Author - John Coyne

Joshua A.H. Harris spent, as he wrote me, “two life-altering years” (1996-98) in Mali as a PCV before attending the University of California, Davis School of Law. Earning his degree in 2003, he went to work as a lawyer for ten years at a public-interest, environmental firm in Oakland, California. Today, Josh is pursuing a Master’s Degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing at San Francisco State University. He is now writing a ‘serialized novel’ entitled Out of the Fog where every Friday he posts a new chapter, in the fashion Charles Dickens first achieved in the Victorian age. You can read Joshua novel at: http://outofthefogjh.blogspot.com Out of the Fog takes place in San Francisco in 2091 in a world radically altered by climate change. His first post (up now) is an open letter to Congress asking it to take action on climate change before the end of the year. The end . . .

A Dry and Thirsty Land: The Misadventures of a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa by Bryant Wieneke (Niger 1974–76) PeaceRose Publishing $9.99 (paperback) 208 pages 2013 Reviewed by Ben East (Malawi 1996–98) Mr. Wieneke’s engaging 60,000-word memoir contains all the stuff of Peace Corps legend, from encounters with exotic insects and large snakes to bouts of diarrhea and Malarial fever. It also contains a large dose of the question: why did Peace Corps bring me here? As such it contributes to the body of Peace Corps literature a thoughtful voice that will be especially compelling for prospective Volunteers. His adventure begins 13 years after the birth of the Peace Corps, and his narrative examines the organization as much as it examines his adaptation to Nigerien culture. He repeatedly notes frustration at being assigned to teach agriculture (his degree is in English literature) and at Peace Corps’ orientation program: “It did not make . . .

[These three poems appears in October, 1989 (Volume 1, Number 3) of RPCV Writers, the first publication Marian Haley Beil (Ethiopia 1962-64) and I produced as a Third Goal Initiative that focused on Peace Corps Writers. In this newsletter and on our website they have, for twenty-five years, been promoting the careers and publications of novelists, non-fiction writers, and poets who have written about their Peace Corps experiences. Here are poems by Tom Hebert (Nigeria 1962-64);Edward Mycue (Ghana 1961);Tony Zurlo (Nigeria 1966-68)] A Water Girl In Blue There’s a world of purpose In your going for water. A simple thing done So recounts the measureless Gallons of time. I call you But from this distance Isn’t there a world Of water between us. Tom Hebert (Nigeria 1962-64) Kwami and Anwar the Magnificent The man who freed without flow of blood, Kwami Nkrfru, once a philosopher, altarboy, and Anwar Retecki, called . . .

Talking to Eleanor Stanford (Cape Verde 1998-2000) Author of História, História As Marnie Mueller (Ecuador 1963-65) sums up in her review on our site last, “Eleanor Stanford is a marvelous writer; she’s earned her place among the very best in the canon of Peace Corps writers, indeed a high honor.” Where did you serve, Ellie? I was in Fogo, Cape Verde as a TESL teacher. Did you travel much in the rest of Africa? No, not really. I was in Senegal briefly, but mostly I was Cape Verde. Where are you from in the States? The Philadelphia area, though I went to school at New College of Florida in Sarasota. What got you into the Peace Corps? I wanted to travel. I wanted an adventure. But mostly I hoped that there was something I could to benefit other people in some way. When did you decide to write a book . . .

Tom Spanbauer (Kenya 1969-71) is back with a new novel. This is Tom’s first novel in seven years.  At the heart of this book is a love triangle: two men, one woman, all of them writers. The first chapters are set in the mid-eighties in New York City. At Columbia, Ben forms a bond with his macho friend, Hank. Their bond is deep and ostensibly formed around their love of writing. But they soon find out their love is more than literary. As C.S Lewis says, friendship is homosexual. Hank is straight, though, on the Kinsey scale a zero, which means no men. Ben is a five, which means an occasional woman. But both are artists, and this affection between them is a force. How do you measure love? The second part of the book, almost a decade later, takes place in Portland, Oregon.  A now-ill Ben falls for Ruth, . . .

[In April, 1989 Marian Haley Beil (Ethiopia 1962-64) and I published the first issue of RPCV Writers. In that short four page newsletter I wrote our Reasons for Being — “There isn’t really one good reason to publish this newsletter. Putting that aside, I’m going to do it anyway.” I was wrong. There are many good reasons for writing about Peace Corps writers. If for no other reason than to announce to the world the books being published about the Peace Corps experience, and to network all of us  together. In that first issue I wrote the following essay about two of the best Peace Corps writers, two women. Here again (for the sake of history, and to bring new PCVs up to date, is that short essay.] • Two Women Writers by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962–64) THE NEXT TIME someone asks, “What was the Peace Corps like?” hand them . . .