Peace Corps writers

Wanderlust Satisfied by Kay Gillies Dixon (Colombia 1962–64) Peace Corps Writers 159 Pages $12.00 (paperback), $3.99 (Kindle) 2013 Reviewed by Helene Ballmann Dudley (Colombia 1968–70, Albania/Slovakia 1997–99) One aspect of a good memoir is its ability to identify commonality in the human experience.  I thought Kay Gillies Dixon had borrowed my mother and my life for the first section of her book.  Kay, like myself, wanted something more than the rather limited path laid out for her to follow. Her roots were deep in western Pennsylvania, but her eyes were scanning the horizon for adventures unknown and definitely not understood in her small town. While Kay paints a vivid picture of growing up in Pennsylvania, including more than I ever wanted to know about Thanksgiving turkeys, she left me wanting more about her Peace Corps experience.  Perhaps it was because, as she writes “Our efforts in urban community development work . . .

I Loved You More by Tom Spanbauer (Kenya 1969–71) Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts $18.95 466 Pages April 1, 2014 Reviewed by Marnie Mueller (Ecuador 1963-65) I began reading Tom Spanbauer’s new novel, I Loved You More, with high expectations. When I Googled him I had found that he was an acclaimed author with four previous novels. When I read the French flap of the beautifully produced book, I was even more intrigued.  It was a story of a triangle, two men and one woman, two of whom are straight and one a gay man who at times loved women. It was also partially set New York City in the 1980’s during the first confused whisperings of the AIDS plague, a time I remember all too well, when fear and later terror permeated all our lives. We didn’t know what was happening, why friends, lovers, neighbors, and family were getting . . .

[Paradise in Front of Me is a collection of inspirational, heartbreaking, and comical short stories about a Peace Corps couple’s experiences in a small  site in Central America called El Paraíso. The village is nestled in the mountains of southeast Honduras. Although its name means “paradise,” the town is a place of extreme poverty. In 2004, Kevin and Cristina Finch, were assigned to El Paraíso, and as PCVs focused on AIDS education and community development. Life in El Paraíso was at first a tough go, and Kevin and Cristina were about to ET when strange changes begin to transpire. Through a variety of characters, humorous events, and life-changing experiences, Kevin’s memoir describes how their lives were transformed. As Kevin writes, “Perhaps paradise does exist where one least expects.” Here is my interview with Kevin about his new book published by Peace Corps Writers.] Kevin, where are you from in the . . .

Bridges: An Extraordinary Journey of the Heart (Peace Corps Novel) W. S. [Wendy Sue] Williamson (Cameroon 1994–96, Ecuador 1996–98) Agapy Press $12.95 (paperback), $7.50 (Kindle) 215 pages April 2014 Reviewed by Angene Wilson (Liberia 1962–64) THIS NOVEL can be placed in the categories of spiritual fiction, adventure thriller, and mystery and suspense and suggests a relationship to The Alchemist, The Celestine Prophecy, and The Shack. The front cover shows a bridge that might be anywhere, connecting to somewhere, probably representing the journey of the protagonist’s heart, the heart of the young Peace Corps Volunteer, Jessie. So Bridges is not a Peace Corps memoir, although it was first written after author Wendy Sue Williamson served as a volunteer in Ecuador and Cameroon. It may be partly autobiographical. After a career as a study abroad director and author of a student travel guide, Study Abroad 101, Williamson found the Bridges manuscript again . . .

[A letter in the New York Times, (2/18/14) from Bob Vila (Panama 1969-70) on Ernest Hemingway’s papers and Bob’s involvement with the Finca Vigía Foundation.] To the Editor: Re “A Mutable Feast” (Arts pages, Feb. 11), about digital copies of Ernest Hemingway’s papers available at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston: The fascinating journey of the Hemingway document images was the work of many: the diplomatic efforts of Representative James P. McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, who launched the project; the wise decisions made by both the Cuban and United States governments; the tireless work of the Finca Vigía Foundation, which is responsible for document conservation and digitization; and the technical support of the EMC, Intel and Emulex Corporations. For the last 10 years, despite the contentious embargo, this collaboration between the foundation and Cuba, built upon trust and mutual respect, has benefited both the United States . . .

Julia & Rodrigo By Mark Brazaitis (Guatemala 1991–93) Gival Press $20.00 (paperback) 215 pages 2013 Reviewed by Ann Neelon (Senegal 1978–79) I was thirteen in 1968, when Franco Zeffirelli’s lush version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet hit the big screen. It was also the year of the Tet offensive, the year Peter Arnett reported that a United States military officer had insisted, on the record, that his unit had had to destroy a village in order to save it. The banality of evil embraced by the U.S. government in drafting its young men and sending them to Vietnam resonated with that of the Montaques and Capulets in sacrificing their children to a murderous feud. As Romeo and Juliet, Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey — who were not trained Shakespearean actors but teenagers themselves-proved the ultimate flower children, making love not war. To watch the film was not just to fall . . .

The King History Forgot: Makikele, The 19th Century Legend of Phalaborwa, South Africa (Novel) Robert T.K. Scully (Kenya 1965-66) Two Harbors Press $16.95 (paperback), $5.99 (Kindle) 380 pages 2013 Reviewed by Robert E. Hamilton (Ethiopia:  1965-67) This is not your conventional African historical, political, biographical novel.  (Try saying that tongue-twister rapidly three times.)  Dr. Robert T. K. Scully has drawn extensively upon his own collection of oral history and oral tradition in the 1970s among “the people of” (Ba-) Phalaborwa (pronounced “Palaborwa)-North Sotho-speaking residents of the Lowveld of Northeastern South Africa.  Much of this area of Limpopo Province was incorporated in 1926 into the present Kruger National Park. Many readers-like this one-personally unfamiliar with this area of South Africa will benefit from reading the “Author’s Notes” at the end of the novel (pages 361-372) for a description of the larger historical context. The book “is the story of a talented . . .

Last Sunday  The Seattle Times ran an ad about Collin’s new book Into the Storm: Journeys with Alzheimer’s in the Arts [Books] section. It will run again on February 23rd in the Sunday New York Times Book Review. The Christian Century, a biweekly national journal, will run a half-page color ad in its March 19th edition. KPLU, 88.5 FM, one of Seattle’s local NPR affiliates is doing an interview with Collin, as well as The Stranger. The University of Washington, Washington State University, Seattle University, and University of Redlands alumni magazines are doing announcements and/or feature stories.  Crosscut News,  The International Examiner, and Peace Corps Writers are coming out with reviews. Collin will do a reading and have a book signing at Elliott Bay Book Co., on Sunday, 3:00 pm, March 16.

How a Vanity Fair profile revived 22-year-old allegations of abuse by Woody Allen By Paul Farhi The Washington Post February 13, 2014 Early last year, writer Maureen Orth learned an intriguing bit of trivia: A story she had written for Vanity Fair about Mia Farrow and Woody Allen at the height of their headline-grabbing breakup in 1992 was the fifth-most-read story in the magazine’s archives. Orth also noticed that Farrow and her son Ronan were active on Twitter. Perhaps, she said, it would be “interesting” to revisit Farrow and her family and find out how they’d fared since the tumultuous events of nearly 22 years earlier. The Farrows agreed, and in April, Orth began her reporting, which culminated in an October piece about the family. That simple sequence set in motion a chain of events that ended up propelling a sensational but long-dormant news story back into prominence, as a . . .

How One Interview with Shirley Temple Black Led to a Years-Long Friendship with the Former Child Star By Ron Arias (Peru 1963-64) Former People Senior Writer and author of one of the first Peace Corps novels: The Road to Tamazunchale, (1975) as well as other books of non-fiction. This article appeared recently in People Premium (digital) and is used with the permission of the publication and Ron. Celebrities were never my main beat. So in 1998 when I was tapped to interview Shirley Temple Black, then 70, for a lengthy story on her life, I assumed I got the assignment because I was the oldest staffer in People‘s Los Angeles bureau – 57 at the time. I assumed some editor thought I’d relate to her more than one of my under-40 colleagues, who were used to chatting with much younger, current stars. Of course, we all knew the phenomenal, singing-and-dancing . . .

How to Write a Novel in 100 Days: With Tips about Agents, Editors, Publishers and Self-Publishing by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962–64). A Peace Corps Writers Book $12.39 (paperback), $6.00 (Kindle) 238 pages 2013 Reviewed by Don Messerschmidt (Nepal 1963-65) John Coyne knows how to write books. He has published 25 of them, including novels, nonfiction, collections, guide books and others. Several of his novels are award-winners and best-sellers, on sports, historical fiction, mystery, horror and romance. He’s a writing teacher and mentor, and keeps us all up to date on what PCVs and RPCVs are publishing here at peacecorpsworldwide.org/pc-writers. You can read more at johncoynebooks.com. In short, he’s well qualified to write a book about writing a book, and more than one writer will wish they’d had How to Write a Novel in 100 Days before they started their latest masterpiece. Ideally, to review his insightful and informative how-to book, . . .

So, you have just finished your book…a memoir of the Peace Corps, a novel, a YA romance…whatever! Before you self-publish your book, get an editor. Get a line editor, a copy editor, a proof reader….. Writing the book is step #1. Now you have to prepare your book for publication. If you don’t have top-rate editors in your town, here are two professionals editors I can suggest you might hire. One is a seasoned copy editor who works free-lance for publishing houses. The second person is a nonfiction writer and editor who also does editing on the side. If you decide to contact either of these individuals, do it in this order, as you should hire them both! First Lisa Skelton Her email is: lbskelton@optonline.net I’ve worked with Lisa. She is charming and nice and very, very good. Tell I suggested you contact her. You can email her your material . . .

In November, 2013, Maureen wrote “Momma Mia” an article in Vanity Fair on Mia Farrow. Maureen wrote about Farrow’s loving home she created for 14 adopted and biological children and also how she had to deal with the sensational scandal that almost rent it apart 20 years ago. Recently, as we know, Mia’s daughter Dylan wrote her letter that appeared in the New York Times. Now Maureen is back with 10 “undeniable facts” about the allegation and Woody Allen’s reply, also in The New York Times, this weekend. 5:15 PM, February 7 2014 10 Undeniable Facts About the Woody Allen Sexual-Abuse Allegation By Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964-66) This week, a number of commentators have published articles containing incorrect and irresponsible claims regarding the allegation of Woody Allen’s having sexually abused his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow. As the author of two lengthy, heavily researched and thoroughly fact-checked articles that deal with . . .

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 . . .