This blog posts on Mondays. This year, 2021, I am dedicating the first Monday of the month to Texas Books, in which I share with you some of the more unusual and interesting books in the Texas Bibliothek, that is, my working library. Listen in any time to the related podcast series.
On my shelf loaded with books on rock art the most beautiful and, I believe, the most important, is The White Shaman Mural, in which artist and archaeologist Carolyn E. Boyd makes the visionary and revolutionary argument, based on many years of research, that the rock art site in the Lower Pecos known as “White Shaman” is no random assemblage but a creation story. It can be considered North America’s oldest “book.”
From the catalog copy from the University of Texas Press:
The prehistoric hunter-gatherers of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Texas and Coahuila, Mexico, created some of the most spectacularly complex, colorful, extensive, and enduring rock art of the ancient world. Perhaps the greatest of these masterpieces is the White Shaman mural, an intricate painting that spans some twenty-six feet in length and thirteen feet in height on the wall of a shallow cave overlooking the Pecos River. In The White Shaman Mural, Carolyn E. Boyd takes us on a journey of discovery as she builds a convincing case that the mural tells a story of the birth of the sun and the beginning of time—making it possibly the oldest pictorial creation narrative in North America.
Unlike previous scholars who have viewed Pecos rock art as random and indecipherable, Boyd demonstrates that the White Shaman mural was intentionally composed as a visual narrative, using a graphic vocabulary of images to communicate multiple levels of meaning and function.
Drawing on twenty-five years of archaeological research and analysis, as well as insights from ethnohistory and art history, Boyd identifies patterns in the imagery that equate, in stunning detail, to the mythologies of Uto-Aztecan-speaking peoples, including the ancient Aztec and the present-day Huichol. This paradigm-shifting identification of core Mesoamerican beliefs in the Pecos rock art reveals that a shared ideological universe was already firmly established among foragers living in the Lower Pecos region as long as four thousand years ago.
A few blurbs:
“The White Shaman Mural not only provides a thorough demonstration of technique, but it also raises provocative issues regarding the history and cosmovision of Native America. Boyd penetrates the cosmological conceptions of the past as she unveils an amazing text painted on a rockshelter wall thousands of years ago in southwest Texas.” — Alfredo López Austin, author of The Myth of Quetzalcoatl and emeritus researcher, UNAM
“This is a milestone in the study of ancient American visual culture. First, it showcases the fruitful results of the scientific studies that the authors conducted, as well as their modes of analysis and analogical interpretation. Second, this work makes a major contribution to the literature on the expansive interaction spheres and fluid boundaries between the US Southwest, Mesoamerica, and south Texas. Finally, it provides a solid model for the interpretation of visual imagery from societies without alphabetic writing and especially for the study of Mesoamerican and Native American art.” — Carolyn Tate, Texas Tech University, author of Reconsidering Olmec Visual Culture: The Unborn, Women, and Creation
For more about the rock art of the Lower Pecos, see my previous post, which includes some images and a video from my visit to White Shaman, Lewis Canyon, Meyers Spring, Curly Tail Panther, and other rock art sites here.
Here is my video from my visit to White Shaman in 2015:
The Lower Pecos Canyonlands Archeological District, is now a National Historic Landmark.
This land has always been sacred. There’s no question about that. For those of us lucky enough to have spent time in this place, it holds an almost magical allure. The decision by Archaic people to record their beliefs in marvelous works of art here suggests that they also felt this place was special.
Scientifically speaking, the archaeological sites in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands contain a superlative, unbroken record of human occupation spanning at least 11,000 years, represented by extensive deposits and pictographs. For nearly a century, archeologists and art historians have recognized the outstanding significance of these sites, their cultural deposits, and their art. Combined, the deposits and the art can yield a far more complete and complex picture of the past. Pecos River style (PRS) pictographs, unique to the region, are abundant, well-preserved, complex, and among the most significant body of pictographic images in North America.
For all these reasons, the Lower Pecos Canyonlands Archeological District has now taken its place next to other National Historic Landmarks that tell the story of America from the earliest inhabitants to our modern history.
What does the designation mean?
A National Historic Landmark designation is national recognition. You might compare it to receiving a recognition award at your job. I doesn’t necessarily “do” anything unless you put it on your resume and take advantage of the recognition as you seek to move ahead in your career. From Shumla’s perspective, designation of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands Archeological District as a National Historic Landmark will help us immensely as we work to raise awareness and funding for the continued preservation and study of these incredible sites.
This blog posts on Mondays. Fifth Mondays, when they happen to arrive, are for the newsletter. Herewith the latest posts covering Texas Books, workshop posts, Q & As, selected other posts and news, plus cyberflanerie.
Ignacio Solares, one of Mexico’s most outstanding literary writers, appears in English translation by Yours Truly in the fabulous new issue #72 of Gargoyle. Edited by poet Richard Peabody, Gargoyle is one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s most enduring and prestigious literary magazines. Check it out! Solares’ short story is entitled “The Orders” (“Las instrucciones”). My thanks to Ignacio Solares for the honor, to Richard Peabody for accepting it and bringing it forth, and to Nita Congress for her eagle-eyed copyediting. (My previous translation of Solares’ work, the short story “Victoriano’s Deliriums,” appeared in The Lampeter Review #11.)
The cover of Gargoyle #72, which includes my translation of a short story by Ignacio Solares, features spoken word poet Salena Godden.
By the way, if you don’t subscribe to Madam Mayo blog but would like to receive my very occasionally emailed newsletter (via Mad Mimi, my email letter service) just send me an email at cmmayo (at) cmmayo.com and I’ll add you to my mailing list.
MARFA MONDAYS PODCASTING PROJECT Ongoing! I’ve let the Marfa Mondays podcast sit for a while as I am working on the (related) book, World Waiting for a Dream: A Turn in Far West Texas. That said, I’m almost…almost… done with podcast #22, which is an unusually wide-ranging interview recorded in Sanderson, a remote town that also happens to be the cactus capital of Texas. Podcasts 1 – 21 are all available to listen for free online here.
COOL STUFF ON MY RADAR ( = CYBERFLANERIE = ) The brilliantly brilliant Edward Tufteis offering his course on video. I took his in-person workshop twice, that’s how big a fan I am. I wish everyone else would take it, too, for then our world could be a little less fruit-loopy.
My amigo the esteemed playwright and literary translator Geoff Hargreaves has a most promising new novel out from Floricanto Press, The Collector and the Blind Girl
Poet Patricia Dubrava shares a beauty on her blog, Holding the Light: “Hearing the Canadas”
Cal Newport on “Beethoven and the Gifts of Silence.” Newport has a new podcast by the way, which is ultra-fabulous. Newport’s new book, A World Without Email, is a zinger of clarity. More about that anon.
Allison Rietta
Allison Rietta, artist, designer, yoga teacher, sound healer, and founder of “Avreya” offers a new series of digital books on contemplative practice that each, I am honored to say, include a writing exercise by Yours Truly. (These writing exercises are from my “Giant Golden Buddha & 364 More Free 5 Minute Writing Exercises” which you can access here.) Rietta’s digital books are so refreshingly lovely, and filled with wise and practical ideas for anyone seeking to improve the quality of their health and creative life. Here’s her introduction:
A series of five Contemplative Practice books based on the elements of nature: air, earth, fire, space and water. Each book is designed specifically to enhance that particular element and offers holistic, contemplative practices that include yoga asanas, pranayama, meditation, creative writing and visual art.
What’s in each book: Warm up and yoga asana-s (postures) Pranayama – a breath technique Meditation practice Creative writing prompt Art journaling prompt Practice pairings – Just as pairing food dishes with wine enhances the dining experience, this book offers pairings designed to complement each element such as, music, crystals, essential oils and mantras.
The books are designed to help yoga practitioners cultivate a personal home practice. The practices offered in these books may be done sequentially or separately.
Visit Allison Rietta here and find her new books here.
My amigo poet, playwright, literary translator and writing reacher Zack Rogow was interviewed by Jeffrey Mishove for New Thinking Allowed on “Surrealism and Spontaneity”: A most informative and charming video.
Anne Elise Urrutia’s Pechakucha on her grandfather Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s “Miraflores”—something very special in San Antonio, Texas history.
“I was actually working on another project when I stumbled across a handful of journals written by women who had come west with their military husbands in the mid to late 1800s. I became fascinated with what these women endured crossing the desert and settling in Army forts ill-prepared to accommodate women. I also wanted to present their stories as they wrote them which means in today’s climate their words are not always politically or socially acceptable, but I felt they needed to tell their stories”—Jan Cleere
Jan Cleere’sMilitary Wives in Arizona Territory tickled my curiosity for two reasons. First, as those of you who follow this blog well know, I am at work on a book about Far West Texas, and its post-Civil War US military conquest is closely connected to that of Arizona. Early on in my researches I came across the writings of Lt. John Bigelow, Jr. on both Texas and Arizona, and—also essential for anyone looking at Far West Texas history— The Colonel’s Lady on the Western Frontier: The Correspondence of Alice Kirk Grierson, edited and introduced by Shirley Anne Leckie. Historians, among them, Cleere— already the celebrated author of several works on women’s history in the West— are doing important work to bring forth these long-neglected women’s letters, diaries and more. I salute Cleere and sincerely hope that her work inspires others. (And by the way, if you have inherited such papers— whether pertaining to the West or any other time and place—please consider finding a home for them in an historical society or library.)
Secondly, I’m always interested—and I assume many of my writerly readers are as well—in how historians, biographers, nonfiction writers of various stripes and writers of historical fiction work with and manage books, articles and digital materials. My own experience I would describe as an ongoing slog up the learning curve, so I’m always game to ask about that and learn what I can from other writers.
From the copy catalog for Military Wives in Arizona Territory:
When the US Army ordered troops into Arizona Territory in the nineteenth century to protect and defend newly established settlements, military men often brought their wives and families, particularly officers who might be stationed in the west for years. Most of the women were from refined, eastern-bred families with little knowledge of the territory. Their letters, diaries, and journals from their years on army posts reveal untold hardships and challenges. They learned to cope with the sparseness, the heat, sickness, and danger, including wildlife they never imagined. These women were bold, brave, and compassionate. They became an integral part of military posts that peppered the West and played an important role in civilizing the untamed frontier. Combining their words with original research and tracing their movements from post to post, this collection of historical narratives explores the tragedies and triumphs that early military wives experienced.
Jan Cleere, author of Military Wives in Arizona Territory, and many other histories of women in the West
C.M. MAYO:What inspired you to write Military Wives in Arizona Territory?
JAN CLEERE: I was actually working on another project when I stumbled across a handful of journals written by women who had come west with their military husbands in the mid to late 1800s. I became fascinated with what these women endured crossing the desert and settling in Army forts ill-prepared to accommodate women. I also wanted to present their stories as they wrote them which means in today’s climate their words are not always politically or socially acceptable, but I felt they needed to tell their stories with little interference from me.
C.M. MAYO:As you were writing, did you have in mind an ideal reader?
JAN CLEERE: Not specifically an ideal reader but one who enjoyed reading women’s history and who had an interest in how women coped during the early days of western development and expansion.
C.M. MAYO:Of the military wives, is there one who especially impressed you, surprised you, and/or frustrated you in some ways?
JAN CLEERE: A couple women stood out for different reasons.
One woman was so determined to accompany her husband into the territory that she defied her husband, sold all their belongings to pay passage for her and her infant son and joined him on the long march across the desert from California to Arizona’s Fort McDowell.
Another woman, fearing for her children’s lives during an Indian uprising at Fort Apache, lined her children up against the fireplaces in her home, hoping the resilient breastwork would protect them from flying bullets.
I was impressed with how these women reacted quickly to whatever the situation demanded.
C.M. MAYO:Which writers have been the most important influences for you?
JAN CLEERE: Because my books concentrate mainly on early Arizona, Tom Sheridan and C.L. Sonnichsen’s books are a mainstay in my library. I also find myself picking up old Arizona history books such as Thomas Farish’s 1915 History of Arizona and James McClintock’s 1916 3 volume set Arizona.
C.M. MAYO:Which writers are you reading now?
JAN CLEERE: Since my books require my delving into so much history, I like to read fiction for pleasure although the books that have stood out for me are historical. Jim Fergus’ 1000 White Women and The Wild Girl stand out as exceptional novels. But right now I am reading Pat Conroy’s memoir The Water is Wide.
C.M. MAYO:Researching a book like this requires extraordinary organizational skills. Can you talk a little bit about your working library and how you keep track of the books you read / consulted for Military Wives?
JAN CLEERE: I am certainly not an organized researcher or writer. I dedicate an area on my bookshelf for the books I use for a particular project and am scrupulous about documenting my sources but I have no strict method of organizing my materials. I am trying out the References feature in Word now to see if that will help me in future projects to maintain a record my sources.
C.M. MAYO:How do you keep track of articles, both on-line and on paper?
JAN CLEERE: I started this book before the pandemic and completed it during the crisis. Online research became more important than ever. I gave each women considered for the book an online as well as physical file. Research notes on each woman were cataloged under her name. General information about the military forts and how women were treated and perceived at the time was kept in separate files.
I utilize both digital and paper records for my research and am sometimes redundant with what I collect. One tool that I find very useful is a timeline detailing the life of each person I am researching as well as a timeline of historic events that occurred during her lifetime.
C.M. MAYO:Any other tips to share / hard-earned lessons in organizing one’s research?
JAN CLEERE: I am always looking for a better way to organize my research and am open to any suggestions. I have tried several types of software but have not yet found one that answers all of my needs. One thing I will emphasize is to back up your work constantly. In the past, I have lost valuable material and learned my lesson. I have both a physical backup on my computer as well as using the iCloud for storage. Redundancy can be a saving tool.
C.M. MAYO:How has the Digital Revolution affected your writing? Specifically, has it become more challenging to stay focused with the siren calls of email, texting, blogs, online newspapers and magazines, social media, and such? If so, do you have some tips and tricks you might be able to share?
JAN CLEERE: While digital sources have made a writer’s job more efficient when it comes to finding pertinent sources, it has also taken away that spontaneous delight of uncovering a long lost letter or hidden journal that has not yet been digitized.
I try to focus on the business of writing separate from the hours I spend actually writing. Not always possible but I have found by trying to compartmentalize the creative from the business end of writing, I am more productive. The trick is to balance these activities so that by the end of the day, you feel you have put out all the fires as well as progressed with your writing.
C.M. MAYO:For those looking to publish, what would be your most hard-earned piece of advice?
JAN CLEERE: Do your research before querying publishers and agents. You will save so much time if you know whether the publisher or agent you are querying accepts the type of book you are writing. There are several good websites that list publishers and/or agents and describe what they are looking for.
C.M. MAYO:What’s next for you as a writer?
JAN CLEERE: I am researching the lives of women who ran boardinghouses in the early west and have run across some remarkable stories of why and how these women started taking in boarders, how the business changed their lives and those of their children. The majority of the book will be about respectable landladies but I have also run across a handful of women who operated bordellos and might include some of them.
Excerpt from Military Wives in Arizona Territory by Jan Cleere:
Ellen Biddle and Martha Summerhayes had already lived on a variety of military posts before meeting each other in Ehrenberg, Arizona, where Ellen experienced an incident that would stay with her long after she and Martha parted.
On her way to Fort Whipple in 1876, Ellen traveled up the Colorado River from Fort Yuma toward Ehrenberg with her husband and young daughter aboard a small steamer called “The Cocopah.”
“We reached Ehrenberg just before sundown four days after leaving Fort Yuma,” she wrote in her journal. “It was only a depot for supplies that were shipped to the forts in all parts of the Territory; and here, entirely isolated from the world, lived Lieutenant and Mrs. Jack [Martha] Summerhays [sic]. . . . They were very glad to see us and gave us the warmest welcome, though we had never before met.
“We had a very good dinner, notwithstanding it was so far out of the world, for most army women learned to cook and make the best of everything that came within reach. I was somewhat surprised when a very tall, thin Indian came in the dining-room to serve the dinner, which he did quite well.
“There was much to talk about before I thought of putting my little one to bed, and I asked Mrs. Summerhays if I might have a tub of warm water to give Nelly a bath.
“In a little while she told me it was ready in my room (which I soon learned was her own she had given up to me). We said good-night, and going to the room I undressed the child and gave her a refreshing bath, the first that she had had since leaving San Francisco. She soon fell asleep and after I had straightened the room a bit, I decided I would get in the tub. I had just sat down in the water when my room door was silently opened and in walked the tall Indian carrying a tray filled with silver before him. I scarcely breathed so great was my fright. He walked over to the table, put the tray down, and as silently walked out, looking neither to the right or the left. It is useless for me to attempt to describe what I felt, it would convey nothing.”
Martha was not as distressed with half-naked Natives as was Ellen. She described her servant Charley who interrupted Ellen’s bath as appealing “to my aesthetic sense in every way. Tall and well made, with clean-cut limbs and features, fine smooth copper-colored skin, handsome face and features, heavy black hair done up in pompadour fashion . . . wide turquoise bead bracelets upon his upper arm, and a knife at his waist—this was my Charley.”
Ignacio Solares, one of Mexico’s most outstanding literary writers, appears in English translation by Yours Truly in the fabulous new issue #72 of Gargoyle. Edited by poet Richard Peabody, Gargoyle is one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s most enduring and prestigious literary magazines. Check it out!
The cover of Gargoyle #72, which includes my translation of a short story by Ignacio Solares, features spoken word poet Salena Godden.
Solares’ short story is entitled “The Orders” (“Las instrucciones”). My thanks to Ignacio Solares for the honor, to Richard Peabody for accepting it and bringing it forth, and to Nita Congress for her eagle-eyed copyediting.
My previous translation of Solares’ work, the short story “Victoriano’s Deliriums,” appeared in The Lampeter Review #11.
This is a list, not of any so-called cannon of the genre, but of the books that have been my teachers as I learned to write literary travel memoir. It also includes those I have read relatively recently and greatly admire. The ones that are starred are those that I have read and reread time and again; each, in its own way, has been vitally helpful to me, whether for shorter pieces such as A Visit to Swan House; longer ones such as From Mexico to Miramar or, Across the Lake of Oblivion, or my books, among them, Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California the Other Mexico. I aim to read many more literary travel memoirs, learn much more about the craft, and write more essays and books (indeed my book in-progress is a travel memoir of Far West Texas), hence I consider this an embryonic list.
If you, dear writerly reader, are writing literary travel memoir or anything in the realm of “creative nonfiction,” I would encourage you to read the books on this list; may you enjoy and learn from them as I did.
At the same time, I would encourage you, if you have not already, to make your own listof works that you have already read and— never mind what anyone else thinks— that you admired and loved. Then ask yourself: What do these works you so love and admire have in common? How do they handle descriptions of nature, or animals, of crowd scenes? Transitions? Dialogue? Sandwiching in the exposition? Narrative structure? Throw whatever writerly questions you can think of at these, your True Faves, and I’ll betcha bucks to buttons, they will teach you something valuable.
A final note: “Literary travel writing” can be defined in myriad ways. How far does one have to travel to consider it travel writing? The Pushkar camel fair would be fab, but I say, your own backyard will do. The idea is to see with new eyes and an open heart, then tell a good story.
—. A Desert Harvest This splendid anthology collects selected essays from Bruce Berger’s masterwork of a desert trilogy, The Telling Distance, Almost an Island, and There Was a River. P.S. Read my Q & A with Bruce Berger apropos of the publication of this collection here.
This blog posts on Mondays. This year, 2021, I am dedicating the first Monday of the month to Texas Books, in which I share with you some of the more unusual and interesting books in the Texas Bibliothek, that is, my working library. Listen in any time to the related podcast series.
Texas history aficionados, welcome and bienvenido! I invite you to check out these three fascinating—and free—digitalized rare books:
Sherman, William T. The Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. D. Appleton and Co., 1886 One of the greatest memoirs of the 19th century. Some mighty strange stories in here.
If this finds you, dear writerly reader, working on a biography, history, or historical fiction, whether Texas-related or not, the rest of this post is also for you. Normally I post for my writing workshop the second Monday of each month, but on occasion I make an exception. (In any event, look for the regular workshop post next Monday.)
Hot Diggety Digital!
Is it practical to go all digital with your working library? Probably not. But partially, yes. It depends on your project and your daily capacity for screentime & scrollin’. As I continue with my book in-progress on Far West Texas which, of all my several books to-date, has required the largest working library, this finds me still a-huffin’ & a-puffin’ up the learning curve for utilizing and managing my working library. But I can say that I’ve achieved some oxygen-tank-worthy altitude! Three things about working with working libraries that I learned the “ouch” way:
(A) buy the book whenever possible (else I may not get my hands on it again);
(B) make space, more space than you will ever think you could possibly need for the working library because… you will need it; and
I cannot say it too often, a book I cannot find is a book I might as well not own.
A BOOK I CANNOT FIND IS A BOOK I MIGHT AS WELL NOT OWN
Kindles?
Only when I don’t have another option. For this particular book project, I have not found Kindles of much use. In my experience, for the most part, where there is a Kindle, there is also a paperback and I ever and always prefer the paperback.
What About Using (Um, Actually Going to) a Library or Three?
Yes, of course, I have used both public and research libraries. That would be another blog post (such as this one). That said, for independent scholars with limited travel options, relying on libraries is not ever and always nor even usually the best option when it comes to consulting a given book. Let me put it this way: I don’t cook spaghetti one noodle at a time, either.
Rare Books Out of Reach?
But what about when a needed book is impossible to find and/or too expensive to buy? A fine copy of certain classic 19th works can go for hundreds, even (I’m talking about you, Josiah Gregg) thousands of dollars. Happily, many such classics are now in the public domain, that is to say, they are out of copyright and some publisher somewhere has brought out an affordable paperback edition. My working library has many such paperbacks purchased for a few bucks each from my go-to online booksellers. I’ve also purchased used and ex-library books of later editions, many of which books, not being in such good shape, are generally inexpensive (sometimes the book is cheaper than the shipping), these mainly from www.abebooks.com. And finally, on a few special occasions, I have shelled out a pile of clams for a rare book (see my posts on rare books here and here, for example). For rare books, stay away from amazon and ebay because many used book sellers on those platforms do not know how to properly describe a rare book (you’ll think you’re getting the elephant, but what shows up is a three-legged alpaca). It is best to buy from a member-in-good-standing of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, or similar association, for those dealers based in other countries.
Free!
Fortunately for this writer’s pocketbook, many out-of-copyright oldies are now available in ***free*** digital editions on the nonprofit Internet Archive archive.org and/or the Gutenberg Project gutenberg.org. Lo and behold, many of the books I need in my working library fall into this category.
For example, the English translation of the French Abbé Emmanuel Domenech’s memoirMissionary Adventures in Texas and Mexico was one I had been looking for several years (it was relevant to an earlier book of mine, as well.) When a copy finally popped up, alas, its price was well out of my budget. But I can now access Domenech’s memoir for my working purposes, thanks to the free online edition.
And Searchable!
Yep, digital books are also searchable and that can come in handy.
Behold: The Digital Döppelgänger
So, after some time working on this Far West Texas book, I have accumulated what I think of as the digital Doppelgänger to my physical working library, the Texas Bibliothek.
As I noted in a previous post about how I organize my (physical) working library, I shelve the physical books under categories that work for me— categories that may not necessarily make sense to anyone else. I also include books which inclusion may not make sense to anyone else. And that is OK: Anyone Else is not the name of the person writing my book. Nor is Anyone Else writing your book, I would imagine…
And what about when, as is oftentimes the case, a book falls into two or more categories? Well, la de diddly da, I just pick one category, and go with that. My working library may be large, but I don’t need to put on rollerskates to go in there.
How to keep an online working library organized for one’s writerly purposes?
For the online library originally I kept a list, by author in alphabetical order, on a blogger blog (treating it as basically a free, oft-updated webpage). But I have since moved to a system that works much better for me: I categorize the links to the online books in the same way as I do my physical working library, using a photo for quick reference, on a private page of my very own self-hosted WordPress blog, Madam Mayo.
Herewith, one example of the approximately 30 categories in my online working library (that is to say, a photo of the physical working library ‘s label and shelf + any online titles):
“My interest in the 20th century history of Iceland led me to write. I wanted to show how Iceland struggled for independence from Denmark, how isolated Iceland was from the rest of the world until May 10, 1940 when Churchill’s occupation force arrived, and how Iceland’s independence hung in the balance during World War II.”—Solveig Eggerz
One of my very favorite writers is Solveig Eggerz. Waaaay back in 2011 I interviewed her about her novel The Seal Woman for my Conversations with Other Writers occasional podcast series (listen in to that interview anytime here.) Although she has been living in the Washington DC area for many years, Solveig Eggerz is from Iceland, so of course she speaks Icelandic and she writes about Iceland in a knowing way. Her work is so fresh, like a sea breeze and it will carry you right to the shores of that far, fantastic isle. Her novel Sigga of Reykjavik is recently out in a new edition from Bacon Press Books, apropos of which she agreed to answer some questions. But first, here is the catalog copy for Sigga of Reykjakik:
Meet Sigga, a spirited young woman who flees the abusive conditions on an Icelandic farm, only to face grinding poverty in Depression-era Reykjavik. Her struggle for independence runs parallel to Iceland’s quest for freedom from Danish dominance. Born a century before the Me-Too movement, Sigga supports her family, working among men who learn never to touch her without her permission. Adventurous, optimistic, and always practical, Sigga is thrilled when World War II brings Iceland out of centuries of isolation. Thousands of Allied forces occupy the country, bringing money and work. But moral dilemmas abound as Sigga seeks to financially exploit the occupation while at the same time protecting her young and beautiful red-headed daughter from soldiers.
C.M. MAYO: In brief, what inspired you to write Sigga of Reykjavik?
SOLVEIG EGGERZ: My interest in the 20th century history of Iceland led me to write. I wanted to show how Iceland struggled for independence from Denmark, how isolated Iceland was from the rest of the world until May 10, 1940 when Churchill’s occupation force arrived, and how Iceland’s independence hung in the balance during World War II.
C.M. MAYO:As you were writing, did you have in mind an ideal reader?
SOLVEIG EGGERZ: My ideal reader would be excited about little known history and charmed by quirky characters.
C.M. MAYO:Now that it has been published, can you describe the ideal reader for this book as you see him or her now?
SOLVEIG EGGERZ: An ideal reader loves my protagonist despite her flaws and sees the logic in gaining one’s personal independence through sewing corsets.
C.M. MAYO:Can you share any surprises for you about your book’s reception? (Andf has it been different in different countries?)
SOLVEIG EGGERZ: I have been surprised when readers do not discern Sigga’s anger as a cloak for the intense love she felt for those closest to her.
C.M. MAYO:Which writers have been the most important influences for you?
SOLVEIG EGGERZ: The writers that set me free from the ordinary are Annie Proulx (The Shipping News) and the Icelandic writer, Halldor Kiljan Laxness (Independent People).
C.M. MAYO:Which writers are you reading now?
SOLVEIG EGGERZ:I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, even better on second reading; Survival on the Edge: Seawomen of Iceland by anthropologist, Margaret Willson; and a trilogy about a brave and wise woman of the Viking era, Auður Djúpúðga by Vilborg Davíðsdóttir
C.M. MAYO:How has the Digital Revolution affected your writing? Specifically, has it become more challenging to stay focused with the siren calls of email, texting, blogs, online newspapers and magazines, social media, and such? If so, do you have some tips and tricks you might be able to share?
SOLVEIG EGGERZ: Actually I love writing on the computer. I am not one to long for life in a cabin on a mountaintop where I write on a yellow pad free of technology. I don’t like to be surprised by “emergencies” days after they occur. I resolve the issue of disturbances by keeping my phone next to me, so I can glance at a message without shutting down my story. Maybe I am exaggerating my equanimity!
C.M. MAYO:For those looking to publish, what would be your most hard-earned piece of advice?
SOLVEIG EGGERZ: Don’t waste years seeking an agent, a large publisher, a small publisher, or anything. Instead invest time and money in getting your work read and vetted 1) by your favorite writers group and 2) by an excellent developmental editor or mentor. Once you feel confident that you’ve written a good book, do what feels right regarding publishing.
C.M. MAYO:What’s next for you as a writer?
SOLVEIG EGGERZ: I’m returning to my toughest task, assigning coherence to my collection of personal stories, so that I might honestly call them a memoir.
*
Visit Solveig Eggerz and learn more about her novels at solveigeggerz.com
Back in 2014 my book on the leader of Mexico’s 1910 Revolution, Francisco I. Madero, came out and, shortly thereafter, its Spanish translation was formally presented at the Centro de Estudios de Historia de México (CEHM) in Mexico City. I am very honored that the CEHM has asked me back to give a lecture (in Spanish) on the topic of Madero and Spiritism this March 10th at 12 PM Mexico City time(that would be the same as 12 PM USA Central Time). In these times of the pandemic it will be virtual, via the Mexican equivalent of Zoom. Of note, the CEHM has in its archives Francisco I. Madero’s personal library, which has many rare esoteric texts, some of which I will be discussing in my talk. If this piques your interest, zap me an email and I should be able to get you the link for the virtual event.
This video (below) gives a flavor of some of what I will be discussing.
My book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution is my book-length essay of creative nonfiction about my translation, plus my translation— the first—of Madero’s secret book, the 1911 Manual espírita, or Spiritist Manual. Metaphysical Odysseyinto the Mexican Revolution is also available in Spanish translation (an excellent one by a writer I much admire, Agustín Cadena) as Odisea metafísica hacia la Revolución Mexicana, together with a complete transcript of Madero’s 1911 Manual espírita.
This finds me still working on the podcast about Sanderson, Texas, that podcast series, “Marfa Mondays,” being apropos of my book in-progress on Far West Texas. During the Mexican Revolution some crucial battles and incidents took place on the US-Mexico border, so the ever-charismatic and unusual Don Francisco will make an appearance in this book as well.
P.S. Next Monday’s post will be the fourth-Monday-of-the-month Q & A with another writer.
Last month I posted my list of recommended books on the craft of creative writing. This month, herewith, my list of recommended books on the creative process. May they prove as useful and inspiring for you as they have been for me.
By the way, many of these books are not about creative writing per se. As writers we can learn not only from other writers, but from painters, filmmakers, musicians, athletes, computer science professors— in sum, anyone who sets out to do, and keep on doing, extraordinary things when the world, alas, does not always respond in a timely nor generous manner.
Benke, Karen, Rip the Page! Adventures in Creative Writing For creative children— of all ages. Read her guest-blog post for “Madam Mayo” here. (Link goes to old blogger platform, will be corrected shortly.) Cameron, Julia, The Artist’s Way New Agey (and so not for everyone) but also highly practical. Her concept of the “artist date” I have found brilliantly effective.
This blog posts on Mondays. This year, 2021, I am dedicating the first Monday of the month to Texas Books, in which I share with you some of the more unusual and interesting books in the Texas Bibliothek, that is, my working library. Listen in any time to the related podcast series.
Writes Craig Childs in his masterful The Secret Knowledge of Water, “There are two easy ways to die in the desert: thirst and drowning.” It does indeed rain in the desert, not often of course, but when it does, with so little vegetation to catch it, water can rage through canyons with killing power. In Far West Texas a standout tragedy of the 20th century was the June 11, 1965 flash flood that killed 26 people and devastated the little railroad town of Sanderson.
But this post isn’t about the Sanderson flood, rather, the matter of books in a writer’s working library. Back when I was writing Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico, my first book of creative nonfiction, I learned the painful way to never, as in, never ever, let pass the chance to snap up a book of local history. These histories, which often offer the richest of detail, unique voices, and personal memories, are vital reading for such a work as mine—as those of you who follow this blog well know, I’m now working on a book about Far West Texas.
Oftentimes local histories are self-published, and in the days before amazon and print-on-demand, only available locally and in limited numbers. Try to find such a book later, and chances are… you won’t. So when I wandered into the Sanderson Visitors Center and saw them, I snapped up Tales of the Flood, a collection of oral histories by C.W. (Bill) Smith, along with Russell Ashton Scogin’s history, The Sanderson Flood of 1965: Crisis in a Rural Texas Community (Sul Ross State University, 1995), and Terrell County, Texas: Its Past Its People (Rangel Printing, Fourth Printing, 2008).
Sanderson is the seat of Terrell County, a county best known for its hunting ranches with fabulous vistas, its cactus, and sheep ranching. One of the more remote towns in Texas, from El Paso Sanderson lies a 4 and a half hours drive east, and from Austin a 5 and a half hours drive west. If you live anywhere in the county outside of Sanderson, you’ll want a rifle. It’s infested with rattlesnakes.
Here’s my map of Far West Texas (that is, Texas west of the Pecos River), showing Sanderson just above the US-Mexico border between Langtry and the Big Bend National Park.
In the Sanderson Visitors Center C.W. (Bill) Smith granted me a fascinating and wide-ranging interview on Sanderson’s history–which of course included much discussion of the 1965 flood. The podcast of this interview has been a long while in production, but I’ll be posting it shortly. (You can listen in to the other 21 podcasts apropos of this book posted to date here.)
From C.W. (Bill) Smith’s Tales of the Flood, from “Genaro’s Story”:
Sometimes a moment of mirth turns to disaster in seconds. Genaro Valles and his wife of Del Rio were just in town visiting. They had found an older wooden house near the Dairy King to stay in while there and spent a restless night from the pounding rain and the roar of the nearby creek. Early that morning Genaro awoke to the sound of water running. He teased his wife for letting the water run in the old toilet. But as he turned over to return to sleep his hand dropped by the side of the bed and fell into cold water…
If memory serves me, I found Joe Brown’s Faded Rimrock Memories in one of the Big Bend National Park ranger station bookstores. A Sanderson, Texas native, Brown grew up “all over West Texas, doing whatever to survive.” His ranch stories and cowboy poetry are lively examples of the genre, and his rattlesnake stories alone are worth the price of the book.
From Faded Rimrock Memories by Joe Brown:
A Texans Version of Jesus Birthplace
Jesus was born in Texas, this I know, Listen and tell me this is not so. His mother rode into town on an ass, His father walked, they had no cash
(end of excerpt)
As for the Terrell County book, a hardcover that clocks in at over 700 pages, that was a bit pricier, and dicier to pack into my luggage. But I’m glad I did, for it is a superb reference on the region, with innumerable family and business histories, and it includes local newspaper clippings from the 1965 flood—and earlier and also devastating floods.
So what is the Texas Bibliothek? That’s what I call my working library for my book-in-progress, tentatively titled World Waiting for a Dream: A Turn in Far West Texas. Texans are rather more prolific on the literary front than bajacalifornianos, so keeping the Texas Bibliothek in order has been, shall we say, a learning experience. But my bookmark organizing method, which I blogged about here, is keeping me away from the Advil.
Next month for my first-of-the-month post on Texas books I’ll be blogging about using archive.org and assembling an online library for out-of-copyright books, that is, books that are now in the public domain. Reading a book online is never the ideal option, but oftentimes necessary.
