Katherine Anne Porter: I Want To Live In A World Capital Or A Howling Wilderness

 

Katherine Anne Porter, an American writer, journalist and activist, was born on this day in 1890 in the west-central Texas town of Indian Creek. She led an often troubled yet exciting and eccentric life. By the age of forty she was an acclaimed and widely read author but it took another thirty years and the publication of her novel, Ship of Fools (1962), before she found financial security in her craft.

She moved to Washington, D.C., in 1959 to finish the novel and while there developed an association with the University of Maryland in nearby College Park. In 1966 her great success with the novel as well as her receipt of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her Collected Stories published in 1965 moved the university to award Porter an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. At the same time she announced her desire to donate a lifetime of treasured personal possessions and papers to the school to be housed in the Katherine Anne Porter Room, at that time located in McKeldin Library. Porter eventually moved the few miles from her Washington home to College Park where she could be even closer to her collection and the university's resources.

Readers interested in Porter as a writer will enjoy this 1963 Paris Review interview conducted as part of their Art of Fiction series. 

On a personal note: Back in 1968 I spent about two weeks doing research in special collections on the top floor of McKeldin Library at Maryland. At the elevator and in the hallways I kept meeting this small, friendly, elderly, white-haired woman with a jovial smile that invited conversation. She seemed far too helpful to be a typical university librarian. Years later I read how much Porter loved the academic setting and interacting with students, learning about them, their studies, and their plans for the future. She was, in fact, a near constant visitor to her room on the library's fifth floor. It wasn't long before the realization hit that my "little old librarian" was none other than Katherine Anne Porter. With the knowledge gained over the last fifty years I'd love to have those two weeks back to explore the few degrees of separation she brought me among Mexican Leftists of the 1920's, film making, fractal theory, systems of creative design, and the study of pandemics. This time I'd ask the questions.

Alas, that will never happen but perhaps I could explore this wide-ranging story in a future blog post. Better yet, it is a story best told over pitchers of craft beer enjoyed with some quiet and distant jazz, overstuffed club chairs, and the golden hour blazing from the horizon. Could pure chance give rise to the opportunity for such an exploration among old friends? Porter would be pleased.






Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
grannyweatherall.wordpress.com

Text:
Title, "Katherine Anne Porter, The Art of Fiction," No. 29, Paris Review
Katherine Anne Porter, wikipedia.org

Orson Welles: Hollywood's Fiercely Independent Genius

Today marks the 109th anniversary of the birth of Orson Welles. He has been missing from the world stage for over a generation now. The film and stage industries will always owe him immensely for what he brought to them and for the treatment his genius received at the hands of a Hollywood film cartel that resented outsiders.

Welles at 21

There will never be another cinematic alchemist quite like Orson Welles. Interested in experiment and discovery in the performing arts, he was a remarkably talented actor, writer, director, producer, and more. Before he was thirty he had terrified the nation with his realistic Halloween presentation of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds radio broadcast (1938) and awed film audiences with Citizen Kane (1941). The film still tops most "best film ever made" lists around the world. Welles was already a rather contentious artist when he achieved almost instant fame. His creativity and drive helped label him as a difficult if not reckless personality and he never endeared himself to the Hollywood in-crowd. As a result his film legacy was limited to a number of noteworthy productions and a long list of unfinished projects and pipe dreams.

The achievement of early fame and the fast and loose pursuit of art at almost any cost gave him a unique perspective on creativity and the entertainment industry. Although he appreciated his solitude he was never one to shy from the limelight and delighted in interviews and personal appearances where he could deliver and endless stream of anecdotes in his rich, unforgettable baritone voice.

For a taste of Welles as writer, director, and co-star, here is the famous "mirror scene" from The Lady of Shanghai (1948). Film critic David Kehr has called the film "the weirdest great movie ever made."

And here from his 1958 film, Touch of Evil, is the classic "crane shot" that makes an appearance in every college film class.

In later life Welles became known as a great conversationalist. From 1974, here are the highlights from an interview with the British broadcaster, Sir Michael Parkinson. Welles talks about politics, bullfighting, his friendship with Ernest Hemingway, personal heroes (Winston Churchill, Gen. George S, Marshall), the power of criticism, the film industry, the stars (he thought James Cagney was far and away the best), his attitude toward his films, and future projects. It's a quick and entertaining 37 minutes and in my mind reveals much about the man who foreshadowed the flourishing independent film movement we know today.

A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet.

                                                                        Orson Welles, 1958

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Welles portrait, Library of Congress (Carl Van Vechten, photographer, March 1, 1937)

Text:
Title derived from quote, Welles, from the film, F For Fake (1973)
Kehr quote: chicagoreader.com, review of The Lady of Shanghai
Welles quote: "Ribbon of Dreams" in International Film Annual no. 2, 1958

Cinco De Mayo: When The US Celebrates Mexico

It's Cinco de Mayo across the USA! It's a day when Americans can visit their favorite Mexican restaurant and attend a party devoted to the varied and vivid culture of Mexico. In fact, Americans will be celebrating far more than their neighbors south of the border. Why, you ask? It's simply because Cinco de Mayo isn't what you think it is.

Imagine millions of Mexicans celebrating this historic day from Cabo San Lucas to Cozumel. The dancing . . . the parades . . . the patriotic music . . . the parties and feasts into the night. Doesn't happen. That's right, my friends. Cinco de Mayo in Mexico is a regional celebration of the victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Outside the capital city and state of Puebla, today is pretty much just another Monday. For Mexicans, the big national celebration is Independence Day, celebrated on September 16.

Depiction of the Battle of Puebla Francisco Miranda, 1872

Cross the border into the United States today and it's a very different story. What originated in 1862 as a local victory celebration by Mexican gold miners in northern California has spread across the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture. Like many American holidays, official and otherwise, Cinco de Mayo has grown in popularity in recent decades due to heavy commercial promotion. Greeting card, candy, and florist industries may drive Mother's Day. In the case of Cinco de Mayo a significant force driving the festivities is the alcoholic beverage industry. The distilled beverage of choice will be tequila.

Whatever the reason for such popularity, it's a great time to experience and enjoy the rich heritage and culture of the people of Mexico and their contribution to the American experience. For starters here is some traditional music to set the mood for the day.

The culture of Mexico is a rich mosaic of Mayans, Aztecs, Mestizos (European, American Indian, African, and Asian), and more. May you experience a bit of all of it today as you have a safe and enjoyable Cinco de Mayo.

H. L. Mencken: Keen Observer Of The American Experience

After all these years, the Sage of Baltimore - Henry Louis Mencken - still has so much to tell us about the American experience. In his day he invented the term "booboisie" to refer to the masses who didn't read much, know much or even care much about their lives as citizens of a democratic republic. Today we could easily apply his term to the masses who are well-schooled but not well-educated, who apply emotion rather than reason and logic to their decision making, and who align themselves with coalitions of self-interests wrapped in collectivist totalitarianism. Another term for the modern-day "booboisie" is "moonbat". I think Mencken would have a even more colorful term for them if he were still with us. And oh would he have a time with our political and social landscape today.

Mencken portrait photo taken around 1923

Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know - and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me - has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost office thereby.

Henry Louis Mencken, the "Sage of Baltimore," was born on this day in 1880. He was a leading journalist and author on the American scene, humorist, and a student of the American language. Mencken's stature seems to be on the rise over the last few decades. I'd guess it's because we experienced a concurrent rise in many nation-wide opportunities to watch logic, practicality, and skepticism destroy a multitude of political pretenders and their policies regardless of political persuasion.

Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time.

Mencken (right) celebrating the end of Prohibition in 1933

As much as I enjoy reading all of Mencken's work, the autobiographical books remain my favorites. His three-part "Days" series, Happy Days (1940), Newspaper Days (19441), and Heathen Days (1943) should be essential reading. They cover life and times from birth through 1936, the most productive and positive time in his life. After the mid-1930's, Mencken fell a bit out of fashion as his curmudgeonly persistence began to grind on the American psyche. His perceived sympathy with German nationalism helped undermine his reputation into the 40's. In one of the great ironies in American literature, a stroke in 1948 rendered him unable to read, speak or write beyond simple phrases or sentences. Although he regained some communications skills over time, he spent the next seven years enjoying music, listening to readings, and conversing with friends until his death in 1956.

If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl.

Those who want the full Mencken story should read Terry Teachout's, The Skeptic: A Life of H.L. Mencken (2003). Teachout was a superb writer who treated his subject with objectivity and warmth. I also enjoyed a biography, Mencken: The American Iconoclast (2005), by the eminent Mencken scholar, Marion Elizabeth Rodgers.

If reading isn't to your liking but you still want some immersion into the man and his times, C-SPAN's American Writers Project produced a fine two-hour program on Mencken that should not be missed. It is a thorough multimedia exploration.

Mencken at home a few months before his death

I'm the third generation in my family to consider Mencken a favorite writer. Though the author as skeptic likely played a role in his popularity over the years, I think the humor sold him to the family - certainly has in my case. But there is a sad note to this story. In 1959 - I was 13 that year - two family members who were among the first generation to appreciate Mencken passed away just one day part. My dad was the executor of this challenging estate. The late relatives had shared a large home with other brothers and accumulated seventy years of cultural history within its walls. It seemed the only thing that left the house was weekly trash. Included in that history collection they retained were thousands of magazines. No institution or person wanted them as they had not yet achieved a patina of age, worth or "significance." I was given the responsibility of burning them and in doing so I watched a near complete, mint collection of The Smart Set and The American Mercury magazines rise up in smoke on a cold winter day. Both magazines were under the editorship of H.L. Mencken early in his career and featured many new writers who were to become famous in the decades to follow. Today, the collection could bring as much as five figures at a major literary auction. So much wisdom up in smoke. If the Sage of Baltimore were alive today, he would not be happy at this outcome, nor would he be surprised...

No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.

Sources


Photos and Illustrations:
1923 portrait, public domain
Mencken celebrating, Baltimore Sun
Mencken at home, Baltimore Sun

Quotations:
Democracy is.... "Notes on Journalism," Chicago Tribune, September 19, 1926;
Puritanism is.... " Sententae," The Citizen and the State, p.624;
If, after I.... "Epitaph," from Smart Set (December 1921);
No one ever.... paraphrase of the "Democracy" quote as noted in The Yale Book of Quotations (2006)

Cinco De Mayo 2024

It's Cinco de Mayo across the USA! And with the Covid pandemic receding in our mrmories Americans can actually sit in their favorite Mexican restaurant to enjoy the festivities for two consecutive years. In fact, Americans are celebrating far more than their neighbors south of the border. Why, you ask? It's simply because Cinco de Mayo isn't what you think it is.

Imagine millions of Mexicans celebrating this historic day from Cabo San Lucas to Cozumel. The dancing . . . the parades . . . the patriotic music . . . the parties and feasts into the night. Doesn't happen. That's right, my friends. Cinco de Mayo in Mexico is a regional celebration of the victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Outside the capital city and state of Puebla, today is pretty much just another Sunday. For Mexicans, the big national celebration is Independence Day, celebrated on September 16.

Depiction of the Battle of Puebla Francisco Miranda, 1872

Cross the border into the United States today and it's a very different story. What originated in 1862 as a local victory celebration by Mexican gold miners in northern California has spread across the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture. Like many American holidays, official and otherwise, Cinco de Mayo has grown in popularity in recent decades due to heavy commercial promotion. Greeting card, candy, and florist industries may drive Mother's Day. In the case of Cinco de Mayo a significant force driving the festivities is the alcoholic beverage industry. The distilled beverage of choice will be tequila.

Whatever the reason for such popularity, it's a great time to experience and enjoy the rich heritage and culture of the people of Mexico and their contribution to the American experience. For starters here is some traditional music to set the mood for the day.

The culture of Mexico is a rich mosaic of Mayans, Aztecs, Mestizos (European, American Indian, African, and Asian), and more. May you experience a bit of all of it today as you have a safe and enjoyable Cinco de Mayo.

Celebrating Warmth And New Life

To be fair we could be talking about workers of the world, the joys of collectivist thought, and even the "fruits" of Communism on this day. I would rather speak of a more ancient and far happier theme.

May 1, 2023, in Glastonbury, United Kingdom

The Gaelic festival day, Beltane ("be-EL-ten-a" in Irish, "BEL-tayn" in English)) occurs on May 1 and is a cross-quarter day marking the beginning of summer in their ancient calendar. It is one of two "turning" days of the year and exactly six months apart from the other, Samhain (saa-wn), marking the beginning of the dead season of winter. In the United Kingdom and other places with Gaelic heritage Beltane celebrations began last night with the lighting of bonfires, dancing and feasting long into the night.

 

The fun continues with the welcoming of the sun, the selection of the May Queen or earth goddess representing fertility, and the May King or Green Man - the latter first appeared in the 12th century -  representing vegetation and growth. The partying includes a Maypole dance - once an ancient fertility rite - and the decoration of houses, farms, and livestock; and more feasting.

Here in the United States there isn't much associated with the day unless there's an opportunity to sell something under the May Day Sale label. Even schools show little interest in May Day but it was a day-long festival at my elementary school in the 1950's. Actually the day was a big event for the whole community. It was so important that I recall the teachers having us outside days in advance to practice the May Pole dance until the lattice pattern on the pole was perfect. I wonder how enthusiastic they would have been had they known we were practicing a fertility rite. Aside from a few New Agers all religious associations with the activities have been left to an ancient past. These days it's simply good fun. Or at least a happy memory.




Maypole Dance, Bascom Hill, Wisconsin, May 1 ca. 1917





May you have a most festive celebration of the arrival of a time of warmth and new life





Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Photograph: University of Wisconsin Digital Collections

H. L. Mencken: Skepticism At Its Finest

After all these years, the Sage of Baltimore - Henry Louis Mencken - still has so much to tell us about the American experience. In his day he invented the term "booboisie" to refer to the masses who didn't read much, know much or even care much about their lives as citizens of a democratic republic. Today we could easily apply his term to the masses who are well-schooled but not well-educated, who apply emotion rather than reason and logic to their decision making, and who align themselves with coalitions of self-interests wrapped in collectivist totalitarianism. Another term for the modern-day "booboisie" is "moonbat". I think Mencken would have a even more colorful term for them if were still with us. And oh would he have a time with our political and social landscape today.

Mencken portrait photo taken around 1923

Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know - and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me - has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost office thereby.

Henry Louis Mencken, the "Sage of Baltimore," was born on this day in 1880. He was a leading journalist and author on the American scene, humorist, and a student of the American language. Mencken's stature seems to be on the rise over the last few decades. I'd guess it's because we experienced a concurrent rise in many nation-wide opportunities to watch logic, practicality, and skepticism destroy a multitude of political pretenders and their policies regardless of political persuasion.

Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time.

Mencken (right) celebrating the end of Prohibition in 1933

As much as I enjoy reading all of Mencken's work, the autobiographical books remain my favorites. His three-part "Days" series,  Happy Days (1940), Newspaper Days (19441), and Heathen Days (1943) should be essential reading. They cover life and times from birth through 1936, the most productive and positive time in his life. After the mid-1930's, Mencken fell a bit out of fashion as his curmudgeonly persistence began to grind on the American psyche. His perceived sympathy with German nationalism helped undermine his reputation into the 40's. In one of the great ironies in American literature, a stroke in 1948 rendered him unable to read, speak or write beyond simple phrases or sentences. Although he regained some communications skills over time, he spent the next seven years enjoying music, listening to readings, and conversing with friends until his death in 1956.

If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl.

Those who want the full Mencken story should read Terry Teachout's, The Skeptic: A Life of H.L. Mencken (2003). Teachout is a superb writer who treats his subject with objectivity and warmth. I also enjoyed a biography, Mencken: The American Iconoclast (2005), by the eminent Mencken scholar, Marion Elizabeth Rodgers.

If reading isn't to your liking but you still want some immersion into the man and his times, C-SPAN's American Writers Project produced a fine two-hour program on Mencken that should not be missed. It is a thorough multimedia exploration.

Mencken at home a few months before his death

I'm the third generation in my family to consider Mencken a favorite writer. Though the author as skeptic likely played a role in his popularity over the years, I think the humor sold him to the family - certainly has in my case. But there is a sad note to this story. In 1959 - I was 13 that year - two family members who were among the first generation to appreciate Mencken passed away just one day part. My dad was the executor of this challenging estate. The late relatives had shared a large home with other brothers and accumulated seventy years of cultural history within its walls. It seemed the only thing that left the house was weekly trash. Included in that history collection they retained were thousands of magazines. No institution or person wanted them as they had not yet achieved a patina of age, worth or "significance." I was given the responsibility of burning them and in doing so I watched a near complete, mint collection of The Smart Set and The American Mercury magazines rise up in smoke on a cold winter day. Both magazines were under the editorship of H.L. Mencken early in his career and featured many new writers who were to become famous in the decades to follow. Today, the collection could bring as much as five figures at a major literary auction. So much wisdom up in smoke. If the Sage of Baltimore were alive today, he would not be happy at this outcome, nor would he be surprised...

No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.

Sources


Photos and Illustrations:
1923 portrait, public domain
Mencken celebrating, Baltimore Sun
Mencken at home, Baltimore Sun

Quotations:
Democracy is.... "Notes on Journalism," Chicago Tribune, September 19, 1926;
Puritanism is.... " Sententae," The Citizen and the State, p.624;
If, after I.... "Epitaph," from Smart Set (December 1921);
No one ever.... paraphrase of the "Democracy" quote as noted in The Yale Book of Quotations (2006)

Cinco De Mayo: It Began In California in 1863

It's Cinco de Mayo in the USA! And for the first time since 2020 most Americans can actually sit in their favorite Mexican restaurant to enjoy the festivities. In fact, Americans are celebrating far more than their neighbors south of the border. Why, you ask? It's simply because Cinco de Mayo isn't what you think it is.

Imagine millions of Mexicans celebrating this historic day from Cabo San Lucas to Cozumel. The dancing . . . the parades . . . the patriotic music . . . the parties and feasts into the night. Doesn't happen. That's right, my friends. Cinco de Mayo in Mexico is a regional celebration of the victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Outside the capital city and state of Puebla, today is pretty much just another Thursday. For Mexicans, the big national celebration is Independence Day, celebrated on September 16.

Depiction of the Battle of Puebla Francisco Miranda, 1872

Cross the border into the United States today and it's a very different story. What originated in 1862 as a local victory celebration by Mexican gold miners in northern California has spread across the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture. Like many American holidays, official and otherwise, Cinco de Mayo has grown in popularity in recent decades due to heavy commercial promotion. Greeting card, candy, and florist industries may drive Mother's Day. In the case of Cinco de Mayo a significant force driving the festivities is the alcoholic beverage industry. The distilled beverage of choice will be tequila.

Whatever the reason for such popularity, it's a great time to experience and enjoy the rich heritage and culture of the people of Mexico and their contribution to the American experience. For starters here is some traditional music to set the mood for the day.

The blend of Indigenous, Spanish, and African cultures that is Mexico is rich. May you experience a bit of it today as you have a safe and enjoyable Cinco de Mayo.

A Welcome To The Warmth Of The Sun And The Greening Of Spring

To be fair we could be talking about workers of the world, the joys of collectivist thought, and even the "fruits" of Communism on this day. I would rather speak of a more ancient and far happier theme.

Earlier today in Glastonbury, United Kingdom

The Gaelic festival day, Beltane ("be-EL-ten-a" in Irish, "BEL-tayn" in English)) occurs on May 1 and is a cross-quarter day marking the beginning of summer in the ancient calendar. It is one of two "turning" days of the year and exactly six months apart from the other, Samhain (saa-wn), marking the beginning of the dead season of winter. In the United Kingdom and other places with Gaelic heritage Beltane celebrations began last night with the lighting of bonfires, dancing and feasting long into the night.

The fun continues with the welcoming of the sun, the selection of the May Queen or earth goddess representing fertility, and the May King or Green Man representing vegetation and growth. The partying includes a Maypole dance - once an ancient fertility rite - and the decoration of houses, farms, and livestock; and more feasting.

Here in the United States there isn't much associated with the day unless there's an opportunity to sell something under the May Day Sale label. Even schools show little interest in May Day but it was a day-long festival at my elementary school in the 1950's. Actually the day was a big event for the whole community. It was so important that I recall the teachers having us outside days in advance to practice the May Pole dance until the lattice pattern on the pole was perfect. I wonder how enthusiastic they would have been had they known we were practicing a fertility rite. Aside from a few New Agers all religious associations with the activities have been left to an ancient past. These days it's simply good fun. Or at least a happy memory.

Maypole Dance, Bascom Hill, Wisconsin, May 1 ca. 1917

May you have a most festive Beltane.










Sources


Photos and Illustrations:
Photograph: University of Wisconsin Digital Collections

As Shoppers Rush Home With Their Treasures

On this Black Friday 2022 I thought it would be interesting to focus on the broader outcomes of shpping rather than the phalanxes of shoppers invading store aisles across America.  Although our free market economy isn't as free these days it still provides us opportunities of choice among an almost overwhelming variety of products. And every time we make a choice it leads to some far-reaching consequences in addition to our personal satisfaction.

Sam Walton's 5&10. The next step was Discount City and the world.

Three quarters of a million people now live in the three counties from Fayetteville north to the state line in the northwest corner of Arkansas. This is Walmart country. It is the holy land of free enterprise where Sam Walton opened his first Walmart Discount City in 1962. Over those few decades as Walmart grew into the "world's third largest public corporation," the company transformed the plateau prairie into a prosperous landscape. The change came quickly once the company that visited its suppliers said, "No more!" From that day forward those salesmen who wanted their products on Walmart shelves had to visit Bentonville for an audience with the buyers. It is no wonder today that almost 100 business aircraft fly out of the area's two general aviation airports, Rogers Muni-Carter Field and Bentonville Muni-Thaden Field. It is no wonder that more than thirty airlines provide 260 scheduled weekday arrivals and departures out of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.

As one would expect, the Walmart holy land is a classic example of the money generation model in action. The retail reach of thousands of stores and services far exceeds the area's three-county grasp. Granted, it isn't like shopping at Waterside in Naples but it's damn close if you don't need the palms and bromeliads. There's no beach either, but an abundance of nearby lakes provides plenty of broad and deep water in addition to 3,000 miles of shoreline.This is but one element of the quiet and relaxation to be found after a thirty minute drive east or west of US71 and the money model madness.

A few years ago I made these observations on Walmart Country. It is a nice compromise watching day by day as fall colors invade a large grove of trees across the fence. For me it's new trees and new birds, but the old barn, with its missing boards and battered tin roof, recalls the long history here. It is a diverse history as well, quite fitting of a place where the Ozark and Boston Mountains spill into the prairie grasslands of the Great Plains and the llano winds of Texas whisper from a mere few hours away.

I supposes for many this will always be flyover country. After all, hardly a minute passes in the day when you can't see eight or ten contrails from the commercial jets flying between Denver, St. Louis, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, L.A., and beyond. Still, the Cessnas, Dessaults, Bombardiers, Beechcrafts, and occasional Gulfstreams on approach and departure here tell another story. It may not be for everyone. but here in the Arkansas holy land, life is very, very good.

Although Alice Walton, daughter of Sam and Helen Walton, no longer lives in Northwest Arkansas, she has retained a life-long interest in the region. As the 19th richest person, and second richest woman in the world, she has devoted much of her good fortune - $59 billion - and that of the Walton Family Foundation to enriching life in the Bentonville-Fayetteville corridor and beyond. 

There's no better example of their benevolence than the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art  in Bentonville. Opened in 2011, the facility is a 200,000 s.f. complex of several galleries and other spaces surrounding a lake at the bottom of a forested ravine. It is itself a work of art - designed by architect, Moshe Safdie, and engineer, Buro Happold - with a cost estimate exceeding $50,000,000. There is no admission fee to view the permanent collection.

George Washington                                     Gilbert Stuart, 1797

The family endowed the museum with an $800,000,000 gift to sustain operations, maintenance, and museum acquisitions in perpetuity. This circumstance makes Crystal Bridges an immediate leader among American museums and positions it for a great future as a seed for art and community in the Southern Plains and Mississippi Valley.

Kindred Spirits                                           Asher Durand, 1849

What makes Crystal Bridges different is its mission: to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of landscape. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate our heritage and artistic possibilities.

Currently, the museum has 400 works on exhibit tracing the American experience from the heroic portraiture of the 18th century to today's constructions, assemblages, and kinetic art. 

The Lantern Bearers                          Maxfield Parrish, 1908

Wandering the galleries of this extraordinary building is a pleasing instructive journey and one most people would never expect in a smaller metropolitan area. The caveat here is the place's identity as the sixth fastest growing area in the country, thanks in part to it being the home of Walmart, Tyson Foods, J.B Hunt Transportation Services and 2,000 offices of companies supporting those industries.

Sound Suit                                         Nick Cave, 2010

Today Alice Walton's vision is at the heart of an art and education network "exploring the unfolding story of America" for a million residents and millions of visitors. We should thank Alice Walton and the Walton Family Foundation for their foresight, generosity, and desire to share their good fortune. Perhaps their example will both encourage others to make good use of the fertile, entrepreneurial environment this nation affords its super achievers and find joy in sharing the fruits of their circumstance.

It will be interesting to see how the sons and daughters of Helen and Sam Walton continue to use their wealth that currently exceeds $100 million. The family and its foundation have a history of sharing it quietly and somewhat modestly. When Helen died in 2007 she gave her entire share - over $16 billion - to a variety of charities in a multi-year disbursement. Alice, as a 73 year-old, childless divorcee who loves art, horses, and the University of Arkansas, could be positioned to do some spectacular things in the near future. Time will tell.

There's one thing for certain. You may not be able to fund a museum but in the long run that treasure you bought today could be of far more benefit than you ever imagined.

Sources

Photos, Illustrations, and Text:

Wikipedia.com, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Katherine Anne Porter: Like Ships Passing In The Night

Katherine Anne Porter, an American writer, journalist and activist, was born on this day in 1890 in the west-central Texas town of Indian Creek. She led an often troubled yet exciting and eccentric life. By the age of forty she was an acclaimed and widely read author but it took another thirty years and the publication of her novel, Ship of Fools (1962), before she found financial security in her craft.

She moved to Washington, D.C., in 1959 to finish the novel and while there developed an association with the University of Maryland in nearby College Park. In 1966 her great success with the novel as well as her receipt of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her Collected Stories published in 1965 moved the university to award Porter an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. At the same time she announced her desire to donate a lifetime of treasured personal possessions and papers to the school to be housed in the Katherine Anne Porter Room, at that time located in McKeldin Library. Porter eventually moved the few miles from her Washington home to College Park where she could be even closer to her collection and the university's resources.

Readers interested in Porter as a writer will enjoy this 1963 Paris Review interview conducted as part of their Art of Fiction series. For a sketch illustrating her literary journeys go here.

On a personal note: Back in 1968 I spent about two weeks doing research in special collections on the top floor of McKeldin Library at Maryland. At the elevator and in the hallways I kept meeting this small, friendly, elderly, white-haired woman with a jovial smile that invited conversation. She seemed far too helpful to be a typical university librarian. Years later I read how much Porter loved the academic setting and interacting with students, learning about them, their studies, and their plans for the future. She was, in fact, a near constant visitor to her room on the library's fifth floor. It wasn't long before the realization hit that my "little old librarian" was none other than Katherine Anne Porter. With the knowledge gained over the last fifty years I'd love to have those two weeks back to explore the few degrees of separation she brought me among Mexican Leftists of the 1920's, film making, fractal theory, systems of creative design, and the study of pandemics. This time I'd ask the questions.

Alas, that will never happen but perhaps I could explore this wide-ranging story in a future blog post. Better yet, it is a story best told over pitchers of craft beer enjoyed with some quiet and distant jazz, overstuffed club chairs, and early evening light. Could pure chance give rise to the opportunity for such an exploration among old friends? Porter would be pleased.






Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
grannyweatherall.wordpress.com

Text:
Title, "Katherine Anne Porter, The Art of Fiction," No. 29, Paris Review
Katherine Anne Porter, wikipedia.org

Cinco De Mayo: A California Festival In 1863 Ends In A National Celebration Of Everything Mexican

 

It's Cinco de Mayo in the USA!  And for the first time in two years most Americans can actually sit in their favorite Mexican restaurant to enjoy the festivities. In fact, Americans are celebrating far more than their neighbors south of the border. Why, you ask? It's simply because Cinco de Mayo isn't what you think it is.

Imagine millions of Mexicans celebrating this historic day from Cabo San Lucas to Cozumel. The dancing . . . the parades . . . the patriotic music . . . the parties and feasts into the night. Doesn't happen. That's right, my friends. Cinco de Mayo in Mexico is a regional celebration of the victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Outside the capital city and state of Puebla, today is pretty much just another Thursday. For Mexicans, the big national celebration is Independence Day, celebrated on September 16.

Depiction of the Battle of Puebla         Francisco Miranda, 1872

Cross the border into the United States today and it's a very different story. What originated in 1862 as a local victory celebration by Mexican gold miners in northern California has spread across the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture. Like many American holidays, official and otherwise, Cinco de Mayo has grown in popularity in recent decades due to heavy commercial promotion. Greeting card, candy, and florist industries may drive Mother's Day. In the case of Cinco de Mayo a significant force driving the festivities is the alcoholic beverage industry. The distilled beverage of choice will be tequila.

Whatever the reason for such popularity, it's a great time to experience and enjoy the rich heritage and culture of the people of Mexico and their contribution to the American experience. For starters here is some traditional music to set the mood for the day.

The blend of Indigenous, Spanish, and African cultures that is Mexico is rich. May you experience a bit of it today as you have a safe and enjoyable Cinco de Mayo.

Ten Seconds At Kent State That Changed A Nation Forever: May 4, 1970

Today is the 52nd anniversary (1970) of the Kent State University massacre in Ohio. On that day four unarmed students were killed and nine others injured by members of the Ohio National Guard. Years of conflict over the nation's role in the Vietnam War had millions of Americans on edge. On April 28 President Richard Nixon announced an expansion of the US ground war into Cambodiaa. In response to a massive wave of student protests Nixon fueled more anger by referring to some campus protesters as "bums." For three days prior to the massacre Kent State had been hit with violent demonstrations threatening both the campus and downtown commercial district. The Ohio National Guard had been on scene by the evening of May 2. From a city firehouse, Governor James Rhodes fueled the conflict by referring to the protesters as "brown shirts...the communist element... night riders... and the vigilantes."

On May 4, 67 shots fired into a crowd of defenseless students marked the beginning of the end not only of an already very unpopular war but also a controversial president well-known as "Tricky Dick."

That fateful day began with university officials attempting to ban a campus protest that had been planned days earlier. The result was a loose gathering of around 2000 persons met by guardsmen armed with tear gas and fixed bayonets. For reasons undetermined shots were fired into the unarmed crowd. The average distance of those killed was 345 feet from the guardsmen. The event incited a strike involving millions of students across the nation, forced the closing of hundreds of universities and colleges, and marked a turning point in national opinion among many who had supported American involvement in Vietnam, a escalating action that began in 1959.

A week after Kent State, police killed a student and a passerby at a demonstration at Jackson State College in Mississippi. An unquestionable sense of rebellion began to grip the nation. The Nixon administration was well aware of the situation and took steps to mitigate the danger and political erosion. One of those steps was the creation of the President's Commission on Campus Unrest- the Scranton Commission - in June 1970. The commission was tasked with reviewing the incident. After three months of work the commission concluded:

Even if the guardsmen faced danger, it was not a danger that called for lethal force. The 61 shots by 28 guardsmen certainly cannot be justified. Apparently, no order to fire was given, and there was inadequate fire control discipline on Blanket Hill. The Kent State tragedy must mark the last time that, as a matter of course, loaded rifles are issued to guardsmen confronting student demonstrators.

Location map, Scranton Commission report

In 2016, Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, designated the seventeen acre site a National Historic Landmark.

Happy May Day 2022!

To be fair we could be talking about workers of the world, the joys of collectivist thought, and even the fruits of Communism on this day. I would rather speak of a more ancient and far happier theme. 

The Gaelic festival day, Beltane ("be-EL-ten-a" in Irish, "BEL-tayn" in English)) occurs on May 1 and is a cross-quarter day marking the beginning of summer in the ancient calendar. It is one of two "turning" days of the year and exactly six months apart from the other, Samhain (saa-wn), marking the beginning of the dead season of winter. In the United Kingdom and other places with Gaelic heritage Beltane celebrations began last night  with the lighting of bonfires, dancing and feasting long into the night.

The celebration continues with the welcoming of the sun, the selection of the May Queen or earth goddess representing fertility, and the May King or Green Man representing vegetation and growth. The partying includes a Maypole dance as a fertility rite, the decoration of houses, farms, and livestock; and more feasting.

Here in the United States there isn't much associated with the day unless there's an opportunity to sell something under the May Day Sale label. Even schools show little interest in May Day but it was a day-long festival at my elementary school in the 1950's. Actually the day was a big event for the whole community. It was so important that I recall the teachers having us outside days in advance to practice the May Pole dance until the lattice pattern on the pole was perfect. I wonder how enthusiastic they would have been had they known we were practicing a fertility rite. Aside from a few New Agers all religious associations with the activities have been left to an ancient past. These days it's simply good fun. Or at least a happy memory.

Maypole Dance, Bascom Hill, Wisconsin, May 1 ca. 1917

May you have a most festive Beltane.










Sources


Photos and Illustrations:

Photograph: University of Wisconsin Digital Collections

As The Grape Goes To Barrel We Surrender To Fall

For the past four days Atlanta's weather, remarkably clear, warm, and exceptionally dry, sang of the high country. It should persist for another fourteen days, perhaps longer. Such perfection is normally reserved for later in the endless fall that is so characteristic of Georgia and much of the South Atlantic Bight,  It reminds me of times in Montana and Colorado and many months spent living in and traveling the sacred high deserts of the Southwest where touching the sky is a reality. 

On such days - I call them Colorado days - I work outside in a green woods still brimming with most of the summer birds and insects that have entertained me since May. It's a daily reminder of the full imprint nature has on our lives and one that we too often forget. I think a  closer association with our natural world would be both healthy and wise. In this age of simultaneous isolation and mass information I know I'm not alone. I think the sentiment may revive some aspects of the environmental movement.

The origin of a movement to return to nature likely began in the minds of the early anarchists - the Romantics - who saw the evils of the "dark Satanic mills" of England crushing their guilds along with their independence. About the same time zealots in the French Revolution sought to weave nature into their new cultural overlay and remove influences of the feudal monarchy. But even a bloody revolution left us a fascinating remnant of early environmentalism in the form of the French Republican Calendar. It may have been idealistic - it only survived a dozen years - but it was a beautiful reminder that we do live in nature.

According to that calendar we are about to end the month of Vendemiare, the grape harvester. 

And here are the thirty days of Vendemiare:

Raisin (Grape)

Safran (Saffron)

Chataignes (Chestnut)

Colchique (Autumn Crocus)

Cheval (Horse)

Balsamine (Yellow Balsam)

Carrotes (Carrots)

Amaranthe (Amaranth)

Panais (Parsnip)

Cuve (Tub)

Pommes de terre (Potatoes)

Immortelle (Strawflower)

Potiron (Giant Pumpkin)

Reseda (Mignonette)

Ane (Donkey)

Belle de nuit (Marvel of Peru)

Citroville (Summer Pumpkin)

Sarrazin (Buckwheat)

Touresol (Sunflower)

Pressoir (Wine-Press)

Chanvre (Hemp)

Peches (Peaches)

Navets (Turnip)

Amarillis (Amaryllis)

Boeuf (Cattle)

Aubegine (Eggplant)

Piment (Chile Pepper)

Tomate (Tomato)

Orge (Barley)

Tonneau (Barrel)

Start with the grape. End with the barrel. I think Vendemiaire provides us a comforting association with a different time and place, a pre-industrial existence where we can easily recognize ourselves as part of nature and not separate from it. And having no interest in returning to the "good old days" - they weren't that good - I would seek compromise with the modern world as we know it. Not easy but that's as it should be.

Today I celebrate the season to be close to the earth and its harvest that sustains us through the cold and dark months to come. It's getting late now. The temperature is already falling through the seventies and darkness will soon overtake my deep ink blue sky. No worries. They'll be a beautiful waning gibbous moon on the horizon an hour before midnight and bedtime. What a stunning day. I am left to sink into a welcomed rest, cradled by the music of Eric Whitacre and lyrics from the pen of Charles Silvestri.

Sleep


The evening hangs beneath the moon 

A silver thread on darkened dune
With closing eyes and resting head
I know that sleep is coming soon

Upon my pillow safe in bed
A thousand pictures fill my head
I cannot sleep my minds aflight
And yet my limbs seem made of lead.

If there are noises in the night
A frightening shadow, fleeting light
Then I surrender unto sleep.

Where clouds of dreams give second sight
What dreams may come both dark and deep
Of flying wings and soaring leap

As I surrender unto sleep
As I surrender unto sleep

Sources:

Illustration: Wikipedia entry: Vendemiaire, author unknown, National Library and Bureau of Measures, Paris


Text:

Fondation Napoleon, www.napoleon.org

Katherine Anne Porter: American Spirit Unbound

 

Katherine Anne Porter, an American writer, journalist and activist, was born on this day in 1890 in the west-central Texas town of Indian Creek. She led an often troubled yet exciting and eccentric life. By the age of forty she was an acclaimed and widely read author but it took another thirty years and the publication of her novel, Ship of Fools (1962), before she found financial security in her craft.

She moved to Washington, D.C., in 1959 to finish the novel and while there developed an association with the University of Maryland in nearby College Park. In 1966 her great success with the novel as well as her receipt of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her Collected Stories published in 1965 moved the university to award Porter an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. At the same time she announced her desire to donate a lifetime of treasured personal possessions and papers to the school to be housed in the Katherine Anne Porter Room, at that time located in McKeldin Library. Porter eventually moved the few miles from her Washington home to College Park where she could be even closer to her collection and the university's resources.

Readers interested in Porter as a writer will enjoy this 1963 Paris Review interview conducted as part of their Art of Fiction series. For a sketch illustrating her literary journeys go here.

On a personal note: Back in 1968 I spent about two weeks doing research in special collections on the top floor of McKeldin Library at Maryland. At the elevator and in the hallways I kept meeting this small, friendly, elderly, white-haired woman with a jovial smile that invited conversation. She seemed far too helpful to be a typical university librarian. Years later I read how much Porter loved the academic setting and interacting with students, learning about them, their studies, and their plans for the future. She was, in fact, a near constant visitor to her room on the library's fifth floor. It wasn't long before the realization hit that my "little old librarian" was none other than Katherine Anne Porter. With the knowledge gained over the last fifty years I'd love to have those two weeks back to explore the few degrees of separation she brought me among Mexican Leftists of the 1920's, film making, fractal theory, systems of creative design, and the study of pandemics. This time I'd ask the questions.

Alas, that will never happen but perhaps I could explore this wide-ranging story in a future blog post. Better yet, it is a story best told over pitchers of craft beer enjoyed with some quiet and distant jazz, overstuffed club chairs, and early evening light. Could pure chance give rise to the opportunity for such an exploration among old friends? Porter would be pleased. 







Sources


Photos and Illustrations:
grannyweatherall.wordpress.com

Text:
Title, "Katherine Anne Porter, The Art of Fiction No. 29, Paris Review
Katherine Anne Porter, wikipedia.org

Katherine Ann Porter: A Restless Roving Spirit

Katherine Anne Porter, an American writer, journalist and activist, was born on this day in 1890 in the west-central Texas town of Indian Creek. She led an often troubled yet exciting and eccentric life. By the age of forty she was an acclaimed and widely read author but it took another thirty years and the publication of her novel, Ship of Fools (1962), before she found financial security in her craft. 

She moved to Washington, D.C., in 1959 to finish the novel and while there developed an association with the University of Maryland in nearby College Park. In 1966 her great success with the novel as well as her receipt of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her Collected Stories published in 1965 moved the university to award Porter an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. At the same time she announced her desire to donate a lifetime of treasured personal possessions and papers to the school to be housed in the Katherine Anne Porter Room, at that time located in McKeldin Library. Porter eventually moved the few miles from her Washington home to College Park where she could be even closer to her collection and the university's resources.

Readers interested in Porter as a writer will enjoy this 1963 Paris Reviewinterview conducted as part of their Art of Fiction series.

For a biographical sketch illustrating her place in American literary history go here.

On a personal note: Back in 1968 I spent about two weeks doing research in special collections on the top floor of McKeldin Library at Maryland. At the elevator and in the hallways I kept meeting this small, friendly, elderly, white-haired woman with a jovial smile that invited conversation. She seemed far too helpful to be a typical university librarian. Years later I read how much Porter loved the academic setting and interacting with students, learning about them, their studies, and their plans for the future. She was, in fact, a near constant visitor to her room on the library's fifth floor. It wasn't long before the realization hit that my "little old librarian" was none other than Katherine Anne Porter. Oh to have those two weeks back. This time I'd ask the questions.

There's an interesting back story to my discovery of Porter. It involves the Mexican Leftists of the 1920's, film making, fractal theory, systems of creative design, and the study of pandemics. In other words, it is a story best told over pitchers of craft beer enjoyed with live jazz, overstuffed club chairs, and soft light. Perhaps pure chance will give rise to the opportunity. Porter would like that.

Sources


Photos and Illustrations:
grannyweatherall.wordpress.com

Text:
Title, "Katherine Anne Porter, The Art of Fiction No. 29, Paris Review
Katherine Anne Porter, wikipedia.org