December 28, 2014 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Dan Krell (Malawi 1966-68) Writes: Who's Your Editor?

Dec 28 2014

Dan Krell (Malawi 1966-68) was stationed in Nsanje in a tuberculosis control program. As he wrote me recently, ” I’ve not kept up with things in Malawi as well as I would have liked, but I recently retired; life is not getting in the way as much as it had been over the last 1/2-century, so I’m looking forward to doing better.” He began by reading a recently self-publishing novel about Malawi written by an RPCV and while he had some good things to say about the book, he raised a concern we all have about books by RPCVs. I thought we all could learn from his words. So, further authors pays attention to what he has to say and have your book well edited before publication. Here’s what Dan wrote me. I just finished reading a self-published, fictional book, describing Peace Corps involvement in Malawi, shortly after independence. Granting . . .

James Beebe (Philippines 1968–73) publishes THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Dec 28 2014

Those Were the Days, published by Peace Corps Writers, is a series of vignettes of significant, often funny, and sometimes quite serious events, from James Beebe’s Peace Corps experience in the Philippine from October 1968 to May 1973. During that time he was profoundly changed by the joy of life and economic inequality he discovered. As a Volunteer he helped introduce a new activity-based approach to science teaching, learned the truth of the children’s rhyme that “Planting Rice is No Fun,” and taught part-time at a college. For him life included buying a one-of-a-kind mosquito net, being offered a love potion, witnessing funeral processions of poor babies, celebrating holidays, and being attacked by dogs after eating dog meat. The cloud of the Vietnam War also had a significant impact on James. But his most life-changing event almost didn’t happen when Maria, the “matchmaker’s” intended choice for James, accused the Peace . . .

Archive - December 28, 2014