Peace Corps writers

Professor Profile: Charles Larson By Chris Lewis [Charles Larson is retiring from American University and was recently interviewed on campus by their student-run website. For those who don’t follow (closely) Peace Corps writers, Larson is an early published writer, mostly academic books, but also the novel, The Insect Colony, set in Nigeria, and published in 1978 by Holt, Rinehart. Charlie is best known in the academic world, here and overseas, for his work encouraging African writers and writing about their work. In this interview, published with the permission of the editor-in-chief of AWOL website, Charlie sums up his Peace Corps connection and his academic interests.]   American University’s second-longest teaching faculty member is retiring at the end of this year. Charles R. Larson is a pioneer in the study of African literature in the Western world. Chris Lewis, AWOL editor-in-chief and former Larson pupil, sat down with him to discuss his storied career. Next semester Larson will teach “The African . . .

You’ll find fiction by two Korean RPCVs Richard Wiley (Korea 1967-69) and  John Givens (Korea 1967-69) in the new issue, now on line, of Prime Number Magazine. http://www.primenumbermagazine.com/ The editor of the on-line and print publication is another Korean RPCV, Clifford Garstang (Korea 1976-78). This year Garstang won the Maria Thomas Fiction Award given by Peace Corps Writers for  his short story collection, In An Uncharted Country.  As editor of Prime Number Magazine, Cliff  is looking for short stories and essays under 4,000 words, including flash fiction and non-fiction. He is also looking for poetry of various lengths, reviews, short plays, interviews, even cover art.  To learn more, visit their site.  Prime Number Magazine is published by Press 53, a terrific small press helping to keep literature alive. http://www.press53.com/ Another Korean RPCV writer I’ve discovered is David L. Meth (Korea 1971-72) a novelist, an award-winning playwright.  David spent three years on researching his book A Hint of Light, including a year in . . .

The Incarnation of CatMan Billy by Will Jordan (Senegal 1971–72; Liberia 1972) The Press of Light 2009 310 pages $12.99 Reviewed by Patrick Chura (Lithuania 1992–94) THE INCARNATION OF CATMAN BILLY, a first novel from Will Jordan, is about “practical energy work,” a metaphysical self-help concept intended to improve the understanding and following of our “human needs and energy channels.” The author is a spiritual counselor and full-time teacher of meditation and healing. He travels the country offering one-day CatMan Billy seminars and transformational workshops. Before and after the seminars he sells this book, which was written as a vehicle for his New Age philosophy. The novel is an elaborate fantasy-allegory, with Jordan’s take on the animal world serving as a tool for correcting human behaviors and attitudes.  The short opening chapter has some good writing — it describes the birth of a litter of kittens in the rural Johnson . . .

Bonnie Lee Black (Gabon 1996-98) was a writer/editor and chef/caterer in New York City  before she joined the Peace Corps. Since returning home, she has written two memoirs about her time in Africa. How to Cook a Crocodile: A Memoir with Recipes published by our new imprint, Peace Corps Writers, has just come out. You can order her book at Amazon.com and have something really new to cook for Thanksgiving! Black is a graduate of Columbia University and has an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles. She teaches English and creative nonfiction writing at the University of New Mexico in Taos and we recently discussed her memoir, the writing of it, and what’s next. • Bonnie, let me start with something simple: What’s your book about? I like to think this book answers the questions, Why in the world would a successful New York writer-editor-caterer decide to chuck it all . . .

Over the weekend I finished reading Stanley Meisler (PC/Evaluator 1963-67) new history of the Peace Corps. It was a bit nostalgic to be reading it while in D.C. for a meeting with the Deputy Director, and being in what is called the Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters (the naming of this building is really a miscarriage of justice,) a building located at 1111 20th Street N.W. where at 5:30 in the evening you could hear a pin drop. Where was everyone? I asked myself. PCVs overseas were working 24/7, but the staff had split by 5 o’clock and gone home like any other government bureaucrat! I will say that on this Friday night Aaron Williams was still working in his 8th floor office, and Carrie, the Deputy, was rushing back from New Jersey for our late meeting. The only other staffers I ran into in the empty hallways was Carrie Hessler-Radelet’s aide-de-camp, former four-year PCV in Paraguay, Dan Westerhof, and Bruce Cohen, who has been around the Peace Corps . . .

Becker’s Farm by William V. Timmons (Niger 1965–67) Create Space (Booksurge) $18.99 326 pages 2006 Reviewed by Darcey Meijer (Gabon 1982–84) BECKER’S FARM, BY WILLIAM TIMMONS, is a gratifying transformation story. A young German soldier is captured during World War II and sent to a POW camp in the United States. Through circumstance and by asking Jesus into his life, he is born again and effects major changes on the people and town around him. The glaring weakness in this otherwise good story is Timmons’ lack of proficiency in the use of quotation marks, which caused me to reread often. Timmons should also proofread for typos and verb tense errors. The protagonist, Helmut Sommerfield, is a prisoner in Camp Alexis, Nebraska. The prisoners are treated well, yet Helmut has no idea what the future will bring. When will the war end? Will he ever get back to Germany? What’s more, . . .

How to Cook a Crocodile: A Memoir with Recipes (Peace Corps memoir) by Bonnie Lee Black (Gabon 1996–98) Peace Corps Writers $15.99 448 pages October 2010 • Thoreau the Land Surveyor by Patrick Chura (Lithuania 1992–94) University Press of Florida $34.95 212 pages October 2010 • Ruffling The Peacock’s Feathers: Stories From Village India by David Howard Day (Kenya 1965–66; India 1967–68) XLibris $34.99 (hardback); $23.99 (paper); $9.99 (e-book) 402 pages September 2010 • A Longing for Wisdom: One Woman’s Conscience and Her Church by Patricia S. Taylor Edmisten (Peru 1962–64) iUniverse $23.95 (cloth); $13.95 (paper) 117 pages October 2010 www.patriciaedmistenbooks.com • Okanagan Odyssey: Journeys through Terrain, Terroir and Culture (Essays) by Don Gayton (Colombia 1966–68) Rocky Mountain Books $16.95 176 pages May 2010 • Man Facing West (Stories) by Don Gayton (Colombia 1966–68) Thistledown Press $17.95 170 pages September 2010 • A Granddaughter’s Rite of Passage: Tales from the . . .

In July 1998, Gwyn Hyman Rubio (Costa Rica 1971–73) published her first novel, Icy Sparks, to great critical acclaim. Icy Sparks was selected as one of the New York Times’ Notable Books of 1998, praised by Time Magazine, chosen as part of “The Next Wave of Great Literary Voices” in the Discover New Writers program, and picked as an Oprah Book Club Selection. Not bad as far as first novels go. Her second novel, published in 2005 by Viking was called The Woodsman’s Daughter. That story is set in the longleaf pine country of post-Civil War Georgia, revolves around Dalia, the daughter of Monroe Miller, a prosperous turpentine business owner. Both of these books received great reviews from everyone, including, most of all, Peace Corps Writers. Gwyn Hyman Rubio then disappeared! A couple day ago, however, her name popped up in an article in the Glasgow [Kentucky] Daily Times. It was a . . .

Jan Worth-Nelson (Tonga 1976-78) published this essay in the East Village Magazine of Flint, Michigan in September.  Jan is the author of Night Blind, a novel published in 2006 and set in Tonga. You can find her essays, fiction and poetry on her web site, www.janworth.com and her blog, http://nightblindblog.blogspot.com/index.htm. She is the interim director of the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching and teaches writing at UM-Flint. Jan was on a panel discussion at the University Michigan when the university recalled with a series of events and programs, JFK’s visit to the campus on the night of October 14, 1960, and introduced the idea of a ‘peace corps’ to the students at a 2 a.m. rally on the steps of the Student Union. ] I’m not sure what I was doing on Oct. 14, 1960, when John F. Kennedy came to the University of Michigan, stood on the steps of the Michigan Union and . . .

Are you interested in what you might eat during your Peace Corps service? Did you already serve in Peace Corps and love a certain dish from your host country? Whether you are considering Peace Corps service, are in the application process, or have already served, this event is for you! Friends and family are welcome. Come to this event to share some food from around the world and hear more about the Peace Corps experience. Peace Corps Potluck Wednesday, December 15, 2010 6:00 pm Special Guest Speaker: Bonnie Lee Black, (Gabon 1996-98) author of How To Cook a Crocodile: A Memoir with Recipes New York Regional Office Varick and Houston Street * RPCVs: Please bring a dish from your host country to share! If you want to attend, email Lisa Reitmeier at: lreitmeier@peacecorps.gov Bonnie Lee Black joined the Peace Corps at the age of fifty, after having been a writer/editor and chef/caterer . . .

Here’s a match up. Norman Rush (Botswana CD 1978-83) reviewed V.S. Naipaul’s new book: The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief that Knopf  just published. The book covers Naipaul’s 2008-2009 trip to Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Gabon, and South Africa. Rush’s review is in The New York Review of Books (November 11, 2010) issue and opens with this line: It’s hard to be fair to V.S. Naipaul. You know the review is only going to get better. Norm goes onto write, “Hanging over the varying approaches to Naipaul’s work is the bad air released by Patrick French’s biography.” That book, The World Is What It is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul came out in 2008.) Rush, and his absolutely charming and beautiful wife, Elsa, were co-directors in Botswana where, from all accounts, Norm handled the paperwork and Elsa handled the PCVs. From all accounts they were great directors and why . . .

We met Nanci McDermott (Thailand 1975-78) years ago when she was living in California and had published her first book on Thai cooking.  She is now ‘back home’ in North Carolina, and doing ‘home coming.’This is an article about Nanci that appeared this last Wednesday in The Charlotte Observer and written by Andrea Weigl: Nancie McDermott wants you to bake pies. But she doesn’t insist on a homemade pie crust. Her recipes don’t assume you own a Kitchen Aid standing mixer. Your pies do not have to turn out as pretty as the pictures in her latest cookbook, “Southern Pies: A Gracious Plenty of Pie Recipes from Lemon Chess to Chocolate Pecan.” “I would like to be the enemy of perfectionism,” McDermott says. “There’s so much of that in food.” Rather, she says, “let the beautiful thing inspire you, not intimidate you.” This is the 10th book from McDermott, 58, . . .

This article comes from UNLV’s Rebel Yell — American authors travel, write the world October 18, 2010 by Ian Whitaker Fifty years ago on Oct. 14, 1960, President John F. Kennedy laid the foundation for what would eventually become the Peace Corps. In celebration of the occasion, the Black Mountain Institute hosted their latest gathering on Thursday at the Doc Rando Recital Hall in Beam Music Center, with a panel of internationally recognized American writers. The topic for the night was “Writing the World: American Authors Looking Outward.” Headlining the event were writers Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, Peter Hessler, and Paul Theroux. The panelists were all former Peace Corps volunteers, born and raised in the United States, who developed their approach to life and writing through their experiences abroad. Writer and former Peace Corps volunteer Marnie Mueller moderated the discussion. Hessler, who taught English in China during the 1990s and later . . .

From time to time I’m asked by women where they might turn for help with getting started writing, places they can publish, classes they might attend. Here are a few suggestions. She Writes is a new marketplace for women who write. This community is worldwide. They declare they are about, “leveraging social media tools and harnessing women’s collaborative power, She Writes is fast becoming the destination for all women who writes.” Check it out at: www.shewrites.com Voices, is a new publishing imprint, fiction and nonfiction. It is an imprint by and for women. Check it out at: www.everywomansvoice.com Looking for a graduate program? Low-residency? Okay, here are two (there are others, of course). Goucher College–MFA in Creative Nonfiction: www.goucher.edu Queens University of Charlotte–Creative Writing: www.queens.edu

New York Times bestselling author Gene Stone (Niger 1974-76) has a new book, The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick, published by Workman and out this October.  Gene’s book tells the stories of twenty-five people who each posses a different secret of excellent health–a secret that makes sense and has a proven scientific underpinning. Three of the twenty-five come from RPCVs. Nate Halsey (Senegal 1996-98) credits cold showers; Sydney Kling (South Africa 2001-03) believes in friendships; and  Phil Damon (Ethiopia 1963-65), an old friend of mine and fellow teacher with me at the Commercial School in Addis Ababa, back in the day, swears on detoxification for a long and happy life. In writing this book, Gene underwent dozens of treatments from hypnotherapy to biofeedback, rolfing to Ayurvedic herbal rejuvenation. Gene is the co-author, most recently, of The New York Times bestseller The Engine 2 Diet, and his articles and columns have . . .