Each Little World

Concrete poetry

One of Madison's main thoroughfares, Monroe Street, has been mostly closed to traffic in one direction for months for a much-needed update. It is one of the rare streets with a huge proportion of local stores, restaurants and assorted businesses. You could still get to all of them but it was not always easy. So everyone was thrilled when the street re-opened not long ago.

One of the changes that resulted from all the work is the inclusion of poems written in the wet concrete when the sidewalks were repaved. This one was written right outside the Monroe Street Library by the bus stop where one could not fail to miss it. While I was standing there reading the poem and taking a picture, another pedestrian came along and stopped to read it as well. A wonderful poetic moment by one of the city's literary grande dames, Fabu. 

Lightening Girl

Struck with power

standing wet under a solitary tree

in a wide green pasture.

Even electric bolts

didn't scare her, slow her down none

just bothered her some.

Flashing out of her mouth

for the rest of her life

were words that shocked and stunned.

— Fabu

NOTE: I could not resist using "Concrete poetry" as the title for this post. But I should point out that that term has a very specific meaning and, in fact, Fabu's wonderful poem does not fit the description. According to Wikipedia, "Concrete poetry" is an "arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance."

Fabu Phillis Carter is a former Madison Poet Laureate (2008-11). 

Shoulder to shoulder

Noted composer Dame Ethel Smyth wrote the March of the Women (1911) for the Women's Social and Political Union, the leading organization of the suffragists in Britain. It was used as the theme for the BBC's "Shoulder to Shoulder," which was shown on public television in American in the 1970s. I was glued to the TV watching it and the companion book to the series is still on my bookshelf (bottom photo).

Alas this series has never come out on DVD and has apparently not been rebroadcast for decades here or in the UK. Too bad as we need to know and share our history more than ever these days. The book, "Shoulder to Shoulder," is available locally through the South Central Wisconsin Library system. 

Since this is a about a song written for the WSPU most of the scenes are of UK feminist parades and actions, including a number of pictures of the famed Pankhurst family, with Emmeline Pankhurst being forcibly removed by the police (above). 

But there are also a number of images that are from the USA which are easily detected by the presence of the American flag, references to President Woodrow Wilson and the Cooper Union Hall. American suffragist Alice Paul went to England to work with the Pankhursts and brought their activism to the American suffrage movement. It is worth noting that the first group to ever picket the White House in Washington, D.C. were suffragists demanding the vote for American women as seen in this video!

The graphics of the video are in the public domain, and the performance is that of the Rainbow Chorus from May 2009, posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZItUc9..... Thank you to Mark Lause who originally posted the video on YouTube.

Garden magazines at Olbrich

 Lynn Jacobson, Horticulture Librarian at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, commented on my blog post about Gardens Illustrated magazine and I am sharing her message here as it is one that local readers won't want to miss.

Lynn noted that they receive "Garden Design" and "Gardens Illustrated" at the Schumacher Library at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. She also pointed out that while members of the botanical society may check things out of the library, members of the general public "are very welcome to come in and use our materials." Schumacher Library receives about 40 journal titles.

. . .

I have borrowed books from Schumacher Library at Olbrich many times over the years and can attest to the wonderful scope of their collection. But I must admit that I did not realize all the other publications they have to offer. Luckily I will be at Olbrich tomorrow and can take a closer look.

Late light

A beautiful Sunday. Should have spent it working in the garden but went to see the "Inhabited Landscapes" exhibit with work by some of my favorite artists including David Lenz, Tom Uttech and John Miller, whose work was new to me.  The show closed today but the memory of those artworks will stay with me. 

Took in the Wisconsin Triennial and all three exhibits in the galleries throughout the Overture Center. Also checked out the new downtown Madison Public Library as well as a load of art/garden/fiber books from the titles on the "new book" shelves.

Came home and sat in the sunshine with our books and our own Wisconsin landscape outside the window. 

What Emma Thompson was reading

The NYTimes Sunday books section recently had an interview with actress Emma Thompson about what she's reading. But what caught my attention were the books that she included among her childhood favorities, like "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase." Since that's also a favorite of mine, her list inspired me to search out "The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris" by Leon Garfield.

Harris and Bostock are friends and schoolmates at Dr. Bunnion's Academy for the Sons of Gentlefolk and Merchants. Harris, the hairbrained leader to the devoted Bostock, decides to conduct an unlikely experiment. He'll put his new baby sister, Adelaide, out on a country hillside to see if a wolf will come and suckle her, just like they've heard in the tale of Romulus and Remus from their inept teacher at school. But a trysting couple discover the child and carry her off, much to the consternation of the boys.

What follows as they attempt to rescue Adelaide — without revealing their part in the plot — is a tale with more twists and turns than Dickens and with a cast of characters that is most definitely Dickensian, though the story is set a century earlier. This little gem — intended for readers 12 and up — is one that will equally captivate adults. The language is replete with puns, similies, big words and a laugh-out-loud literay joke near the end of the story.

There is a lot of sexual innuendo, more silly than serious, that made me wonder if parents today would make a fuss over it; which was clearly not the case when it came out in 1971. A satisfying read that will send me in search of other Garfield books. But first I have to read another of Thompson's favorites that I also found in the public library: “The Box of Delights” by John Masefield.

Right or wrong, I am a reader who often judges a book by its cover. When searching online for cover images for these two children's books, I discovered the copies I found via the library have illustrations that are much less compelling than other editions. I have to admit that if I had just stumbled across the book with the blah cover (below) I would have been unlikely to give it another glance; while the cover above would have caught my eye and sucked me right in.

More WWI fiction

The following two books are both titles I found in Sarah L. Johnson's guide to historical fiction.

"The Fox’s Walk" by Annabel Davis-Goff is the tale of a young girl living in the south of Ireland with her Anglo-Irish grandmother and elderly aunt in the months leading up to the 1916 Easter Rising. Everything is seen and told from her viewpoint as she tries to make sense of events inside and outside of her restricted social circle. Her knowledge — and her growing recognition of her privledged life — is based on snatches of overheard conversations, unexplained adult actions and all the unspoken superstitions and rituals of Anglo-Irish behavior. Reminds me a bit of Mary McCarthy’s “Memories of a Catholic Girlhood” in the sense of Davis-Goff commenting as an adult on her childhood experiences. 

The author creates an almost mesmerizing sense of time and place in her slow unfolding of the story amidst the slow unraveling of the familiar world brought on by Irish politics and WWI. An unexpectedly shocking and violent ending that I should perhaps have seen coming; but one that still fits the story. My only criticism would be that some of the interwoven stories of the historical players in the revolutionary events made for confusion at times. And Davis-Goff often structures her sentences in what I found to be a convoluted manner. But those are minor quibbles about a book that manages to take a dispassionate look at Irish history and yet one whose haunting memory will remain with me.

The following quote from "The Fox’s Walk" particularly resonated with me in light of the events in Wisconsin for the last year:

“My nursery diaries and these books show me something that is always true but almost impossible to keep in mind, that our everyday lives — in the main part dull and lacking in important event — are lived in an historical context.”

I read "Hanging on the Wire" by Gillian Linscott in an evening and it was the lone miss after a string of hit titles I found in Johnson's guide. Too many characters and none caught my interest, including the protagonist. It's the middle of WWI and half the population of England wants an end to the slaughter. The other half views the former group as traitors and redoubles their support for the war to counter the protesters. Among the potential victims of this clash are the hospitals and staff treating soldiers who have had mental breakdowns as a result of their experiences; to say nothing of the soldiers themselves.

The ending was a surprise to me — not unusual in a mystery — but seemed to at odds with the whole premise of the story. And Linscott (in my opinion) negated the value of psychoanalysis in general and as an aid to victims of shell shock in WWI by her cavalier treatment of it. An altogether unsatisfactory read, so I won't bother with any of her other titles in this series.

Anne Perry's WWI novels were so superb, as was "The Fox’s Walk," that I plan to continue to use Sarah Johnson's book as a guide to my reading. All of the books that I've referenced, including Johson's guide are all available through the Wisconsin South Central Library System.

Historical Fiction

When I was growing up, I read a lot of historical fiction like the novels about the American Revolution by the great Kenneth Roberts. Those led me to non-fiction and biography as a way to learn more about, and to appreciate, history. It's a love that continues to this day. And I also continue to veer back and forth between reading the serious views of the history of an era and the novels that describe the same period.

I'm not sure how I discovered "Historical Fiction: A Guide to the Genre" by Sarah L. Johnson but it is a great find, tailor-made for readers like me. The book is one of the titles in the "Genreflecting Advisory Series" geared to library staff. Locally it is part of the South Central Library System's "professional collection," which includes a circulating copy of the book. No matter what type of fiction you're interested in — teen romance, Jewish-American, African-American, horror, sci-fi — there is a Genreflecting guide. 

Though "Historical Fiction" was only published in 2005, there is already a Vol. II to this particular subject. According to the author's website, Vol. I covers over 3,800 historical novels, 1995-2004, arranged by subgenre. Vol. II — published in March 2009 — is a  guide to over 2,700 historical novels, 2004-present, plus info on the latest trends. Mind boggling, huh?

The thing that makes this such a useful tool for librarians and readers alike, is that the book begins with a discussion about the appeal of the past, what readers are looking for, and the various "appeal factors" in this subject, such as type of character, pacing, level of realism. Then the titles are arranged by a finely-calibrated subgenre categorization with sections on traditional historical novels, multi-period epics, Westerns, historical mysteries, literary historical novels and so forth. And then those categories are further broken down by period (ancient civilizations, Victorian) and country or geographic region.

So that means you can hone in on a very specific group of titles that will appeal to you. Or you can find a whole new area to explore. I began by looking for titles and authors that I had already read in a particular category to see what Johnson said about them. Then I went to the library looking for my list of suggested new authors and titles. I currently have home a selection of books by three authors dealing with the WWI era, both straight-out mystery novels and literary titles. The first book I started was so compelling that I am about to finish the fifth and final book in the series (which I will write about another time). 

If you like to read in a particular area, I would suggest looking for the Genreflecting guide that fits your taste. Johnson's volume on Historial Fiction has proved so immediately rewarding that I could imagine using it as a guide for a long time. Johson also has her own blog: Reading the Past, where she reviews books including titles that are out of print. Another bonus for someone like me who is already a fan of publishers of out of print lit like Persephone Books.  

The storefront of Persephone Books in London. 

Understanding Garden Design

Over the years I have read so many garden books that I am always surprised when I discover something new. In this case it's something I've thought about but rarely seen discussed: why design a garden at all? Vanessa Gardner Nagel doesn't pull any punches in "Understanding Garden Design," another great new title avialable from Timber Press. Nagel worked as a commercial interior designer before she switched gears and moved outdoors. How to talk to clients and break down a project from initial questions through concepts to finished projects is her forte. While this book is inteded as "The Complete Handbook for Aspiring Designers" it is useful for those of us trying to design our gardens on our own.

Among the very useful topics Nagel (pictured below) details are the critical practicalities that must be attended to if your garden is to succeed: how to measure your slope, how to calculate how many gallons of water come off your roof for harvesting, how high and deep outdoor steps should be to name a few.

She also suggests that one make a "scope statement" which describes and ennumerates all the things you want your garden to be and do. This is a generalized list of items like creating a space for evening activities or allowing room for pets. Nagel creates a "scope statement" for a hypothetical property and then uses that imaginary home as an on-going example as she goes through the design process step-by-step. 

Nagel also includes a section on plants, considering them from a structural perspective and cataloging them as "thrillers, spillers and fillers." You get the picture. Once you've created your plan, she gives advice on working with contractors, including how to find and screen candidates.

And lastly she deals with post-construction issues: adding furniture and art and dealing with guests. This may be the first garden design book I've ever read that squarely offers "crowd control techniques" and strategies for having a successful garden party and open garden events. Nagel brilliantly ends with a list of protocals she calls "garden etiquette for the unintitiated." The question is, would it be rude to hand out this list to the next group that visits the garden?

. . . 

Vanessa Gardner Nagel's "Understanding Garden Design" is available through the Wisconsin South Central Library System.

Don't miss Wednesday's citizen budget meeting

The budget meetings will be broadcast on the city cable channel for those who missed the meetings.

 

Last week was heavy on democracy and citizen action in Madison. For us, it began with Mayor Soglin's budget hearing in our neighborhood on Monday. The focus was on major facilities and parks: Libraries, Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, the Overture Center and the parks, including golf courses and Olbrich Botanical Gardens. We decided to attend that session since we put libraries and Olbrich at the top of our list of things that make Madison a great city.

Library staff were on hand to answer citizen questions.

 

This process is new this year and while not perfect, is well-worth attending. You can make your voice heard in the process and during the Q&A period. According to Mayor Soglin, this citizen participation process is likely to be repeated for the next budget period, so it also makes sense to show up so you can see what it's like and be able to comment on the design of the process itself. 

Talking with folks at our table as we prepare to tally our responses to "ranking values."

 

I give Soglin a lot of credit for opening up the budget process to citizens at the beginning rather than just letting us comment at the end. And he's framed this citizen input in a very thoughtful manner. "This year, as you think about the upcoming city budget," says Soglin on the city's budget website, "please go deeper than individual line items — consider what values are important for our city and how these values should be expressed in the services that the city provides for individuals, neighborhoods and the city as a whole."

Folks line up to rank the importance of items on that night's agenda by their value to us as individuals, to our neighborhood and to the city.

 

The session we attended was the fourth in a series of five gatherings to let citizens have a say in the budget process. You can read all about it here. The final session is:

Wed, Aug. 31, 7-9pm
Topic: Public Safety
Warner Park Recreation Center
1625 Northport Dr.

And if you can't make it to a meeting in person, you can still make your voice heard by filling out an on-line survey.

You can see the diversity of rankings from these two charts. 

 

We found the evening to be informative, not only in seeing how other folks responded to the issues, but learning about the budget in ways that citizens don't usually have a chance to do. It also lasted under two hours! We got to ask questions of city staff and the mayor. And Soglin, as always, was his quirky self, standing on the sidelines watching everything unfold. Then at the end he stepped in to answer some tough questions with the thoughtfulness, sense of history and social justice that have always characterized him. 

Mayor Soglin wraps up the meeting. 

We'd rather have been at the library

Even though it was only 36 degrees, windy and overcast at 9 a.m., we decided to go down to Monona Terrace to join members of the Wisconsin Library Association and the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association who were gathering for Library Legislative Day. Lake Monona was looking soggy (but not yet iced out) and arriving marchers looked energized but cold — and damp. We were all soon more than damp as it started raining only moments after we left the shelter of Monona Terrace.  

The group, while not huge, managed to fill a couple of blocks of MLK Blvd. on their way to talk to members of the State Legislature about libraries and the budget bill. Usually those few blocks from the Convention Center to the Capitol Square present one of the most dramatic views of the Capitol, but we were all too intent on marching and trying to stay a bit dry to notice. We cheered the group on, snapped shots of their excellent signs (no surprise there) and walked once around the Square with them before parting. As they went to try to talk sense to some Senators, we enjoyed a sensible hot breakfast at Marigold Kitchen before returning home.