Peace Corps writers – Page 3 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Playwright Tom David Barna (Burkina Faso)

Oct 18 2023

The Minnesota Playwright Born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania-USA, Tom David Barna is a graduate of Kaiserslautern American High School in Germany and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico-USA. A a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Burkina Faso (1979-80) and a retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Russia. Tom’s father, Thomas Barna was the first family member born in the United States and buried at Arlington National Cemetery having served in the Korean Conflict and the Viet Nam War. Tom David Barna, playwright, has penned more than forty-two full length plays, forty-nine short plays, co-author for a 13-part radio series and author of four children’s books (Cantata Publishing) and several eBooks (Rakuten Kobo Publishing). He has been commissioned for projects as varied as episodic radio and children’s musicals and recently collaborated on a new full-length musical with Melody Bay Productions/Publisher, a . . .

SOCRATES IN SICHUAN by Peter Vernezze (China)

Oct 15 2023

Socrates in Sichuan: Chinese Students Search for Truth, Justice, and the (Chinese) Way Peter J. Vernezze (China 2006-08) Potomac Books April 2011 212 pages $10.01 (Kindle); $9.49 (Hardback) When Peter J. Vernezze took a leave of absence from his position as a philosophy professor to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in China, he supplemented his main task―teaching English―with leading a weekly philosophical discussion group with Chinese undergraduate and graduate students at Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu. In each session the students debated topics as diverse as the status of truth, the meaning of life, the reality of fate, the definition of sanity, the necessity of religion, and the value of romantic love. Each of the twenty-five chapters of Socrates in Sichuan focuses on the topic of one evening’s discussion, which was always in the form of a question: How are ancient conceptions of virtue holding up in . . .

“Improbably Grateful” by Michael Varga (Chad)

Oct 09 2023

In the news — Improbably Grateful by Michael Varga (Chad 1977-79) ’85 M.A. Notre Dame Magazine In 1995 the doctors told me I would probably be dead of AIDS by April 1997. I had retired early from the U.S. Foreign Service, and AIDS patients were dying rapidly. There was no effective treatment for AIDS or HIV. It was a grim time, and I had no reason to think I would be any different than the hordes of patients who had already succumbed, who were deprived of a normal life span and the opportunity to grow old. I imagined some fairy-tale scene where my friends would gather around my deathbed as I took my last breath. Spurred by that image, I told my friends to come to visit “before it was too late.” I pressed them to understand the urgency of my situation and said I needed their support in . . .

THE COUSCOUS CHRONICLES by Azzedine T. Downes (Morocco

Oct 05 2023

The Couscious Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life Between Cultures by Azzedine T. Downes (Morocco 1981-85) (PC Staff 1991-95) Disruption Books 328 pages June 2023 $12.99 (Kindle); $18.02 (Paperback) Azzedine Downes moves between cultures, places, and time in this wryly comedic, at times mysterious, and always curious memoir of a lifelong nomad. The best strategy was to drink tea, smile, and enjoy the frustration of not knowing where the story leads. If time is endless, why rush to the point of a story? Now an international leader in the fight for animal welfare, Azzedine began his career as a volunteer teacher and later was appointed to leadership in the U.S. Peace Corps. An American Muslim with Irish roots, he’s a natural cultural shape-shifter, immersing himself in the cultures of Morocco, Eastern Europe, Northwest Africa, Israel and his native United States. Along the way he befriends . . .

WHAT’S GOTTEN INTO YOU by Dan Levitt (Kenya)

Oct 03 2023

What’s Gotten Into You: The Story of Your Body’s Atoms, from the Big Bang Through Last Night’s Dinner by Dan Levitt (Kenya 1981-83) Harper Publisher January 2023 400 pages $12.99 (Kindle); $5.95 (Audiobook) $15.99 (Hardcover); $21.99 (Paperback) For readers of Bill Bryson, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Siddhartha Mukherjee, a wondrous, wildly ambitious, and vastly entertaining work of popular science that tells the awe-inspiring story of the elements that make up the human body, and how these building blocks of life travelled billions of miles and across billions of years to make us who we are. Every one of us contains a billion times more atoms than all the grains of sand in the earth’s deserts. If you weigh 150 pounds, you’ve got enough carbon to make 25 pounds of charcoal, enough salt to fill a saltshaker, enough chlorine to disinfect several backyard swimming pools, and enough iron to forge a . . .

Ron Singer (Nigeria) reads from NORMAN’S COUSIN & OTHER WRITINGS in NYC

Sep 15 2023

Jefferson Market Library 425 6th Avenue, NY,NY Saturday, September 30, 3pm Ron will be reading from his latest novel Norman’s Cousin & Other Writings (Unsolicited Press, Portland, OR, June 2023). The engine for this selection of writings from Brooklyn and Manhattan (1974-the present) is story-telling, but beneath the plots lurk layers of madness and magic, as well as startling, genre-busting juxtapositions. For example, two related stories, “Buying a Car” and “Selling a Car,” are N.Y. City picaresques combined with technical automotive detail and the history of a marriage. Written almost three decades apart, these two stories mirror their times, from the 1970s recession to the wave of immigration that was a by-product of the war in Afghanistan Norman’s Cousin & Other Writings is full of allusions to literature and the other arts. “Simple” takes its title from Langston Hughes, and alludes to the history of rhythm-and-blues. “Carla, the Copy-Shop Girl,” . . .

“Teaching in Ethiopia” by Tom Weck

Sep 13 2023

by Tom Weck (Ethiopia 1965-67) After graduating from Stanford University, I felt compelled to give back something to those who were less fortunate than I. I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Ethiopia in a solo posting in the tiny village of Haik teaching English, math and science to 7th and 8th graders. I taught every period of every day (I got to teach Science as well – as a bonus) to about 25 students in each class and thoroughly enjoyed them. All were eager, if not desperate, to learn as they knew that a good education was their ONLY path out of a life of abject poverty (at the time Ethiopia was the second poorest country in the world). Memorization The standard approach to teaching throughout the country was rote memorization. The teacher wrote out an English sentence or math problem on the blackboard, . . .

FINDING MISS FONG by James A. Wolter (Malaya)

Sep 12 2023

Finding Miss Fong by James A. Wolter (Malaya 1961-63) Atmosphere Press 382 pages November 2023 (pre-order available) $ 18.99 (Paperback) Set against the vibrant backdrop of the 1960s in Malaya, now known as peninsular Malaysia, Finding Miss Fong is the journey of Jim Wolter, a character pulsating with life-changing aspirations and determination. The novel begins with Wolter abandoning medical school and the insistent matrimonial arrangements by his mother, who wishes for him to marry Lolly. Instead, Wolter’s soul yearns for an adventure that promises to be fulfilling, a journey where he can make a tangible impact by teaching biology in the remote areas of Malaya. However, his high expectations are met with a harsh reality. Wolter’s noble pursuit is thwarted by his unscrupulous boss, pushing him to the brink of despair and driving him to contemplate a return to Chicago. But Malaya has other plans for Wolter. Enter Miss Fong . . .

SECRETS FROM MY TRAVEL DIARIES by Stacey L. Abella (Nicaragua)

Sep 09 2023

Secrets From My Travel Diaries by Stacey L. Abella (Nicaragua 2001-03) Game Changer Publishing 321 pages May 2023 $9.92 (Kindle) $16.97 (Paperback), $9.99 (Kindle), $24.97 (hardcover) Secrets From My Travel Diaries will transport you back to 1997, when the author, as a college student, ventured from a small Ohio town to study and live in Germany and France, eventually traveling to more than ten countries. Her diaries, written on train rides and after late-night adventures at the disco, helped her clarify her thoughts and feelings at a pivotal time in her life. Years later, after leaving her corporate career, the author rediscovered these dust-laden diaries. They reconnected her to a time of unprecedented freedom when navigating your way required paper maps, constant currency conversions, and finding truth within herself. Secrets From My Travel Diaries will take you on a journey to reawaken your Adventurer within, shift your perspective, and inspire . . .

Solving the Climate Crisis by Palmer Owyoung (Namibia)

Aug 18 2023

Solving the Climate Crisis: A Community Guide to Solving the Biggest Problem On the Planet by Palmer Owyoung (Namibia 1993-95) Self published August 2023 $3.99 (Kindle) Solving the Climate Crisis is an easy to read, solutions-based book that offers actionable advice that readers can take to create lasting changes in their communities. The book is filled with hope that by working together, we can build a sustainable future by using science, and evidence-based solutions to reimagine our economic, political, and social systems, to stabilize the climate and restore biodiversity. We hear about it on the news every day, but climate change can be confusing. Are we doomed? How did we get here? What can I do about it? These are some questions you have probably asked yourself. In Solving the Climate Crisis, Palmer Owyoung deconstructs climate change to understand how we got here, and looks at how we can . . .

James Denbow (Malawi) and his love song for his wife

Aug 15 2023

My Life’s Story and Love James Denbow (Malawi 1968–70) • I have worked in African archaeology for almost 50 years, living for many years in Malawi, Botswana, and the Republic of Congo. My first experience in Africa was as a Peace Corps volunteer working in environmental health in a village in northern Malawi. My wife of 54 years, Jocelyne, and I were married in Blantyre, Malawi. Because my BA degree was in archaeology, I was asked by the Peace Corps to carry out an excavation with another Peace Corps volunteer, Wayne Olts, for the Malawi Department of Antiquities at the Old Livingstonia Mission site, established by David Livingstone at Cape McClear. The Peace Corps thought this would be a good way to keep some Peace Corps teachers active during their school holidays. This experience led to my career. After the Peace Corps, my wife and I moved to Maun, . . .

Jerome Moore (Paraguay) writes DEEP DISH CONVERSATIONS

Aug 04 2023

Deep Dish Conversations: Voices of Social Change in Nashville by Jerome Moore (Paraguay 2015-17) Vanderbilt University Press May 2023 152 pages $19.99 (Kindle); $24.95 (Paperback) What does it mean to be a Nashvillian? A Black Nashvillian? A white Nashvillian? What does it mean to be an organizer, an ally, an elected official, an agent for change? Deep Dish Conversations began as a running online interview series in which host Jerome Moore sits down over pizza with Nashville leaders and community members to talk about the past, present, and future of the city and what it means to live here. The result is honest conversation about racism, housing, policing, poverty, and more in a safe, brave, person-to-person environment that allows for disagreement. This book is a curated collection of the most striking interviews from the first few seasons of the series, with a foreword by Dr. Sekou Franklin, an introduction by . . .

Marnie Mueller (Ecuador) Gives Reading in Sharon, CT, August 4th

Jul 30 2023

Marnie Mueller will be signing her new book, THE SHOWGIRL AND THE WRITER: A FRIENDSHIP FORGED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION (published by Peace Corps Writers) this coming Friday, August 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM as an invited author at the Hotchkiss Sharon Library’s yearly book event in Sharon, CT on the Village Green at 18 Main Street. https://hotchkisslibraryofsharon.org/book-signing-2023/ There is still time to get tickets. It is a wonderful event and a great opportunity to support a local library. Marnie Mueller (Ecuador 1963-65) was born in the Tule Lake Japanese American Segregation Camp. She is the author of three novels: Green Fires, The Climate of the Country, and My Mother’s Island. She is a recipient of an American Book Award, the Maria Thomas Award for Outstanding Fiction, Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award, New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenage, a New York Times Book Review New and Noteworthy in Paperback, and a Barnes and Noble “Discover Great . . .

“LOOK HERE, SIR, WHAT A CURIOUS BIRD” by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski (Malaysia)

Jul 25 2023

“Look Here, Sir, What a Curious Bird”: Searching for Ali, Alfred Russel Wallace’s Faithful Companion by Paul Sochaczewski (Malaysia 1969-71) Explorer’s Eye Press 289 pages July 2023 $8.95 (Kindle); $17.95 (Paperback) Bestselling author Paul Sochaczewski’s highly acclaimed nonfiction books of personal travel include the five-volume Curious Encounters of the Human Kind series, An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles, The Sultan and the Mermaid Queen, Soul of the Tiger (with Jeff McNeely), and Searching for Ganesha. Gary Braver, bestselling author of Tunnel Vision, said Paul’s work is “in the great tradition of Asian reporting. The humanity of Somerset Maugham, the adventure of Joseph Conrad, the perception of Paul Theroux, and a self-effacing voice uniquely his own.” Paul’s handbook for people who want to write their personal stories, Share Your Journey, is based on the personal writing workshops he runs in more than 20 countries. Redheads and EarthLove are his eco-thrillers, . . .

CHILD OF THE 1960s: A Day in the Life by Craig J. Carrozzi (Colombia)

Jul 24 2023

Child of the 1960s: A Day in the Life by Craig J. Carrozzi (Colombia 1978-80) Independently Published, July 2023 Young Adult 268 pages $22.00 (Paperback) Child of the 1960s: A Day in the Life, is Craig J. Carrozzi’s seventh complete work. It is a memoir of a coming-of-age adolescent growing up in San Francisco’s Mission District in the tumultuous 1960s. The author/narrator experiences both personally and through the mass media the Kennedy assassination, the end of the beatnik era, the beginning of the hippie era, abusive nuns at Catholic school, gang fights, Hell’s Angels and Gypsy Joker bikers, race riots, the damaging effects of drugs, the flight of blue-collar jobs and people out of the city, and other epic events of the times along with an overview of the cultural zeitgeist of the decade. It also features a good look at the local professional sport teams of the . . .