learn as Volunteers but a physical and mental change. LeBard explains his sordid past, accepts full responsibility and then describes his own long journey towards change. His Peace Corps experience lasted longer than most for he served for five years. The fruits of his labor are quite extraordinary, not only for his host community but for him personally. In 1981, LeBard reported as a thin thirty-one year old. In the book, he admits that prior to the Peace Corps his “life consisted of drinking, drugs and one-night . . .