Mid-Shore Life

The Eastern Shore Writers’ Association recently announced the winners of the 2010 Bay to Ocean Writing Contest at the Bay to Ocean Writers Conference held February 20, 2010 at Chesapeake College.  The contest, sponsored by the Eastern Shore Writers’ Association, honored first-rate writing in three categories--short fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry. There were 124 submissions. The contest was open to all writers, regardless of their location or genre.   The three first-place winners received $100 cash awards and free admission to the 13th annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference. 

The winning prose and poetry will be published in a special section of the 2010 issue of The Delmarva Review, as an exceptional event, based on the recommendations of the three judges.  The winners of this year’s contest were:  Poetry – Amanda Newell of Henderson, MD, for her poem, "Stillborn;"  Creative Nonfiction – Marjorie Weber of Lewes, DE, for "Amy’s Shoes;" and Short Fiction - Douglas C. Jackson of Roanoke, VA, for "Loblollies."

"We were delighted with the number of fine entries submitted this year and pleased to have them reviewed by such outstanding judges," said Wilson Wyatt, coordinator of the Bay to Ocean Writers Conference.

Women of the Chesapeake star in Terry L. White’s Historical Fiction.

CAMBRIDGE –Terry L. White’s Chesapeake Heritage Series is fiction, but the four-book set based on the history of the Eastern Shore from colonization until the end of the Civil War seems totally real. Each of the four novels in the series stands alone, and each features strong women who live on the plantation known as Baron’s Hope.

In Chesapeake Harvest, Mary Charles arrives in the New World as an indentured servant freed from a London jail. Life in the colony means unceasing work under difficult conditions. Death and disease stalk the colony, and it is not long until Mary ends up wed to the man who purchased her indenture. While she does not love William Baron, Mary understands that his goodwill is essential to her survival. Eventually, Mary finds true love and establishes a family who carry her legacy of courage into the coming centuries.

Terry L. White's sweeping tale, Chesapake Harvest, brings us the touching story of Mary Charles. White relates the tragedies and triumphs of Mary's life with heart and authority, but without sentimentality At the same time she illuminates indentured servitude, a harsh and often overlooked institution endured by many of our ancestors. In this page-turner of an historical novel, Mary personifies all the women who nurtured a new way of life in a rugged New World and helped their men establish our country. A. M. Foley Having My Say: Conversations With Chesapake Waterman Wylie "Gator" Abbott and Elliott's Island: The Land That Time Forgot

By Dwayne Eutsey

With all the snow we’ve had to dig out from lately, it’s easy to forget that February is Black History Month. http://www.history.com/content/blackhistory

This observance originally began as Negro History Week in 1926 when historian Carter G. Woodson, the largely self-educated son of former slaves who went on to receive a PhD from Harvard, wanted to establish a time for remembering and celebrating the significant contributions African Americans have made to our national history.

Woodson initially set this observance during the second week in February because two major figures in African American history were born during that week: Frederick Douglass, the former slave and outspoken abolitionist who escaped from Talbot County, was born on February 14; Abraham Lincoln, the president who signed the Emancipation Proclamation ending chattel slavery in the United States, was born February 12.

The week became a month-long observance in 1976 and is also known as African American Heritage Month. In addition to Frederick Douglass, the Eastern Shore has made a few other noteworthy contributions to that heritage.

There is Harriet Tubman, of course. Growing up in Dorchester County back in the ‘70s, I remember learning a lot about how she bravely helped hundreds of slaves escape from the Shore through the Underground Railroad. http://www.midshorelife.com/content/harriet-tubman%E2%80%99s-legacy-lives

However, one piece of history I didn’t learn much about when I was school kid on the Shore was the important role Cambridge played in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Maybe that history was too recent and too raw for teachers to make sense of and to teach at the time, but I don’t remember learning anything about it in school. I did overhear, occasionally, vague references adults made about that time, and I even remember when I was almost 4 years old that my grandfather made me scrunch down in the backseat of his car as he drove me and my mom through a riot-torn section of Cambridge.

Anthropologist Gail Benjamin to Speak at St. Michaels Library

On Monday, March 1st, at noon, in the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library, Gail Benjamin, an anthropologist who has done research in Japan on sociolinguistics and education will speak about “Lessons at Lunch”, a study of the cultural messages conveyed by the lunchtime rituals in Japanese kindergartens and elementary schools. She has taught in Japan, Israel and the United States. Her book, Japanese Lessons (NYU Press, 1997) is based in part on her observations as a mother of elementary school students in Japan as well as her own children’s experiences in a Japanese school. Patrons are invited to bring their lunch and enjoy coffee and sweets provided by the library. All library programs are free and open to the public.  Patrons do not need to pre-register for this program.  For more information, call the library at 410-745-5877, or visit www.tcfl.org

by Cyndi Paxton Johnson

I am ALWAYS striving to be more organized and efficient. (and yes, I hear Yoda's voice: Do or do not... there is no try !) And, as a self-proclaimed bibliophile (aka: book slut) I read a lot about ways to organize - starting with decluttering. The books say pretty much the same thing: pare down, find a home for everything, put everything away. (and yes - it IS the same thing my mother always told me)

This week I'm reading The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to a Mindful Year by Jennifer Louden. This one's different, folks. There's no files and plastic boxes and printed labels. Rather, it's about getting in tune with your heart, your dreams, your passion - and listening to yourself and your body about what the next step should be. Since it's meant to be experienced over a year - I have no idea if it actually works (though the reviews were fantastic!). Still, I do feel more centered - and even more patient about interruptions. I feel like something's changing - hopefully for the better.

Unfortunately, I haven't been as compulsive about making my "to-do" lists. I wonder if Allstate will understand I was listening to my heart and not sweating the small stuff???

I think there's a middle road here somewhere.....lost in the fog.  I'm open to advice - and will let you know what I eventually figure out!

In the meantime...where's that Allstate bill?

By Dwayne Eutsey

Someone I admired very much, activist historian Howard Zinn, died recently at age 87.

You may know Zinn from a book he wrote in 1980 called A People’s History of the United States. With over 1 million copies sold since its publication, this landmark (and controversial) volume retells American history from the point of view of “common people” often not included in our official historical narrative—Native Americans, slaves, workers, the poor, women, pacifists, anarchists, unionizers.

Last month, the History Channel broadcast “The People Speak”, a documentary co-produced, incidentally, by Easton native Chris Moore and his friend, actor Matt Damon. With Zinn narrating, the film featured the likes of Morgan Freeman, Marisa Tormei, and Bruce Springsteen reading and singing words from the original letters, songs, diaries, and speeches that Zinn used to write A People’s History and other works. (http://www.history.com/content/people-speak)

Coming from a working-class background myself, I am forever in debt to Zinn for showing me how this often marginalized group is actually an integral strand among many other strands that together make up our national history. His inclusive view of American identity is true to our country’s unofficial motto, E pluribus unum: “Out of many, one.”

The Kiss of Night Inspired by “American Heart Month”   

01 February 2010 — Cambridge Books has just released The Kiss of Night, a novella by K. S. Brooks, just in time for “American Heart Month.”  The Kiss of Night is currently in e-book form on WriteWordsInc.com, and will also soon be available in print and through other online venues, including Amazon.com. 

In The Kiss of Night, Special Agent Kathrin Night, the well-received anti-terrorist agent introduced in Lust for Danger, is forced into early retirement after a debilitating injury.  Agent Night fights the demons of her past, present and future while dealing with her new mysterious bodyguard, Agent Aleksey Khovechkin.  Sent compliments of the Russian Minister of Defense, refusing Khovechkin’s services is not an option.  But is his true mission to protect her, or does he have another agenda?

By Erin Mawn

Hello readers (and editor)! I apologize not posting again sooner, but I have adopted the popular mantra that everyone seems to be saying lately: “life’s crazy right now”. If anyone is curious, I HAVE been doing a ton of reading lately, I just have been lax in the writing part. Sometimes when I read a book, I think “I cannot wait to write a blog about this incredible story!”. Other times, I enjoy the story but it just does not motivate me to write.

As my best friend said to me recently, I have had quite a literary year. First, I attended a talk at my local library hosted by Joshua Wolf Shenk regarding his insightful book “Lincoln’s Melancholy”. I used this book for two of my projects in graduate school and I was very excited to finally meet the man who wrote it. Then, over my summer vacation, I traveled to Colorado where I was able to meet my favorite illustrator, Michael Hague. (I did write a blog about him; it is one of my earlier posts.) This was a very special experience for me because I grew up reading his books and those pictures have always stayed in my mind. Most recently, I drove to Newark, Delaware to see Laurie Halse Anderson “speak” (if you don’t get my little joke yet, you will in a minute.)

Laurie Halse Anderson has written both young adult novels and picture books; her first YA novel, titled “Speak” was a New York Times Best Seller, as well as a Printz Honor Book, and National Book Award Finalist. It was also made into a movie for television starring a now-uber-famous Kristen Stewart. Her other novels include: “Catalyst”, “Prom”, “Fever 1793”, “Twisted”, and “Chains” (another multi-award winner). During the event, she read an excerpt from her most recent novel “Wintergirls” which is available now. She the welcomed questions from her live audience as well as from readers across the country who were able to view the event through a live internet feed. Afterwards, she was available to sign books for her adoring fans, who ranged from middle-aged adults to little children. My favorite fan was the little eight-year old girl clutching a copy of one of the Vet Volunteer books, a series written for children about children who work in a veterinarian’s office.

The Mighty Oak and Me Sales Will Benefit Reforestation Program

During the winter of 2001/2002, novelist K. S. Brooks discovered a 300-year-old “Mighty Oak Tree” towering over the backyard of her new home in Cambridge, Maryland.  Immediately she noticed the wide variety of wildlife beneath its canopy.  Squirrels, birds, tree frogs, snakes and even a baby raccoon have made their homes in the tree.  Robins raised their young and squirrels used the leaves for their nests in its branches.  Honey bees built combs and homes in and on the tree.  Hummingbirds rested on it after drinking nectar from the garden below.  As time went by, the author found herself thinking of this ancient oak as a member of her family.

After years of photographing the “Mighty Oak” and its visitors, Ms. Brooks decided it was time to share its images and secrets, especially with children.  She wanted to preserve the memory of this magnificent tree, and at the same time teach the value of trees to future generations.

The Mighty Oak and Me, published in April 2009, is a unique and innovative book which introduces children to ecology and the real-life world of trees through full-color photographs. Teachers across the country are hailing The Mighty Oak and Me as a valuable educational tool.  Mid-Shore Elementary School Teacher Nora Lynch comments “I believe this book should be in every primary school library!  It is enchanting and informative.”