tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55621992400545768802024-03-12T20:08:18.866-07:00Kalirati ProductionsThe discussion behind the performance, the novels, and the writingKaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-67916750582999906222012-04-21T09:39:00.001-07:002012-04-21T09:39:11.174-07:00April 28: Only Ghosts Percussive Storytelling @ The Headwaters Theater | 20+ Percussion Instruments, Original Music, Storytelling<a href="http://www.pdxpipeline.com/monthly-event-list/april-2012-only-ghosts-percussive-storytelling/">April 28: Only Ghosts Percussive Storytelling @ The Headwaters Theater | 20+ Percussion Instruments, Original Music, Storytelling</a>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-83685991128460975392012-04-02T15:20:00.002-07:002012-04-02T18:50:38.246-07:00Random Act of KindnessI've been thinking lately about the impact of our random, daily interactions. I know I try and interact well with those I care about or am trying to impress (I'm very friendly to my handsome vet). But how do we affect those we don't see: the guy at the checkout stand, or the woman who dropped her bag in front of you, or the dog with no owner running past you on the sidewalk. The interactions with no intentions may have great impact. Here's something I wrote a year and a half ago of a time when I realized my guilt. <br />
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<a href="http://theguttery.com/random-act-of-kindless">Random Act of Kindness </a>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-74780434749153184452011-12-24T13:47:00.001-08:002011-12-24T13:47:15.891-08:00Only Ghosts Photos<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247672219/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Ragon" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6216/6247672219_368dd9b2a4_s.jpg" alt="Ragon" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6412771363/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Only Ghosts Logo" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6412771363_c927fd181c_s.jpg" alt="Only Ghosts Logo" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6409710493/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="325646_181714715250297_100002353091600_397193_2133503988_o" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6409710493_fed6446fc8_s.jpg" alt="325646_181714715250297_100002353091600_397193_2133503988_o" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6249048206/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Our Performers and Families" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6107/6249048206_b578d5963f_s.jpg" alt="Our Performers and Families" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247675405/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Bruce Bartlett" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6160/6247675405_897a9d8085_s.jpg" alt="Bruce Bartlett" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6565027135/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Portland Peformance" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6565027135_195d762e0c_s.jpg" alt="Portland Peformance" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247673357/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Ragon" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6051/6247673357_2a24f71d8e_s.jpg" alt="Ragon" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6409710243/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="ragonmyspace" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6409710243_2968a4b829_s.jpg" alt="ragonmyspace" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6519455563/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="390238_10150517954408816_623713815_8376667_1547288267_n" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6519455563_f37ce35298_s.jpg" alt="390238_10150517954408816_623713815_8376667_1547288267_n" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247683971/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Prasanna Dhoj Pradhan" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6224/6247683971_d28939afe4_s.jpg" alt="Prasanna Dhoj Pradhan" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6409726421/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="cover_enerzee" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6409726421_aed2901c0b_s.jpg" alt="cover_enerzee" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6354861187/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="A. Molotkov" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6055/6354861187_144439743d_s.jpg" alt="A. Molotkov" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6412770849/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="A. Molotkov's latest chapbook" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6412770849_70d5774b0d_s.jpg" alt="A. Molotkov's latest chapbook" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6519454421/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="CYSFFrontCover" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6519454421_eeb76c6f33_s.jpg" alt="CYSFFrontCover" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6361644771/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Marianne, artist" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6224/6361644771_5066b0653d_s.jpg" alt="Marianne, artist" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6249042686/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6165/6249042686_54a58c6a76_s.jpg" alt="Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6409715533/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Hardik Karjit, artist" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6409715533_06720dd294_s.jpg" alt="Hardik Karjit, artist" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6565717979/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="swayambhu" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6565717979_1bd2d67d10_s.jpg" alt="swayambhu" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6355344409/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="EEBS students making masks" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6221/6355344409_4e284a4d50_s.jpg" alt="EEBS students making masks" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248202516/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Bruce" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6048/6248202516_c908259fd1_s.jpg" alt="Bruce" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248196148/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Ragon Linde" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6161/6248196148_541301ae1d_s.jpg" alt="Ragon Linde" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247682151/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Prasanna and his son" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6161/6247682151_1af2801146_s.jpg" alt="Prasanna and his son" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6412771041/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Carrie-Ann in Nepal 1991" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6412771041_a5c1173929_s.jpg" alt="Carrie-Ann in Nepal 1991" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248195552/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Bruce" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6118/6248195552_aa33b22ca9_s.jpg" alt="Bruce" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/sets/72157627902140640/">Only Ghosts Photos</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-45564577797747446752011-12-19T22:05:00.001-08:002012-04-02T18:52:08.175-07:00The Picture for Only GhostsArtist: Marianne Mauss Oberdoerster<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkqqiWW5jagmp4hINIZZ7QMuIOmYHWRPeVfl1RPnxuwKP3283n25t28SyXTpUU4p4gncXn7fQXlEd0jGPXG-5-T3wZzLm83p_J3fYG6rr5jwUHS1mPaBqcTVCTGeHC-BSAg1fc_GQeGc2/s1600/scan0001%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkqqiWW5jagmp4hINIZZ7QMuIOmYHWRPeVfl1RPnxuwKP3283n25t28SyXTpUU4p4gncXn7fQXlEd0jGPXG-5-T3wZzLm83p_J3fYG6rr5jwUHS1mPaBqcTVCTGeHC-BSAg1fc_GQeGc2/s320/scan0001%25283%2529.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><br />
I asked my artist friend, Marianne, to do the artwork for the production of my novel. After reading Only Ghosts, Marianne had a vision that she explained to me over the phone. It seemed complicated, but I had faith in her. She, however, wasn't sure she could bring her vision to paper. She knew the emotion and pose she wanted, but her struggle was that she wanted the people to look like they came from the traditional Mithili Art. I thought this idea was particularly appropriate because Mithili art comes from the villages in the Terrai flatlands near India, where the novel is set. When Marianne and I visited Nepal in 1996, she was introduced to this art (perhaps sooner with some of the work I own). However, replicating the feel and style of this art is a challenge. She looked at photos and worked on this for quite a bit and then one day out this beauty came. The image above is of Hara and Shakar at Bhoot pool, and the bird is a Kafl Pakyo bird, which Marianne also researched for this drawing.<br />
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Here's a Facebook page of Mithili art: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/This-is-Mithila-Art-from-Nepal/139263786111510" target="_blank">Mithila Art from Nepal</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVhGXbSMOslkMdvfeUJsrFJR1LzN3dSBJ1QtX4w1MCK_D2eSyp9M-ufXncj4-qszPE5yYO9kFZtPVINFbrLPmHh6fPKuOYH0nvPeGb8ub2ptFIzraU9lxe2tSUscZZgMIFwVcBghcWChn/s1600/60020_150251868346035_139263786111510_240269_8165717_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVhGXbSMOslkMdvfeUJsrFJR1LzN3dSBJ1QtX4w1MCK_D2eSyp9M-ufXncj4-qszPE5yYO9kFZtPVINFbrLPmHh6fPKuOYH0nvPeGb8ub2ptFIzraU9lxe2tSUscZZgMIFwVcBghcWChn/s320/60020_150251868346035_139263786111510_240269_8165717_n.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>Here's a drawing from this site.<br />
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Marianne captured this art, didn't she?Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-43995214344840269262011-12-19T21:36:00.000-08:002011-12-19T21:36:16.818-08:00Setting for Only Ghosts<i>Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk’s novel, Only Ghosts, is set during the 1990 democratic movement in Nepal’s flat lands. This land the Nepalese call the “Terrai.” Tkaczyk talks about why she set her novel in this part of Nepal rather than the more famous Himalayan mountains.</i><br />
Terrai towns have two horizons. The eastern line is a distant fence, which extends to the ghostlike Sanskrit print of foothills and higher still to Everest’s icy gate masquerading as cumulus clouds against a blue sky. This distance fence may be less tangible than Kathmandu’s cinder-block gates roofed with broken glass, but is no less ominous. Though most Terrai-Wallas have never traveled far enough west to stand in the shadow of a Himalayan Mountain, they know they’re there. It is a part of the Nepali psyche.<br />
When a Terrai-Walla faces west, the sky stretches boundlessly. While neighbor India lays underneath that rippling horizon line, a lion ready to slam shut the border and drive up the price of kerosene again, the trained eye of a Terrai-Walla travels beyond India. In the year King Birendra hands the keys to the kingdom to the people, the western vista expands on and on and further west to the exotic, to the mythic, to the democratic.Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-22358281527634251452011-12-18T08:38:00.000-08:002011-12-18T08:39:06.705-08:00Both Sides of the Story<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9pt;">I have been features on Ragon Linde's CD, <u><b>Both Sides of the Story</b></u>. I learned so much working on this CD with Ragon. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDE_7Bmb-BgVaJtBu7qXtQY8ZEzV1UUjcRkXHaD3hV5wua78lDlYED2CUWlHBYWXuSKbgoSjFUa-1GNIHaUyGKWqOZy2XFjw0aqOavAfaCgyTGbgcbL-xjlzoZmteaIh6QPud4LQuF1N0Y/s1600/390238_10150517954408816_623713815_8376667_1547288267_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDE_7Bmb-BgVaJtBu7qXtQY8ZEzV1UUjcRkXHaD3hV5wua78lDlYED2CUWlHBYWXuSKbgoSjFUa-1GNIHaUyGKWqOZy2XFjw0aqOavAfaCgyTGbgcbL-xjlzoZmteaIh6QPud4LQuF1N0Y/s1600/390238_10150517954408816_623713815_8376667_1547288267_n.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You can purchase a copy off of CD Baby</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <b><u><a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ragonlinde" target="_blank">http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ragonlinde</a></u></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9pt;"><br />
</span>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-10414027420687546012011-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:002011-12-18T08:33:31.993-08:00Assimilation<span class="main_copy">One of my articles was recently featured in the ABC-CLIO SCHOOLS Database, as source material about the experience of being a Peace Corps Volunteer. In ABC-CLIO, they write of these Peace Corps narratives as "a comprehensive overview of the range of jobs that Peace Corps volunteers are asked to tackle in host countries, as well as the importance placed on taking time to integrate into the local community."</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.historyandtheheadlines.abc-clio.com/ContentPages/ContentPage.aspx?entryId=1592150&currentSection=1588542&productid=36" target="_blank"><span class="main_copy"><strong>To read my Article </strong></span></a>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-75445665724798487102011-12-18T08:25:00.000-08:002011-12-18T08:25:27.725-08:00One of my stories is featured in the magazine ECS Nepal<h1 id="printReady">Peace Corps Nepal at the half century </h1><div class="text_by" id="printReady1"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text_by"><tbody>
<tr><td width="50%">November 2011</td><td align="right" width="50%"><br />
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</tbody></table></div></div><div id="printReady2" style="color: #333333; font: 11pt/22px Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; padding-top: 5px; text-decoration: none;"> <div class="article-para"><strong>Edited by Don Messerschmidt</strong></div><div class="article-para"><strong>Introduction</strong><br />
2011 marks the 50th anniversary of what President Barack Obama recently called John F. Kennedy’s “noble vision”—the American Peace Corps worldwide. The Peace Corps was founded when Kennedy became the 35th U.S. President in 1961. The first PC volunteers arrived in Nepal in 1962, and for the next 42 years, until 2004, 3,629 volunteers (‘PCVs’) served here in many capacities—as teachers; agricultural extension workers; fisheries, forestry and livestock experts; community development workers; health workers; and other endeavors. They were posted to communities all across the country, sometimes remote, sometimes with other volunteers, sometimes alone (but never lonely).</div><div class="article-para">In this article we look at the past impact of the Peace Corps by a noted Nepalese diplomat, and at a current development activity sponsored by ‘Friends of Nepal’, a group of former PCVs. This article is the first installment of several that we will publish into 2012 featuring short essays by former volunteers reflecting on their Peace Corps experiences with fondness, admiration and thanks to their Nepalese friends and hosts. <br />
We conclude with a story from Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk about the myth of the ‘Baglung Pani Miss.’DM<br />
Winning friends, really winning friends</div><div class="article-para">Twenty years into the Nepal Peace Corps experience, in 1981, Nepal’s (then) Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Bekh Bahadur Thapa, spoke admiringly about the Peace Corps. “As a student (in the USA) when President Kennedy announced the Peace Corps program,” he wrote, “I was aware of the charisma and appeal it had. Soon thereafter, I went back to Nepal and was instrumental in signing the Peace Corps agreement.” When Dr. Thapa became Nepal’s chief coordinator for all foreign technical cooperation he took the opportunity to visit PCVs in the countryside, including the village in Tanahun District where he was born.<br />
“The overall effect of the Peace Corps begins with a dialogue at the people’s level, independent of both our governments. ... with the Nepalese people,” he said. Then, remembering a PCV English teacher he met: “There were not enough Nepalese who knew English or who could teach English, so the Peace Corps volunteers filled an important gap. But on another level, in the community, Peace Corps volunteers were winning friends, really winning friends. They came from afar to live within the community as one of our people, not beyond the means of the local community, sharing the level of poverty of the Nepalese village people.”<br />
“What the Peace Corps volunteers did was extraordinary. For the average Nepalese, Americans were cut down to human size. And the impact of those volunteers who taught English, for example, was not only on the children, “but on others at the local level who witnessed their lives and behavior.”</div><div class="article-para">One volunteer he met was living in a hut with two Nepalese school teachers. “Inside the hut he had changed the living arrangement, the living environment. He had used essentially the same things that Nepalese use but had created more hygienic living conditions. The teachers picked up these habits and, in turn, taught them to the rest of the village.” Then he points out that if one of the big aid agencies was to attempt to replicate what that volunteer had done, “the first thing they would do is send a $40,000 consultant to look at village sanitation” and more money to bring a project to implementation stage.</div><div class="article-para">“But the Peace Corps is different,” Thapa concluded. “Things like these may be very small, but how profound an impact they make. They cannot be measured in economic terms.”</div><div class="article-para"><img align="left" alt="" src="http://ecs.com.np/fckimage/image/november_2011/peace_corps_1.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" /><strong>Friends of Nepal</strong><br />
The last PCVs left Nepal in 2004. the last group was N-128. The usual explanation for closing was concern about the volunteers’ safety during the insurgency. Today, many ex-volunteers and concerned Nepalese want to see the Peace Corps return to Nepal. One of the organizations supporting this goal is ‘Friends of Nepal’. It was founded for staying in touch while continuing to help in the development of Nepal. FoN maintains an active website, newsletter and Nepal-oriented programs and activities. Its members support grass-roots projects that target vulnerable peoples and communities. FoN works in partnership with Nepalese NGOs on projects in health care, rural income generation, education, communications, and cultural preservation.<br />
In the following essay, former volunteer Dave Carlson describes an activity that members of FoN are currently working on in the hinterland. <strong><br />
</strong></div><div class="article-para"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>The Friends of the 2011-12 Nepal Wireless Project</strong></span></div><div class="article-para"><strong>Text By Dave Carlson (PC Nepal-3, 1964-65)</strong></div><div class="article-para">In 2002, at a time when there was little interest by the Nepal government and the private sector to bring information technology to the northwestern hill and mountain villages, a grass-root project was begun by Mahabir Pun when he was a teacher of the Himanchal Higher Secondary School in the small village of Nangi, in Myagdi District. The project’s initial goal was to bring the Internet and telephone system to the school and village. That was the birth of the Nepal Wireless Networking Project (NWNP). Since then, the NWNP has expanded well beyond Nangi by building small-scale infrastructures using wireless technology and the Internet in over 100 other village communities.</div><div class="article-para"><img align="left" alt="" height="266" src="http://ecs.com.np/fckimage/image/november_2011/peace_corps_2.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" width="400" />Today, the NWNP promotes educational opportunities, health care, job creation, local e-commerce, and general communication locally and abroad. The NWNP is now a movement that leapfrogs the traditional constraints of isolated rural life by creatively connecting villages to 21st century information and communication opportunities.</div><div class="article-para">Among the most recent organizations to help fund the NWNP is ‘Friends of Nepal’ (FoN), whose members are former Peace Corps Volunteer to Nepal. This year, in celebration of the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary, FoN is supporting NWNP development in two rural Nepal communities: Keshavtar in Tanahun District, and Shikha in Myagdi District.</div><div class="article-para"><strong>Keshavtar, Tanahun District</strong> <br />
In the central hill village of Keshavtar, Tanahun District, the project is creating a computer lab in the local high school and an information center for the entire community. The lab will house ten computers and provide training on computer hardware and software applications for students, unemployed youth, teachers and women’s’ groups as a tool to promote career development. Villagers will be able to participate with online interactive educational programs such as the Open Learning Exchange and the Nepal Research and Education Network. A rich array of learning/training materials will be available of a caliber not possible in any other way to this community.</div><div class="article-para">The Keshavtar Community Information Center is being supplied with four computers, a network camera, and a LCD projector. It will be run and maintained by local the village Mothers Group. There, villagers will be able to exchange news and opinions, place advertisements to market products for sale, and engage in community affairs. The center will provide national and international call services, Internet access, video conferencing, as well as photocopying, document processing and photography services.</div><div class="article-para">To make the facilities operational, a wireless networking link is being built from nearby Pokhara (30 miles distant) to Keshavtar. The connection requires installation of dish antennas attached to tall trees, as well as relay stations, solar collectors and network servers. FoN is supplying the many pieces of hardware required for this connection and under supervision by the NWNP local villagers will complete the task.</div><div class="article-para"><strong><img align="left" alt="" src="http://ecs.com.np/fckimage/image/november_2011/peace_corps_3.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" />Shikha, Myagdi District</strong><br />
The objective in Shikha village is to build a tele-medicine center at an existing health post that will link with two hospitals in Pokhara and Kathmandu via a network camera. FoN will supply the network camera, two computers with storage batteries, and other accessories.</div><div class="article-para">The Shikha project will provide medical assistance to villagers and health training to rural health workers through its video- conferencing capabilities. In addition, the wired-up clinic is available to address the health needs of villagers in several neighboring communities.</div><div class="article-para">In order to treat patients, health workers in the Shikha clinic will use the network camera to connect directly to doctors at the city hospital in Pokhara. Doctors there will be able to view and talk to patients about their health problems and the trained health workers at the Shikha clinic will assist the patients and follow up on the doctors’ recommendations.</div><div class="article-para"><strong>An innovative but inexpensive project</strong><br />
What is remarkable about the Keshavtar and Shikha projects is that the entire effort costs less than US$18,000. By early 2011, FoN members and supporters had already raised $7,000 and the community of Keshavtar raised $4,000 on its own. The remaining $7,000 is FoN’s ongoing responsibility. The two projects are expected to be completed by December 31, 2011.</div><div class="article-para">FoN looks forward to having a long relationship of support for the NWNP as it continues to expand the network to the hundreds of mountain villages eager to join this movement. In time, when the Peace Corps returns to Nepal, it will be welcomed into this partnership.</div><div class="article-para"><span style="font-size: large;">The ‘Baglung Pani Miss’</span></div><div class="article-para"><strong>Text By Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk (N-170, 1990-93)</strong></div><div class="article-para">Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk’s has this advice for future Peace Corps Volunteers: “Avoid moving to a village where a volunteer preceded you.” And, we might add, watch out for myths to come.</div><div class="article-para"><img align="left" alt="" src="http://ecs.com.np/fckimage/image/november_2011/peace_corps_4.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" />When I moved to Baglung Pani, Andy Walker was my own personal Freddy Krueger, popping into every conversation, and shredding my every deed. At each “good morning,” people would point to the hostel next to the school and tell me, “Andy Walker built that. What are you going to build?” At noon, the woman who gave me tea would drill me with questions in rapid Nepalese and then announce, “You don’t speak as well as Andy Walker. He spoke Gurung too. When are you going to learn Gurung?” At dinner, I listened to my host family tell stories of Andy Walker’s humor and wit. I gritted my teeth through the nightmare of comparisons until the remarks grew less frequent and trickled to the occasional. I made friends with those who never knew Andy Walker and soon with those who did.</div><div class="article-para">About a year into my stay, I was taking a bus back home from a training in Kathmandu when an older Nepali man offered his seat and asked me where I was going.</div><div class="article-para">“Baglung Pani,” I answered. The man’s eyes lit up with a look I now recognized as the Andy Walker look and I sighed. “Yes, I know” I said flatly. “You met the volunteer there.”</div><div class="article-para">“She is wonderful! Do you know the Baglung Pani Miss?” he asked, and before I could answer the man was off telling me about her perfect Nepalese, her sweet Gurung, her friendly nature, her wonderful singing voice, her skill with the children.</div><div class="article-para">I sat up in my seat and beamed in anticipation of his delirious bubbling at discovering me. This was my moment vindication! When the man slowed enough for me to get in a word, I exclaimed, “I’m the Baglung Pani Miss!”</div><div class="article-para">The man’s smile faded. “Oh, no, you can’t be the Baglung Pani Miss,” he argued. “Your Nepali isn’t good! You can’t even speak Gurung.”<br />
“No,” I said, at once indignant. “I am the Baglung Pani Miss!”<br />
“That is not possible,” the man replied, equally adamant. “She is just like a Nepali, but look at you. You are not!”</div><div class="article-para">I took a deep breath, ready for battle when Andy Walker came to mind. I sank back down and nodded. “You’re right.” The man huffed in agreement and turned away. I stared out the window so that the man could not see how giddy I looked.</div><div class="article-para">Who was I to trifle with the myth of the Baglung Pani Miss?</div></div>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-80168252695519822752011-12-18T08:23:00.002-08:002011-12-18T08:23:43.812-08:00ECS NEPAL | The Nepali Way<a href="http://ecs.com.np/feature_detail.php?f_id=507">ECS NEPAL | The Nepali Way</a>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-85394165660120357912011-12-18T08:20:00.000-08:002011-12-18T08:20:12.956-08:00Educational Environment Boarding School<h3 align="left" id="sites-page-title-header"> <span dir="ltr" id="sites-page-title">Educational Environment Boarding School</span> </h3><i><span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Kiran was one of my Nepalese language trainers when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal (1990-1992).<span> </span>In fact, for one part our training, she and I shared living quarters.<span> </span>Kiran was my age, fresh out of university, and as excited about this new experience as I had been.<span> </span>At that time all the Nepali language trainers seemed exotic and so very different than me, yet I experienced my first connection transcendent of culture with Kiran: both of us missed our families and we would talk about this and about being homesick.<span> </span>These conversations were my first baby steps toward developing one of my strongest tenets--that people of all cultures have more in common than not.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Since that first meeting, Kiran and I have both found our life calling.<span> </span>I spent ten years living overseas and now spend my days teaching students of other cultures, writing novels, and singing.<span> </span>Kiran’s story—I’ve always thought—is much more interesting than mine, and I’ve come to appreciate her strength.<span> </span>She scrapped together a dream through shear determination and guts.<span> </span>Over the years I’ve been following Kiran, waiting for a time when I could help.<span> </span></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">When I began writing </span></i><span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Only Ghosts<i>, I knew that I wanted to use this book to help support her school.<span> </span>In fact, there is an intellectual, forward-thinking character in my novel who is named Kiran. <span> </span>I chose the name as a placeholder in the beginning, but the name fit so well, and then as I began to reconnect with my own “Kiran,” I realized that this name was a lovely tribute to her. </i></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Kiran has embraced our collaboration; so much so that she offered to have her students make our production’s Lakhe masks.<span> </span>The masks our percussionists wear are modeled after a traditional Newari<span> </span>festival masks.<span> </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">e</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">I am so interested in Kiran’s story, that I thought it would be helpful for her to share it with you.<span> </span>Below is Kiran’s story. <div style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 5px 10px;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/home/news-in-the-hood/her%20nephew.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/_/rsrc/1323022612702/home/news-in-the-hood/her%20nephew.jpg?height=150&width=200" width="200" /></a></div></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">--Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;"> <div style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 5px 10px 0pt 0pt;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/home/news-in-the-hood/girlsreading.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/_/rsrc/1323022182773/home/news-in-the-hood/girlsreading.jpg?height=150&width=200" width="200" /></a></div></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Since my childhood, I have been very hard working in my studies. My father always regretted that I was born a daughter. He always wanted to have sons. So I tried my best to be a son for him and tried my best to prove myself so he may not feel sorry that his first child was a daughter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Yet my parents were unable to provide me better opportunities. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if only they could have spent some money on me but, well, they gave up after I finished my high schooling. I had to work while going to college. I always used to run from my college to my job. I made my own way to get the opportunities I’ve had. My mother was against my interest in studying. She wanted me to be involved in household work. Sometimes she would even abuse me for not finishing household work on time. It was a funny situation, trying to be like a son for my father, doing all the household work to make my mother happy, while also working to continue my college.<span> </span>After I completed my masters, I had amazing confidence and energy to better myself. It was a wonderful opportunity to get a job as a language trainer in the Peace Corps, which is where I met Carrie-Ann.<span> </span>I was one of her Nepali language trainers. My father was against my decision to join the Peace Corps, so, because of this, I always feel sorry for those who work hard but do not find any support from their parents. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;"> <div style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 5px 10px 0pt 0pt;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/home/news-in-the-hood/mask1.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/_/rsrc/1323022671087/home/news-in-the-hood/mask1.jpg?height=200&width=150" width="150" /></a></div></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">After the Peace Corps, I established the Educational Environment Boarding School and it became my greatest dream and desire. There were only eight students in the beginning of my school and I remember all the harassment from my family, relatives and community. One of my aunts told me that it was not under my capacity because running a school was the work of a man. A friend, Sapana, visited my school and commented that it was quite crazy to think to run a school with just eight students. There are nearly seventy-five students now. <div style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 5px 10px;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/home/news-in-the-hood/girls%20with%20masks.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/_/rsrc/1323022234418/home/news-in-the-hood/girls%20with%20masks.jpg?height=200&width=150" width="150" /></a></div></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">My father was D.E.O before his retirement. He has been so unsatisfied with my choices that he has never given me any support in his whole life, not even moral support. He has always said that my education level and career do not run in a parallel way. Being a principal of a small school is somehow disappointing for him. I feel lucky that at least I have a sister who stands by my side and understands me so well. And I feel lucky to have so many friends who have become part of my dream.<span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Most of my students’ parents are illiterate and they feel I am doing this all for fun and cannot see my deep devotion to create better Nepali citizens for the future. Education is a long term devotion and who has such patience? But I am glad some examples are showing up slowly.<span> </span>Some of my students’ living standards have changed because they are going to college. Without an education, they would be washing dishes or doing the laundry for rich people. It’s not that easy to give a better life to people, but it’s not that impossible either. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;"> <div style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 5px 10px 0pt 0pt;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/home/news-in-the-hood/girlsspeech.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/_/rsrc/1323022300737/home/news-in-the-hood/girlsspeech.jpg?height=137&width=200" width="200" /></a></div> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">I have a funny story on this matter. During the winter season, my students come to school with less warm clothing and keep on shivering in the classroom. There is a proverb that cold eats at children like goats. I requested some friends to send some warm clothes for my students. When I gave them free my students’ parents thought I was insulting them because they were poor, so I told them that I would sell the clothes for a few rupees. All were eager to buy the items, even those who could afford warm clothes from shopping centers. Ever since I tell my students to fix the rates themselves and all money goes to their children’s clubs called SOE Or FAG.(Save our environment and First aid group).There are many more stories like this in EEBS. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">All of the students who completed seven grade from EEBS have passed their school board exam. None of them have used drugs nor smoked. None of them have ever been pointed for misbehavior. When they graduate from EEBS, they make me proud by participating other extra curricular activities in their new schools. The first batch of EEBS are now in twelfth grade. <div style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 5px 10px;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/home/news-in-the-hood/boysinterview.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/_/rsrc/1323022348793/home/news-in-the-hood/boysinterview.jpg?height=132&width=200" width="200" /></a></div></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">EEBS has been running for fifteen years. EEBS wants to produce such students who will be useful for their family and their community and their country.<span> </span>We focus on civic duty and environmental concerns.<span> </span>As anyone who has ever visited Nepal knows, this type of education is essential for our country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">I fund the school by students’ parents education fee and by sponsorship by foreigners. Five of my parents do not pay anything because they are under privileged.<span> </span>However, at this time about sixty-percent of our student population is from a lo <div style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 5px 10px 0pt 0pt;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/home/news-in-the-hood/GROUP.JPG?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/_/rsrc/1323022418165/home/news-in-the-hood/GROUP.JPG?height=150&width=200" width="200" /></a></div>w socio-economic life.<span> </span>Donation help cover student tuition, teachers’ salary, facility costs, and extra curricular activities.<span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Carrie-Ann wants me to talk about the fact that I am a female principal.<span> </span>This is not usual in Nepal.<span> </span>In the entire country there are not many.<span> </span>There is a cultural perception that women cannot take on leadership roles. When I think of fifty schools, I can think of only one female principal.<span> </span>The fact that I established EEBS, is even more rare.<span> </span>In Nepal, perhaps fewer than hundred schools have been established by individuals. <span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">EEBS is in the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=bijeshwori+temple&hl=en&safe=active&hq=bijeshwori+temple&t=m&z=14&vpsrc=0" target="_blank">heart of Kathmandu, l</a>ocated in the lap of the Bijeswori Temple, a nearly 200 meters walk east of the famous Buddhist temple, <div style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 5px 10px;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/home/news-in-the-hood/swayambhu8.jpg?attredirects=0"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/_/rsrc/1323022564470/home/news-in-the-hood/swayambhu8.jpg?height=143&width=200" width="200" /></a></div>Swayambu. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Your donations allow me to support the poorest children in my community.<span> </span>This is important to our school’s mission.<span> </span>Friends support the school.<span> </span>Today most of my sponsors are returned Peace Corps volunteers and some German friends because they believe I am producing the better citizens for the country. EEBS would like to be able to support more students.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Kiran Karjik</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Adobe Caslon Pro;">Principal</span>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-85325862645574802962011-11-17T19:34:00.000-08:002011-11-17T19:37:06.720-08:00Inspirations for Only GhostsOnly Ghosts, as a percussive storytelling was initiated New Year's 2011. An intimate group of creative friends came over to my house to celebrate New Year's Eve. We started talking about our creative aspirations and YouTubing music that inspired us. Ragon showed us a clip of the Dresden Dolls. I was wowed by the cabaret feel of the video and the drama of the percussion work. What Ragon wanted, he told us that night, was to create a dramatic percussive performance to my novel, Only Ghosts. I had read sections of the novel at cafes and wine bars with Ragon playing guitar behind me a couple times, but what he suggested was a much larger undertaking. The next morning, I started pulling the strings of the novel and thinking about Ragon's vision. A couple weeks later Ragon and I met to discuss the project and I agreed to have a script ready by fall 2011. There you have it: from Dresden Dolls to Only Ghosts.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/sO5APfKnR50?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-1927951170588230202011-11-17T12:38:00.001-08:002011-11-17T12:38:46.023-08:00Only Ghosts Performance<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247672219/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Ragon" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6216/6247672219_368dd9b2a4_s.jpg" alt="Ragon" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6249048206/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Our Performers and Families" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6107/6249048206_b578d5963f_s.jpg" alt="Our Performers and Families" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6249042686/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6165/6249042686_54a58c6a76_s.jpg" alt="Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6354861187/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="A. Molotkov" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6055/6354861187_144439743d_s.jpg" alt="A. Molotkov" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248196148/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Ragon Linde" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6161/6248196148_541301ae1d_s.jpg" alt="Ragon Linde" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247683971/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Prasanna Dhoj Pradhan" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6224/6247683971_d28939afe4_s.jpg" alt="Prasanna Dhoj Pradhan" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247675405/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Bruce Bartlett" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6160/6247675405_897a9d8085_s.jpg" alt="Bruce Bartlett" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247682151/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Prasanna and his son" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6161/6247682151_1af2801146_s.jpg" alt="Prasanna and his son" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248195552/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Bruce" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6118/6248195552_aa33b22ca9_s.jpg" alt="Bruce" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247673357/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Ragon" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6051/6247673357_2a24f71d8e_s.jpg" alt="Ragon" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247676879/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="prasanna" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6101/6247676879_ef8ce6747f_s.jpg" alt="prasanna" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248202516/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Bruce" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6048/6248202516_c908259fd1_s.jpg" alt="Bruce" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6247677535/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Ragon" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6234/6247677535_1fb4686be2_s.jpg" alt="Ragon" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248197614/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Prasanna" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6234/6248197614_c3fa519409_s.jpg" alt="Prasanna" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248201174/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Bruce" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6109/6248201174_7cba0436fd_s.jpg" alt="Bruce" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248200262/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Our Mascot--Bruce's Dog" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6227/6248200262_4dbed17c28_s.jpg" alt="Our Mascot--Bruce's Dog" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6249096938/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="dashain dance" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/6249096938_193824bc48_s.jpg" alt="dashain dance" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248516155/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Dashain" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6038/6248516155_aa4cc8cdca_s.jpg" alt="Dashain" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6249043344/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Dashain" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6044/6249043344_fa5d60b160_s.jpg" alt="Dashain" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248520911/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Dashain Celebration" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6167/6248520911_14cdc8d67e_s.jpg" alt="Dashain Celebration" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6249044184/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Dashain" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6155/6249044184_1744f49253_s.jpg" alt="Dashain" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248522903/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Dashain Celebration" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6154/6248522903_5bddd66c17_s.jpg" alt="Dashain Celebration" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/6248519593/in/set-72157627902140640/" title="Dashain" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6105/6248519593_34f931ce37_s.jpg" alt="Dashain" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><div style="padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68649038@N02/sets/72157627902140640/">Only Ghosts Performance</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-15322297388726942132011-08-14T22:45:00.000-07:002011-08-14T22:55:49.145-07:00Whitman ProjectOrganized by Poet, David Oats. Portland poets and Whitman lovers converged October 20, 2010 to read all 52 sections of Leaves of Grass at PNCA. I read section 46. Sitting through all 56 sections, listening to Whitman's voice through so many voices was a dream come true. Whitman's book sleeps by my bed and is an old companion, but hearing his proclamations outloud in 52 waves I drowned in its beauty.<br />
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Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-66592625468373482272011-05-04T22:25:00.000-07:002011-05-04T22:31:25.770-07:00Raining Back Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLigt3C3HITMNBJ0LZ_3xX2SEY2XP-iLPW1lDJzXp-YUSrkjMGt0HPIEHrBPAPNzc5KfSLLcXsFsZer-G-2EqtS4a3lJGJKAJS7Gcd9-EfVCDJ-tN6pXSeyaXHQ0jg0THx47UYrsIfUdu/s1600/flyer-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLigt3C3HITMNBJ0LZ_3xX2SEY2XP-iLPW1lDJzXp-YUSrkjMGt0HPIEHrBPAPNzc5KfSLLcXsFsZer-G-2EqtS4a3lJGJKAJS7Gcd9-EfVCDJ-tN6pXSeyaXHQ0jg0THx47UYrsIfUdu/s320/flyer-1.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-55591069376133600982011-04-29T22:39:00.000-07:002011-04-29T22:40:39.470-07:00Writers Reflect on Reading: Part Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYV1mjRctc2YnLIZ62VzYsvEpq0FzWYyrElBjEu9PTisYGJmAtjCBdsFXquB7NUP7S72LA1NUm9aAH-f3hwsopa7b_ORF9Hmx6czpNQQiZ6Gs9lqre5VrkuxRzzPdt273TuTRw8DsHJpcM/s1600/bookgrouptwo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYV1mjRctc2YnLIZ62VzYsvEpq0FzWYyrElBjEu9PTisYGJmAtjCBdsFXquB7NUP7S72LA1NUm9aAH-f3hwsopa7b_ORF9Hmx6czpNQQiZ6Gs9lqre5VrkuxRzzPdt273TuTRw8DsHJpcM/s320/bookgrouptwo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I am certain that everyone has stories. I’m equally convinced that everyone is capable of writing these stories up into novels, short stories, articles, letters, notes, emails, blogs, texts, bumper stickers, billboards, songs, or graffiti. Writing is the legacy of our opposable thumbs and our ridiculously labyrinthed brains.<br />
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However, just as not all runners are equal, nor all athletes, all writing is certainly not equal. At some point during my college years I promised myself to never, ever waste my precious time reading junk. Never. Unless it’s a magazine. Then it’s all bets off.<br />
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For several years I only read the classics. Only the names bound in those Literary Anthologies you read in college: Hardy, Whitman, Woolf, Shakespeare. Under my definition of “classic”, Steinbeck was a bit of an upstart. Then after living in Nepal, I went through a long bout of only reading Indian writers—preferably ones who used magic realism. Do you know how difficult it was to make a steady diet of this writing? Salmon Rushdie hasn’t written that many things, nor has Gita Meeta, nor Tagore. It was like eating a very limited diet of only orange vegetables. Yummy, but limiting. My creativity, like a body on such a diet, was grinding to a halt.<br />
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Then I befriended someone who existed on a diet of everything, with a generous helping of sweet reading candy. Marianne read several books a week, reading them to sleep and waking to them before work. She read whatever was in front of her, whatever she found, whatever, whatever, and loved it. Marianne was a sweet novel addict and, as such, had the enviable ability to talk books with whomever she met. She called me a book snob and I called her a book whore. We were best friends. We parted—listen up Red and Blue voters—by mutually respecting one another’s views.<br />
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After meeting Marianne, I expanded my views. Here’s my adjusted creed: If for entertainment purposes only, and if (this is my caveat) the reader is intelligent enough to know the difference, and game enough to throw in superbly written novels, then the average reader may read crap. The aspiring writer, though, is an exception. To become exceptional, a writer must read more like an Olympic athlete in training. A great writer must, like an Olympic athlete, read a well-balanced, varied diet. I know, I know: it works for Billy Bob Thornton to only eat orange food (okay, to set the record strait, he eats only raw food, not necessarily orange. Big difference), but not for the writer. Sorry. Even a straight genre writer should cross train.<br />
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With my new creed in mind, I joined a book group. It was kind of like the Nutrisystem for me. A prescribed diet of someone else’s food, just enough to pry me from my old habits, and get me on the road to a healthier diet. I’ll admit that I didn’t like all the books my group chose. I don’t care if he does write a pretty sentence; Jonathan Franzen struck me as a pubescent boy stuck with a nasty god complex. Mostly, though, I read wonderful books I never would have chosen with my own sensitive nose. I was introduced by Mandy to Iris Murdock’s <i>The Sea, The Sea</i>, by Maureen to Peter Carey’s <i>Parrot and Oliver in America,</i> and by Tracy to Jennifer Vanderbe’s <i>Easter Island</i>. The camaraderie of a group to gush over or trash a book is added fun I didn’t take into account when I joined.<br />
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Like many people who have kicked an eating disorders, I maintain my Nurtisystem support group, but I also go on my own hunts. These days I’m like a reformed meat-eater who now leads groups on urban mushroom foraging. I will spend my late hours on the Internet searching the Independent Publishing sites such as Dranzen Books, Algonquin Books, Other Press. This search has led down some strange paths, such as <i>The Mullet: Hairstyles of the Gods</i>, or <i>Shitting Pretty</i>. It has also put some gems in my hands. On these excursions, I have found <i>Galore</i> by Michael Crummey and <i>The End of the World</i> by Sushma Joshi.<br />
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While most of my college promises to myself (big hair, stonewashed jeans, cheap beer, Nihilism) are better off dead, my promise to stay away from bad writing has solidified like cement beneath the post of my own writing. I have many coaches. Thomas Hardy and Virginia Woolf will always be there, but so, too, will Louise Erdrich, Orhan Pamuk, Gao Xingjian, and Cormac McCarthy. I may not make great art yet, but with the help of these Olympic coaches, I can strive for more. Who knows, with time, practice, and lots of good reading, I could break the record–or put a deep scratch down it so it won’t play on the record player any more.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKm0I-YAVGuUCz0_BZZdmxXx0jA8gWH2ALn_aRdWtY4EubXiOWCWqtcvtnUtvGNPPmAMEhgyec-etp_2pTVBWH0UMUSKIrw4gYIbiKrExMJGBIGrmt2rYdVcVA-6ywbIZxnhaWgDtYX9M/s1600/bookgroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKm0I-YAVGuUCz0_BZZdmxXx0jA8gWH2ALn_aRdWtY4EubXiOWCWqtcvtnUtvGNPPmAMEhgyec-etp_2pTVBWH0UMUSKIrw4gYIbiKrExMJGBIGrmt2rYdVcVA-6ywbIZxnhaWgDtYX9M/s320/bookgroup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-10451500466231946652011-04-23T22:38:00.000-07:002011-04-23T22:38:12.303-07:00Writers Reflect on ReadingRecently I wrote a <a _mce_href="https://sites.google.com/site/kalirati/" href="https://sites.google.com/site/kalirati/" target="_blank" title="books for CA">list of books that influenced my writing</a> and I thought it would be interesting to pose a question to my writing group, <a href="http://www.theguttery.com/">The Guttery</a>. <em>Tell me about a book or author that inspires your writing</em>. The Guttery responses were (not) surprising.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4VpDX0AQ_roIZ0H8AO-9KAPzt4S924tQbwIf2CaeQfg24-etK9-BoCDAyJ00seWqbO9Jvre7vhb5omPd8rWFlrzc-Ims8R_2Bj2g3zFQXtiJcsKXxTttUCuqTjbDV9ojw_esjmhEUIHl/s1600/brucetoladavid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4VpDX0AQ_roIZ0H8AO-9KAPzt4S924tQbwIf2CaeQfg24-etK9-BoCDAyJ00seWqbO9Jvre7vhb5omPd8rWFlrzc-Ims8R_2Bj2g3zFQXtiJcsKXxTttUCuqTjbDV9ojw_esjmhEUIHl/s320/brucetoladavid.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2ikc-YASdZi3DN4bJLnCqcmBJBgFMvKRZ_OC5PRscV9CrQ7J3EKFWVSEscLrOtXlrge2Ai0n9q549kEPbI2Sf9VJhT98x2XXnceWb3Ds6eQKSHyaRF17fCbcmUf3JXrvP5fmErjgoNEW/s1600/cam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2ikc-YASdZi3DN4bJLnCqcmBJBgFMvKRZ_OC5PRscV9CrQ7J3EKFWVSEscLrOtXlrge2Ai0n9q549kEPbI2Sf9VJhT98x2XXnceWb3Ds6eQKSHyaRF17fCbcmUf3JXrvP5fmErjgoNEW/s1600/cam.jpg" /></a></div><a _mce_href="http://bluesgreene.blogspot.com/" href="http://bluesgreene.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Bruce Greene">Bruce Greene</a>'s writing scratches like fingernails down the vertebrae of class and culture. Listen to the performance, <em><a _mce_href="http://www.amolotkov.com/LoveOutlivesUs/" href="http://www.amolotkov.com/LoveOutlivesUs/" target="_blank" title="Love Outlives Us">Love Outlives Us</a>, </em>and you'll appreciate that the writers who influenced Bruce were Kenneth Patchen and John Steinbeck. Bruce claims that he likes them both because they tackle "big ideas and are thought provoking." Bruce does too. His "Goldfish" piece read in the Moonlit Guttery's reading of <a _mce_href="http://www.amolotkov.com/LoveOutlivesUs/" href="http://www.amolotkov.com/LoveOutlivesUs/" target="_blank" title="Love Outlives Us"><em>Love Outlives Us</em></a> uses the metaphor of a harmless goldfish to pry open the box of the Vietnam war. My mother, whose brother's life was shattered by his three tours in Vietnam, could not sleep after listening to Bruce read his piece. She told me that Bruce's story gave her a new perspective on her brother's life and the cultural forces that led to his decision to do three tours. Bruce has published his memoir of his Vista years on the web, <a _mce_href="http://lifeandtimesofvista.blogspot.com/" href="http://lifeandtimesofvista.blogspot.com/"><em>Above This Wall</em></a>. Here is an excerpt from Bruce's memoir. It is a section of his statement of conscientious objections to his Vietnam Conflict draft board:<br />
<em>To be sure, I have been influenced by the great thinkers of non-violence, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, however, my increased interest in poetry led me to my most profound influence, the American poet Kenneth Patchen. Patchen’s works encompass the totality of my religious beliefs.</em><br />
<em> There is only one truth in the world:</em><br />
<em> Until we learn to love our neighbor,</em><br />
<em> There will be no life for anyone,</em><br />
<em> Force cannot be overthrown by force,</em><br />
<em> To hate any man is to despair of every man,</em><br />
<em> Evil breeds evil—the rest is a lie:</em><br />
<em> There is only one power that can save the world—</em><br />
<em> And that is the power of our love for all men everywhere.</em><br />
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When<a _mce_href="http://www.amolotkov.com/" href="http://www.amolotkov.com/" target="_blank" title="Tola"> A. Molotkov (Tola) </a>told me that Milan Kundera was his one author, a felt a thrill of recognition. Tola said of Kundera, "I love his capability to be modern and innovative, to play with the narrative and with character development, all the while discovering poignant human truths that are relevant to all." This, is Tola's writing. He's pushed and sifted enough sand to create a world in which all his character and two in particular, Zungvilda and Goombeldt, attempt to stand. From Tola's work<em> The Melting Hourglass</em>:<br />
<em>Goombeldt walks in</em><br />
<em>folding his umbrella </em><br />
<em>why is he carrying an umbrella? </em><br />
<em>it’s not raining.</em><br />
As with Kundera's writing, that's the point--why do we carry an umbrella when it is not raining? How is it that we stand on such sticky, stilted ground?<br />
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<a _mce_href="http://amphibianadventures.blogspot.com/" href="http://amphibianadventures.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="cam">Cameron McPhearson Smith</a> writes that his favorite book is Craig Childs and his book <a _mce_href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780316610698-1" href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780316610698-1"><em>The Secret Knowledge of Water</em>.</a> If you haven't read Childs' book, it is a fascinating, poetic adventure of man's inexhaustible pursuit of water sources in the desert. Cam writes that Childe's book is "inspiring because every word is so carefully picked; the book is a lesson in craftsmanship." Cameron is an adventurer whose writing strives to include the reader in Cam own sense of wonder and fascination with nature. In this recent excerpt from Cameron's blog, his prose is as haunting, poetic, and evocative as Childs:<br />
<em>Funny that when the stars come out, we go in, and sleep, and dream...sometimes of the stars or of impossible distances, or of near-infinite energies, or of other infinitudes. Then, as the stars are winking out, we wake and step outside, the lit sky blocking our view and thoughts of a larger universe. </em><br />
<a _mce_href="https://profiles.google.com/crepuscularquill#crepuscularquill/about" href="https://profiles.google.com/crepuscularquill#crepuscularquill/about">David Cooke</a> was the last to share his favorite writer: Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakoy's <a _mce_href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/65-9781442133174-1" href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/65-9781442133174-1" title="Master and Margarita">Master and Margarita</a>. This book was called THE masterpiece of the twentieth century by The Times of London. Having not read it yet,--I ordered it at Powell's Books online yesterday--I can't speak to the parallels between Bulgakov's writing and David's; however, in reading about this novel I found a similar trait. Allusion. One of the novel's predominate themes is good versus evil made through heavy allusions to Faust. This reminded me of David and his use of allusion and his love of grand themes. In the first stanza in his prize winning poem <a _mce_href="http://www.hungermtn.org/edges/" href="http://www.hungermtn.org/edges/">Edges</a>, the allusions transcend the experience of one life to an exploration of <em>our</em> lives.<br />
<em>I don’t know where to start. Far before the moon pulled the tide</em><br />
<em> to your chin. Before your groin became a grotto. Before the brine</em><br />
<em> washed away the haloes your feet squeeze into the sand. I don’t</em><br />
<em> believe in the alchemy of eels and their mud.</em>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-73914683702103222742010-11-27T16:28:00.000-08:002010-11-27T16:28:19.921-08:00Random Act of Kindness<a href="http://theguttery.com/?p=296">Random Act of Kindness</a>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-1384886386952639312010-11-27T13:55:00.001-08:002010-11-27T17:58:53.401-08:00Don't Worry!<div class="MsoNormal">I want to translate the phrase <b><i>don’t worry</i></b>, and I call for those who use it to consider using the translation because it's much more accurate.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The first time I heard this phrase was after the movie <i>101 Dalmatians</i> came out. We had an older, cranky Dalmatian. After that movie came out, wherever we went, kids would race up to our leashed Dalmatian as their parents smiled and called out, “Don’t worry, our kid is good with dogs.” </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I would respond, “But mine’s not good with kids!” Luckily, our dog never bit a kid, not even the little three-year-old who tweaked our dog’s nose while his dad said, ‘aw, how cute.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then we got our little ten-pound, rescue, complete with a pathetic limp and a timid disposition. I thought, “Now I don’t have to worry about people getting into my dog’s space!” After months of training, I introduced him to the dog parks last summer. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Shortly after we started going to dog parks, a pit bull owner saw that I was hesitant about having his large dog play with mine and he told me, “Don’t worry, my dog is good with other dogs.” Right after those words, his dog mistook mine for prey and crushed my little guy’s jaw. After jaw surgery and eight weeks of a muzzle and cone, my little guy recovered physically. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">However, when many people shook their heads and said, “You shouldn’t have brought a little dog to a big dog park”, they exacerbated the ordeal. When the pit bull dog owner refused to accept any responsibility or even to acknowledge his dog’s aggression, I was put in a really difficult position. Of course, he explained his dog's behavior with another of my favorite phrases: “My dog never did anything like that before.” </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This Saturday, four months after the incident with the pit bull, I decided to take our dog to a dog park designated specifically for little dogs, Normandale Park. I sighed at the decision because the lazy in me would much prefer the three parks within walking distance. But, maybe all those people were right; a ten-pound dog should not be in a park with big dogs. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Normandale is a nice park for dogs. Two enormous fenced in play areas for any dog, and then one smaller area for little dogs. All areas are well gated and marked. Being a Saturday, the two larger dog park areas were crowded and rowdy, but the little dog area was empty and peaceful. A great way to reintegrate our dog into the world of dog parks. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My daughter and I brought our dog into the little dog area and, for the first time in four months, we let him run without a leash. It was nice to see him relax and sniff around, and I started to think about how I could fit this park run into our busy lives. That is until two women with three large dogs nonchalantly let themselves into the little dog area. My dog sat down and started to shake as three enormous dogs pounced all over him. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Don’t worry, our dogs are good with other dogs,” they called out, but I didn’t smile and play nice. I did the unthinkable. I challenged the implied authority of the <i>don’t worry</i>. I explained that this was a little dog park and that I drove to Normandale just to use this one park designated for little dogs.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Offended, they told me, “Our dogs are friendly. They’re not a problem. Your problem is not letting your dog play with other dogs.” All in a huff, they finally left the little dog park. As one woman was telling the other, “You told her!” their unleashed dogs bounded straight over to jump on a little kid in the children’s play area. The father raced to pick up his son, but the women invoked their get-out-of-jail card, calling out in dulcet unison, “Don’t worry, our dogs are good with kids.”<br />
<br />
As I watched their dogs pawing down the front of this child, I finally got it. <i>Don’t worry</i> is code for <i>I’m an asshole and I can do whatever the hell I want.</i><b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-84056604819383488052010-11-12T19:55:00.000-08:002011-12-19T21:42:07.457-08:00A Guttery Great at Tony’s Tavern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hFk_xRxDi90z06xs6QRV5XCw5B8YCe8MfpgM0kwOMSbyBK84GdQvdBRrLV9Me15po8v1pTrArQ2Z1r3fnuRMjiLjCkoW5eZFzhwk2ZyZ1uzJb9bSRswbxDHUlBgrc_2WA-Ci-g1KD9ao/s1600/IMG_0130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hFk_xRxDi90z06xs6QRV5XCw5B8YCe8MfpgM0kwOMSbyBK84GdQvdBRrLV9Me15po8v1pTrArQ2Z1r3fnuRMjiLjCkoW5eZFzhwk2ZyZ1uzJb9bSRswbxDHUlBgrc_2WA-Ci-g1KD9ao/s320/IMG_0130.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://theguttery.com/?p=260">A Guttery Great at Tony’s Tavern</a><br />
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This was a fun night at Tony's. The MC didn't show up, and so David moved the the table, set up the chairs, and we played. One Tony regular showed up, but otherwise it was just us. There was something so fun about the unexpected spontaneity of the evening. I love when things don't go as planned.Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-36619998385187857282010-10-28T21:17:00.000-07:002010-10-28T21:17:46.625-07:00bookfutures: discuss<a href="http://bookfutures.blogspot.com/2010/10/discuss.html?spref=bl">bookfutures: discuss</a>: "http://futureofthebook.org/social-reading/ is your link to Bob Stein's Taxonomy of Social Reading which was unveiled at the Books in Browser..."Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-79323166247681770692010-10-19T09:25:00.000-07:002010-10-19T09:25:38.638-07:00Show and Tell Gallery<strong> Last night I did a reading at Show and Tell Gallery. I'm not sure about the expression on my face, but it was supposed to be comical piece. I guess, if nothing else, my face made everyone laugh. </strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bXZD0GOLMpLFVU0bwwkrfDdCw4dm6GhuWKeVrWVbAN_z2Z8rdc3wQw7vepbMqEZMPF7P5r2dXBFzvbp5JExbPTmDS732Z6ZuKfnuwF4fWzwY2IVF0qqA2PXaB8AZD62c_fbDYKOcNxyD/s1600/IMG_3089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bXZD0GOLMpLFVU0bwwkrfDdCw4dm6GhuWKeVrWVbAN_z2Z8rdc3wQw7vepbMqEZMPF7P5r2dXBFzvbp5JExbPTmDS732Z6ZuKfnuwF4fWzwY2IVF0qqA2PXaB8AZD62c_fbDYKOcNxyD/s320/IMG_3089.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><strong><br />
</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>From the Show and Tell Gallery Website:</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Melissa Sillitoe </strong>started Show and Tell Gallery in her living room in 2007, a DIY gallery open at Everett Station Lofts on First Thursdays that included live musical and spoken word performances as part of the arts format. Friends showed art and volunteered showing guests from the lobby to her living room.<br />
<br />
<b>Show and Tell Gallery Production</b>s–which includes collaborators <b>Luke Lefler </b>and <b>Nikia Cummings </b>and volunteers–now hosts a weekly invited reading and open mic at Three Friends Coffee House. Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-69172861762044769242010-10-13T07:37:00.000-07:002010-10-13T07:37:12.084-07:00Stonehenge StudiosStonehenge Studios Poetry Open Mic<br />
<br />
10/10/10<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdsXiBPw-BXdfBSQGlQ5YJZU244DLua6RnnFHQr1KveGvLfETne6CH-1zDH0T87Qc8CWI5tnkZr_wyD7grmPLYvogys-VlRPhdUaBIkFeYXuMLk4KSsY_jTgbA1Ia4gQ7-LcDzexpnF8jX/s1600/stonehendge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdsXiBPw-BXdfBSQGlQ5YJZU244DLua6RnnFHQr1KveGvLfETne6CH-1zDH0T87Qc8CWI5tnkZr_wyD7grmPLYvogys-VlRPhdUaBIkFeYXuMLk4KSsY_jTgbA1Ia4gQ7-LcDzexpnF8jX/s320/stonehendge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I read an excerpt entitled "Revolution" from my book, <i>Only Ghosts</i>.Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-1907192361162485722010-10-08T20:12:00.000-07:002010-10-08T20:14:48.591-07:00Facebook Your Way to Publishing Your Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtoT3zk2wMtCA9SvflxjuTfgvI_HdiuK9CyCzujWwTyhIswELfMst2vYEvsAKe5kGBlaMi98m76qI2lTY3wAVlCsqNEW-sWakIJY_Wu6TtiiHFy0TY4e8JhcAZvj_ReRcwxPZq6uldwVz/s1600/gutterylogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtoT3zk2wMtCA9SvflxjuTfgvI_HdiuK9CyCzujWwTyhIswELfMst2vYEvsAKe5kGBlaMi98m76qI2lTY3wAVlCsqNEW-sWakIJY_Wu6TtiiHFy0TY4e8JhcAZvj_ReRcwxPZq6uldwVz/s320/gutterylogo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://theguttery.com/?p=205">Facebook Your Way to Publishing Your Book</a>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-53186100153940227512010-09-16T21:44:00.000-07:002010-09-16T21:44:21.382-07:00Only Ghosts: October 2nd Performance at Beach Books<a href="http://kalirati.blogspot.com/2010/09/october-2nd-performance-at-beach-books.html#links">Only Ghosts: October 2nd Performance at Beach Books</a>Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562199240054576880.post-79107869076985139292010-09-12T20:06:00.000-07:002010-09-16T21:40:13.459-07:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSybnlW2PkAVhr-Rd4I3EWewsJb2pKwX7Thab2wSD18UQsa3GZ2JxzKmjPa4Moi1REyPLlHJBir_PXrHv37qCt3GRMLdHPlkgFMju2SVvriNhSHWrRb12qUI1zsdyEia7j-qR95ID9gpq/s1600/tharu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSybnlW2PkAVhr-Rd4I3EWewsJb2pKwX7Thab2wSD18UQsa3GZ2JxzKmjPa4Moi1REyPLlHJBir_PXrHv37qCt3GRMLdHPlkgFMju2SVvriNhSHWrRb12qUI1zsdyEia7j-qR95ID9gpq/s320/tharu.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Tharu Family In Dang, Nepal</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Batuwaa is a made up village set near the village of Parasi in the Lumbini District of Nepal. It also takes on some characteristics of the village in Dang where I took this photo. I gave a health training there in the early 1990's, and I knew I would write about it one day. Thus, <i>Only Ghosts</i>.Kaliratihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14223139749706256743noreply@blogger.com0