Wendy Martin (1) (1940–)

Rereading this 30 year slater, I was not an enamored as I was the first time through, but it's still a solid anthology and captures well the short story scene of the late 80s. It was racially diverse for its time -- Erdrich, Cisneros, and Birtha to go along with the fairly canonical at that time Walker, Marshall, Silko, Kingston, Bambara. Still plenty of white women, though, and a strong New Yorker presence. Among the 70s-80s stories, the Gordon, Prose, Beattie, and Janowitz feel dated, but the Minot holds up -- though does not seem as stylistically or thematically radical as it did then. Marshall's "Brookyln" I had completely forgotten but loved, and Erdrich's "Fleur" I completely remembered and loved. Some pieces seemed odd choices -- didn't work well as part of this grouping -- and those were primarily the less narrative-focused stories -- "Blackguard," "On Discovery," "She Unnames Them." Overall, it is a great snapshot of the state of the art in 1990.… (plus d'informations)

I'm working on a YA novel involving a serial killer and one heck of a lot of Emily Dickinson references. (No, I'm not writing Dickinson into the role of serial killer. Sorry. That's too weird even for me.)

Anyway. I checked this out from the library because I'm reading a full-length biography of ED and it's good but a little overwhelmingly analytical at times. I wanted a good brief overview. I figured this book would be a basic, even generic look at Dickinson's life and work

I was kind of a judgmental jerk, it turns out. This book is a great brief overview, and it's anything but generic. I learned so much, and I'm everlastingly grateful to Wendy Martin for tipping me off to what I'll call Dickinson's Irish connection. It gave me an idea for a future YA novel.

If you're interested in Dickinson's life or work but don't want to make a career out of learning about her, or have always wondered why different collections have different versions of what's supposedly the same Dickinson poem, read this book. (Yes, I took a long time to finish it, but only because I was taking copious notes.)… (plus d'informations)

I rather enjoyed this narrative. The 4 adventures were enough different to keep ones interest. I was taken aback by the prejudices between the states, but had to remember the original colonies had very different early histories and were settled by different peoples.
The first 3 were the most enjoyable. The 4th, Dr Alexander Hamilton (not that one), was somewhat tiresome but the purpose of his trip was different than the others. The spelling and puncuation changed over the course of 100 years with the last story much easier to read.
I do not know when I acquired this book, or why, but it was not for a class as it was published in 1994, long after my school days.… (plus d'informations)

This book addresses the conflict between European settlers and the Native Americans. Such classic stories as the capture of Mary Rowland and others make up the historical time period and gives a narrative view of the events and culture of that time period. An excellent book for teaching history, geography, social studies and many other subjects. This book is a little dense since it is mostly written in the original language of the time frame but paired with a well planned lesson or structured discussion sessions it would be a great asset to any classroom.… (plus d'informations)