Books and e-books

In an article in today's paper, there one a prediction by some "authority" that said within a decade, print copies of books will have almost ceased. I believe there was some references to books being musty. To which I uttered a "hurrump" and moved on to the comics.

I remember when Amazon.com and large bookstore chains appeared and other predictions predicted other demises of the world of books as we knew it. Hurrump.

Of course, technology is a rapidly moving target that is changing our access to information and the need to print everything on paper. This blog would not exist if it weren't for such technology. It behooves writers to get with it.

But the demise of our beloved books? Hardly. There is something about going back to an old friend, whose worn pages carry memories of earlier times in our lives. And there is nothing like opening a new book for the first time. My computer, beloved as it is is, will never carry the smell unique to books!

Elizabeth

Check out Clem's poem

One of Clem's peace poems Being Not Afraid was published on the online website Patch for Peace. It is one of Clem's favorite creations. It was written in response to seeing spring bunchberry flowers spread out on the forest floor along Lake Superior. It reminded him of white doves.

To read it, put Clem Nagel Patch for Peace in Google. Touch "poems" and there it is!

Santa Fe

This time, the plaza is
ready for summer festivals,
newly sodded thick green grass
covers the ground, keep-off signs
ignored by everyone seeking shade,
a gathering place for strolling teens
with cell phones and skateboards,
musicians, tourists, and food vendors
find their places among benches
that invite people-watching,
ice cream savored in the arid heat,
Native peoples hand-crafted jewelry
spread on blankets at the Governor's Palace,
art galleries radiate from the plaza,
filled with work generated by
the particular blend of artistic energy
pervading this northern New Mexico place

every time the question:
    what created this space like no other
    that fosters such extraordinary creativity?

Elizabeth

A Presentation by Patricia Hampl

Patricia Hampl, poet and memoirist, will discuss her writing at Southdale Library, 7001 York Avenue South in Edina at 7:00 p.m.

New Exhibit

Today we installed a new exhibit at the Mississippi Branch of the Anoka County Library. The exhibit has five black and white photographic images that are Elizabeth's work. The other nine pieces of art are collaborative work of Clem and Elizabeth. Each piece pairs one of Clem's poems with one of Elizabeth's photographic images. The intent of the two art forms is to have a conversation between them -and to engage the viewer in conversation. All fourteen pieces are from the natural world.

The exhibit will be up until the Tuesday after Labor Day. Stop by and have look!

Anticipating the 4th

All the past 4th of July celebrations in my life are rolled up together. Just like everyone else has a storage bank full of memories about this thoroughly American holiday.
here were the years when our family invariably were camping in Canada over the 4th - where our date has no meaning. (A reminder that the USA is not the only country in the world.) There were my childhood's BBQ chicken on the grill, repeated periodically over the years. There were firework displays over Lake Minnetonka in Wayzata.

Today I ponder - what exactly does this day mean? For some it is a time to party and gather together with family and friends. For others it is the 1812 Overture played full-blast on PBS and cheering with the cannons - no matter how anti-war one might be. It is flag-waving and remembering our history. It is reminding ourselves of who we are - in this time of unemployment that threatens to become chronic, this time of melting glaciers and rising average temperatures even for Minnesota's beloved north woods, and this time of exponential technological growth that shrinks our globe almost daily.

It is not the same country in which I grew up. My world then was the Minnesota prairie of white families dominated by men who were served by submissive women. My life today stands in stark contrast to the person I was brought up to be. (Ask Clem if I submissively serve his every need!). If I live long enough, being a white American will mean being part of a minority group.

Being in someone else's country is like a camera lens, a means to look at my country through someone else's eyes and and opportunity to catch a glimpse their country through my eyes. Those chance conversations (whether the person speaks my version of English or not) about our respective lives, our families, our politics.Yet I am thoroughly American, even with my love to travel in distant cultures.

What does it mean - this being American?

Elizabeth

Capturing Moments in Life

Years earlier, we went to Arches National Park. We tried walking through a narrow passageway to a canyon beyond. The wind was so fierce that it was blowing people over and we had to turn back. When we were in Arches in June we decided to try again.

The slot canyon was beautiful with wind-eroded rocks towering above us. The intense sun warmed the rock walls. We caught glimpses ahead of contorted pines against blue sky. Blooming flowers lined the trail. It was then that I saw the little lizard pressed against a rock and wrote:

Encounter Along a Path

A small, dull brown-green lizard

atop a sun-bathed red rock.

Motionless - almost.

It turns it head toward me - then

quickly away.

Motionless again - almost.

I hold my breath and watch

to see if it is breathing.

The lizard raises and lower

sits body in a pumping motion,

I see its bright green

underbelly.

It lowers itself to the rock -

again motionless - almost.

I step away and leave

a small, dull brown-green lizard

atop a sun-bathed red rock.

                Clem