How Tattoos, Powdered Wigs, and Uggs Have Made Us Who We Are

Be honest, how much time to do you spend on your looks in the morning? Do you have piercings or tattoos, or dyed hair? What does any of that say about you? You would be surprised how much things like that have changed over the years, or depending on where you are in the world. Hair styles, tattoos, piercings, and other body additions say something about you, and the culture you come from. And I don’t just mean those people who get their favorite bands tattooed on themselves. I mean real cultural tells, like how women in Europe refused to wear bangs in the Middle Ages, because they were considered manly and secretive. Or you can look at henna tattoos in India, with multiple meanings behind their elaborate patterns. Even simple things, like how long your hair is, or how much make-up you're wearing, have years of history leading up to how much gel I put in my hair this morning. And yes, we DO have reference books about this, so let’s get reading!

                                 Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History

Yep. Entire book dedicated to hair. I do love the library's Reference section. This book goes through the whole history of hair styles, and there is a lot more to hair than that time in the 90s when everyone thought that not washing your hair was really fab. Like how in the 1600s, hair was a major factor in the conflict between Puritans and Royalists in England that broke out into an all-out war (Our powdered wigs are WAY better than your stupid wigs!) In ancient Greece, women shaved all the hair on their body, except the head, but later on in the ancient world, body hair on a woman was seen as attractive. Sometimes, hairstyles are not exactly trends, as much as laws. In the Byzantine Empire, Emperor Theophilus made a law that all men had to have short hair, supposedly because he was bald and had a major case of hair envy. That’s just a few bits of trivia available here; maybe I've gotten you interested in finding out more from the book! Because no matter what culture or time period you come from, we can all bond over the fact that our hair never looks quite the way we want it to. Bad hair days have always been around.

          Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia
We go from the top of the body to the bottom in this reference book about…feet and footwear. Feet and shoes really take so much abuse, being the things that have to take the blunt of our weight, as well as dealing with whatever sidewalk terrors await us on the way to class. This book talks about modern shoes like Nikes or Candies, mostly about how they advertise, using celebrity endorsements in shoe wear. In modern culture, shoes are a status symbol, and having popular celebrities wear them makes them seem like higher status items. Hilariously, it also talks about Ugg boots, a super trendy shoe that literally is short for 'ugly.' They were originally used by Australian sheep herders, before surfers started wearing them for comfort, followed by the hipsters, and then the world (I can’t judge too harshly, I own a few pairs. I like the style, so don’t judge me either.) There is also information about not so funny things, like ancient Chinese foot binding (don’t Google pictures, it will haunt your dreams) and old-time foot amputation. With a saw and maybe a glass of booze to dull the pain. Ouch. So, take care of your feet and make good choices on your footwear, and I promise we will put away the saws.
 

                              Faces Around the World

When you look at a face, what do you see? This book, from the library's ebrary Academic Complete collection, looks at faces. All kinds of them, like Catholics with forehead ashes on Ash Wednesday, masks in Mexico during the Day of the Dead, Bindis on Indian women, all things that need some cultural context before you can really understand them. There are also a LOT of facial tattoos pictured in the book. Some are culturally symbolic, meant to indicate power or wisdom, and some exist just because they look cool. Some are just a few colors and symbols, and others cover the whole face with symbolic lines and patterns. But it’s not all tattoos and funky masks. Did you know that freckles have been thought of as both beautiful and a mark of the devil throughout history? That uni-brows in Central Asia are considered so attractive that people add makeup to their brows to enhance them? That this ebook is full of tons more information? All those questions answered here!

So what’s the lesson here? That we should all be happy that forbidding body embellishment is officially out? Don’t have longer hair than your emperor? Or just that what we look like has always had a ton of cultural and historical relevance? There is a lot more to talk about with all this, so check out these books. Trust me, after you have seen a “sharpening stone”, you will never forget to thank the hair salon people ever again.  

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CREDO-PEDIA

Everyone loves a good research paper, right? Finding a topic, looking for references, getting all those fun publisher dates for your bibliography...you know the drill. I have written many a reference paper, and for a while, my research method consisted of doing a Google search and maybe checking Wikipedia. Eventually, I learned that there were much more effective ways to do research. Guess where this is going? Yes, we are going to another part of the library's website! Specifically to CREDO Reference, an electronic database that allows you to look up any number of topics and titles, most of which are very research-paper friendly. As of today it has 615, yes, 615 full-text reference books that you can search through. Or if you're just looking for something to do when you’re bored and want to read about propaganda during the French Revolution, then this is a dang good place to start.

One interesting CREDO title is Icons of American Popular Culture: From P.T. Barnum to Jennifer Lopez. Even though this title was published in 2010, I would argue that even then, Jennifer Lopez could no longer be called an “icon," but don’t let the hilariously out of date title keep you away. It has long, well researched articles about historical figures like John F. Kennedy and Muhammad Ali, plus pop culture types like Michael Jordan. Yes, this is rather outdated (there is a real lack of awful reality stars here). When it comes to more historical figures, however, it does a good job of giving a basic overview without the fear of edit bandits you might have using Wikipedia (which most profs don't want you to use anyway.) A lot of the articles are like that, to the point and full of reliable information. This is a great resource for those English 201 papers and CMST 101 speeches!

CREDO Reference also contains quite a few ebooks with pictures of art, and information on the paintings and why they exist. For instance, I came across a text entitled Pocket Guide: Myths and Legends which discusses the portrayal of fantastical characters in paintings and writings. It’s pretty amusing how many people in ye olde times wanted their portraits to make them look like gods or legendary heroes. Good to know the human ego knows no boundary of era. They also frequently used portraits for political purposes, portraying political types as heroes favored by the gods. A lot of the images featured here are from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, but they are all based around myths from classical mythology. They had some pretty serious Greco-Roman nostalgia going on at the time, and the artwork definitely shows it. This is all pretty interesting, as I always like learning about the more mundane aspects of life back in the day, and it has pretty pictures- what a great combination!

But CREDO Reference also includes a lot of books and reference articles that just seem…random. For example, there is an entire ebook with people’s obituaries, going back to the 19^th century (Great Lives: A Century in Obituaries). There's a title detailing the history of the cow in the American economy (The American Economy: An Encyclopedia). There is another ebook with information on icons of southern music (The South), which just makes me feel like I want to write a blog all about that. What I'm trying to say is, these references are pretty cool. Even if you don’t happen to be scrambling around the internet for research, CREDO Reference still a fun place to go if you just want to learn about some cool topics. You may want to store them in your head for the NEXT research paper, because come on, we all know the next one is right around the corner. Oh, and don’t forget to try the Hargrave's Communications Dictionary article on 'corner frequency'. Yeah, that’s a mathematical term and not a hipster band from somewhere out West. Ah the things you learn in the library. And you can find CREDO Reference in the A-Z Databases list. 

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Riding the Soul Train

February is Black History Month, a time when we consider the many contributions African Americans have made to American society. Now granted, I think we should remember those contributions pretty much all year round, but I guess it’s good to set aside a time to really focus on it. And now USI is getting into the spirit by bringing IU's much acclaimed Gospel group IU Soul Revue to our campus on February 26 at 7pm in Carter Hall!  To celebrate, I dedicate this blog to some of the amazing things done in African American music. And if I have to spend all day rocking out to awesome gospel and blues songs to do that, so be it!
 

                 African American Music
African American music has taken many forms over the years. There is soul music, gospel, jazz, blues, and plenty more. If you’re interested, take a look at the book African American Music, which is about…well just guess. It takes us from folk music, to spirituals by  slaves, to the blues movement in New Orleans, to political music in the 1960s. It gives a lot of pictures and context, talking about what was going on historically, and how that affected the music being made. I have always loved the history of music, and especially music made from specific sub genres. But I'm biased, considering one of my favorite genres of music is the blues. Speaking of….

                              Nobody Knows Where the Blues Come From

This book is a quest to find the history of the blues. It describes the strange, colorful lives of blues singers, and it gives a strong analysis of blues lyrics and what they mean. The blues has long been music strongly influenced by oral traditions, with the iconic blues man being the lone traveler with a guitar, traveling back roads, singing about what he sees on his journey. This book looks at the blues movement in the West Indies and the roles of race and gender in blues music. It also explores how various tragedies and injustices have influenced the blues (well, after all, blues is not the most cheery name for a genre). Do they find the true origin of the blues in this book? Guess you will have to read it to find out!

                African American GoodNews (Gospel) Music
Before the concert, you might want to do a little research on gospel music so that you'll know all the right times to jump up and start cheering for the Lord. There is a long, rich tradition of African American gospel music in this country, and many people have pioneered this musical form. This book is mostly biographical information about gospel singers, with lots of pictures and information about them, going back to when everyone seemed to style their hair really high and wear a lot of suits. It’s a good book to use as a reference guide because it's not about the genre so much as it is about the singers. This book even provides ways to cite information about them, the venues where they performed and the places where they recorded. It's not the most lively book about gospel music we have, but it’s a good way to get familiar with the genre. And yes, laugh a bit as the pictures start to reach the 1980s near the end. Oh the '80s, you even infected the word of God.

Best of Blues

As you might have noticed, I really like blues music, always have. It’s a distinctly American, grass roots genre with a folk vibe, all things that I really dig. But this CD isn’t about history or what blues means to the greater culture. It's just about the music. This CD features some of the best African American blues singers in history, with songs from Big Mama Thornton, B.B. King, and the legendary Billie Holiday, among others. Most of the tracks are older blues, going way back to the 1920s or 1930s, and it just seems very old-timey, but it's so dang relavant. Blues music can be fun and it can be lively, but it is often known for its songs of pain, because, again, it's even called the blues. Check out this CD from the Rice Library's audio collection, and have a listen for yourself!

If this sounds interesting, come on out to the IU Soul Revue in Carter Hall at 7pm on February 26. Celebrate all the great music African American musicians have given America, and how much they have given to us all. Again, these are things you should do always, but February is as good a time as ever to blast some soul music in your car as it heats up.
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And the Academy Award goes to...

It's Oscar season baby! As a major movie geek, I absolutely love Oscar season. I love the speeches, the awkward banter at the podium, the outfits, the speculation, and, of course, the films. Of the nine movies up for Best Picture this year, I have seen eight of them (come on Amour, would a wide release be so much to ask?!) and I have to say, it’s been a pretty good year for movies. But we have plenty of places to read about the current nominees (TMZ anyone?) I want to look at some of the Oscar winners of yesteryear, the best actors, the best movies, the best writing, the best everything. And, as it so happens, we have several past winners right here in the library's DVD section! So if you feel like getting pumped for the big show (I beg you Seth McFarland, let’s see more Ted and less last few seasons of Family Guy), check out some of these favorites from Oscars past!
 

                                  In the Heat of theNight
If you haven’t seen much of Sidney Poitier, look up some of his movies. This guy is classy. Sidney Poitier is an African American actor who made a lot of his most famous movies in the 1960s, and was the first African American to win a Best Actor Oscar in 1963 (Lilies of the Field), a time when, in many parts of the country, black people couldn’t even use the drinking fountain. In the Heat of the Night, which won Best Picture in 1967, is one of his most famous, telling the story of detective Virgil Tibbs from Philadelphia who, while traveling through a small Mississippi town, is accused of murder by racist cops during a heat wave. When they realize who he really is, he calls his bosses up north, who tell him to stick around to help find the real killer. It’s basically a murder mystery, but it’s more about simmering racial tensions that eventually come close to exploding, and how Tibbs has to navigate the territory, while still trying to solve the murder. The performances here are great, not just Poitier, but also Rod Steiger as the racist sheriff who is forced to work with Tibbs, and eventually come to respect him. Coming out in the 1960s, a time when race issues were exploding all over America, this movie was a big deal. Even without all the historical importance, it’s a dang good movie, with an excellent leading actor, and an all-time great tag line, "They call me MISTER Tibbs."

                                                    No Country for Old Men

The Oscars have a bit of a reputation for picking movies that are “safe”, ones that are not controversial or too off-putting. While there is probably a little truth in that, it can’t be 100%. Case in point, no one could look at a movie like 2007's Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men and call it “safe”. Written by Joel and Ethan Coen, it's a very strange movie to become a mainstream hit. It’s a very dark, twisty modern day western about an aging lawman, a small-town Texan who wanders into a drug deal gone bad, a bag of stolen money, and Anton Chigurh, a monotoned, unstoppable hit man who seems to use his stupid haircut to distract people from that fact that he might be the personification of unstoppable killing power. Or death. Or chance. I don’t know, there's a lot of symbolism in this movie, and a lot of ways to interpret what the movie is about. From a story  standpoint, this movie is bizarre. This movie is just so oddly structured, with long tracking scenes and major events happening off-screen; when the movie ends, it doesn’t end in a dramatic shoot out or a fight, like in most Westerns, it just ends… well, see it for yourself. Some people really hate this movie, but personally, I find it fascinating. It's beautifully shot and acted, and it’s such an odd version of a modern western that even if you don’t like it, you will at least remember it. And that’s what an Academy Award winner should be above all: memorable.
 

   The Sea Inside

I have always liked watching foreign films. I know some people aren’t into subtitles, but if the story is good enough, I don’t think it should matter. So I have always liked checking out the Best Foreign Film nominees and winners, and this is definitely an interesting one to try out. It’s a 2004 Spanish film, a winner of Best Foreign Film, about a mechanic who becomes quadriplegic after an accident, and his fight to be allowed to end his own life. While it discusses a lot of the implications and issues surrounding euthanasia, it’s really more a character piece about one man trying to end his life, while at the same time inspiring the people around him to live life to the fullest. I don’t know if it’s my favorite foreign movie winner, but I would say if you are interested in foreign films, or in the issues this movie talks about, this atmospheric film is as good a place to start as any.  

 

Since the Academy Awards began in 1927, we have had all kinds of films win the coveted Best Picture award. Silent films, westerns, weepy dramas, war movies, period pieces, even the occasional comedy (or dramedy). In all those, there must be something there to like, so if you can’t check out the current nominees, or the Academy Awards show on Febuary 24th, take a peek at the library's DVDs of some earlier Best Picture flicks. I promise not a single awful remake or sequel in the bunch!

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169 Million Pounds of Pistachios Were Consumed in 2010- Did You Eat Your Share?

You know when you are watching a court room type of show? And the lawyer starts angrily quoting statistics in an attempt to back up their point and make a rousing closing argument that will sway the jury to their side with reason and righteous indignation? Well, those stats don’t just get pulled out of nowhere. And statistics are important to all sorts of people, not just crusading lawyers. Librarians, for one, use them all the time, in helping students with research and in helping faculty who are writing articles. Also, think of how many of your papers have the sentence “statistics say…” in them? When the library's users need statistics on what is going on in the country, from employment to disease rates to natural resources to manufacturing, it's good to know that the government is keeping track of all these things, and allowing the public to see them on demand, all in one place. Well, they used to anyway.

 

Since 1878, the U.S. Census Bureau had published in print and online, The Statistical Abstract of the United States, a summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It's a resource where just about any statistic you could want about American life is pulled together, along with identification of the information's source, and how up to date it is. However, that all changed in 2011, when budget cuts forced the Bureau to shut down the project, causing panic among many a librarian, researcher, and student trying desperately to get those last few sources into their paper. But there was hope! A company called ProQuest took over preparing the data sets, and are now in charge of the database, ProQuest Stastistical Abstract. And our library has not only connected it in our A-Z Database list, but has also bought the 2013 book edition of the Abstract, with a noticeably larger print size than when the government was putting it out. So what can you now find on this site? 100% of bloggers named Clare will now explain!

 

When you click on the ProQuest Statistical Abstract database, you can click on any topic you might want statistics on, and it will take you to a list of tables, allowing you to look up whatever you are interested in, and it even gives you the source of the information. And it’s not just the things you would automatically think of, like how many robberies there've been or how many people are employed, married, etc., it has things you wouldn’t even think of counting up. How much do you know about the fishing industry? Well, did you know that fishing in the USA has consistently gone up over the last few years, especially in the exports of tuna? Yes ladies and gentlemen. Learn about the amazing world of American Tuna! Oh, and other fun thing we are keeping track of? Hazardous waste! There is a whole chart discussing how much waste we have in the country, and just how toxic it all is. The part that grabs me is the category for  "miscellaneous toxic chemicals". I really don’t know what that would be, but I am just going to assume they're out there somewhere, giving some hapless kid superpowers or something. See all the cool, weird things you can learn? You can look at just about anything from deer season to major American theaters to auto parts. You can even get the APA and MLA citations for the data tables you use... I don’t even know if my parents would find those for me. So check it out, if you need information, or are just interested. You never know when you could need a statistic about the growing squirrel population in the Midwest. Or pistachio consumption.

CP

 

For Science!

Science has done A LOT of great things for us. We've gone to outer space, we've found cures for various deadly diseases, we can take pictures of the bottom of the ocean from satellites in space, and we can watch YouTube videos of cute animals while we're in an airplane! That rocks pretty hard. People have always been fascinated by the world around them, and science is a great way to learn more about it, even if you don’t happen to have a laboratory or a giant telescope on hand. What you do have however, is the library's terrific science resource called Access Science! It's one of the library's academic databases found on the Databases A-Z list, focusing on various forms of scientific know-how, including biographies of famous scientists, animations, and academic reports on anything from agriculture to zoology. Even if you don’t take a lot of science classes, this website is fun to explore, and easy to navigate. I am not the most knowledgeable about science, but have always been interested in it, and I am very willing to learn, so let’s take a look around, and I'll try to look at things besides dinosaurs.

Fine, I`ll get it out of the way. Dinosaurs! On the very front page, the Geological time scale is out front, listing the entire time scale of the Earth, including the eras of the Dinosaurs (there’s a picture of a dinosaur on the link to the scale because, really, that’s all we want to know about), giving a time scale as to when Jurassic Park was less of a Blockbuster, and more of typical Monday, but with less Jeff Goldblum. You can also learn more about my beloved dinosaurs by clicking on the Paleontology button on the Search Science section, and get articles on recent fossil discoveries, and find links to more information and pictures on recently discovered ancient creatures, like Acanthostega, an ancient reptilian animal that is not technically a dinosaur, but I am still counting it! Because everything is better with Dinosaurs! It's been proven! By SCIENCE!

There are a TON of nifty things to find on this site. Interested in space? There are updates about the Kepler experiment, which is keeping tabs on what is going on in the outer realms of space. Plus animations! Need to use the Periodic Table for your chemistry class? It not only has a virtual table, but also lots of information about each element. Does DNA get you all excited? As it should? There’s an animated DNA strain right on the front page. Articles from respected scientists about archaeology, biology, medicine, psychology, anything you can think of, I bet this has information on. Its articles even have instructions about how to cite them right on the page! Aren’t scientists so thoughtful?

Even though I have usually been more of an arts/writing sort of person, I have also always loved learning about science. In ARTstor, we saw how some of the beautiful, creative things people can create, and in Access Science we see how people have discovered the beautiful, creative things that nature has given us, and that we have created though research and drive. Like I said, we are very curious by nature, and we desire to know more about the world around us, and this is a great place to learn more. Oh, and we like to use science to blow things up. And yes, you can see that on this site too. FOR SCIENCE!   P.S. It's weird, but only two people can use this database at the same time. Be patient, one of them may take an experiment too far and then it's your turn.  

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Journey into ARTstor

You can find the strangest things on the USI library's website. It’s like its own mini museum, without the overpriced gift shop. And if you look into one corner, you can click on the library's own access to  lots of museums and art galleries! It’s the database called ARTstor (find it in the Databases A-Z list.)  And let me tell you, it gets pretty dang eclectic in there! Pottery and clothes and paintings and artifacts, they're all here! It has things that are pretty, strange, from all over the world, all conveniently put together in a set of collections and displays according to time period, or theme. So I have now decided to have my own virtual art day, to bring you the coolest and strangest bits of art from around the world! Time to put on those hipster glasses and get moving!

                                                    Featured Collections

Right on the front page of the site, there's a link showing ARTstor's featured collections that usually have something to do with current events, or have seasonal themes. Or are just new stuff that someone wants to show off, I don’t know. Right now, some of these featured collections include a series of Tibetan and Buddhist art, contemporary architecture with lots of cool squiggles and circles, African art and masks, and Chinese works based around this Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake. I love these pictures- there's an amazing Asian style dress with a snake winding from collar to hem! I want it desperately. The collections are full of these cool things, and you should take a peek.

                                                         Favorite Pieces

 

No real theme here. There are just some parts of these collections that I really like and I want to talk about them! There are two pictures by Jerry Kearns in the visual art section called 'Jack and Jill',  one depicting a hot blonde woman standing on a cross looking thing, looking all cover girl hot, except she has robot legs and giant guns for arms and explosions are coming from behind her like she’s the  freaking Terminator. "Jack"  looks pretty much the same. I have no idea what it’s supposed to mean, but it’s awesome. Another piece that caught my eye is a strange horned helmet, from around 51 BC, that has two big horns sticking out of the sides. I know it has a purpose and all, but with its two big horns sticking out of it, and a bunch of fancy vines all over it, it looks like something Hagar the Horrible would wear to a garden party, it’s just great.

There are also some great paintings and photographs, including a lot of very strange old timey photographs, like one called Elegy for Moss Land, taken in 1941 by Clarence Laughlin, of what looks like the ghost of an old southern house in a bog while a woman…gives it offerings?  If I wanted to buy it online, it goes for over $6000! There’s even a ghost picture called Phantom Man from the Solitary House, also by Laughlin, which has a creepy blob of a person walking by a creepy Hollywood house. Right before that is a picture called Fairyland in Iron and Glass, that I just find so weirdly interesting. It has a slightly creepy but also whimsical quality to it. Also by the apparently awesome Laughlin, by the way. Not into the creepy? Try some other paintings, like a lovely one called Rainy Night, Etaples, which is a slightly impressionistic picture of a rainy street, by Indianapolis native William Edouard Scott.  Or, if you’re in that kind of mood, try Large Plane Trees which is very Van Gough. Mainly because it’s by him, so….logical. All this and more can be seen right here in the ARTstor collections! 

I really wish I had more space, because there are A LOT of fantastic things about here, like giant African tribal masks, and more old time photographs, murals from streets around the world-  there is a ton of art and history here, so give it a look. It’s good for history or humanities projects, art research, pictures for presentations, or just for fun. Adjust those hipster glasses and take a spin, I promise you won’t regret it.

CP

 

Americana Part 2: On the Road Again

                                           The People Who Stayed

Having left the northern and western parts of our country, I’ve arrived down south. Now, I really hope I don’t have to tell you that Europeans were not the first people in this country. And that many of the people who were originally here were eventually driven out of their homes and forced out west. It’s a long, unhappy story that I don’t have much time to get into right now. But what I want to talk about are the Native Americans who stayed in their own lands in the southeast. Aptly titled The People Who Stayed, this book is a collection of legends, writings, and oral history of the southern Native Americans who had to navigate the complicated racial landscape of the South. The book not only has a lot of history, but some interesting personal stories of Native Americans who joined either white or black communities, and how, like many ethnic groups they tried to keep their identities, while deciding how much they wanted to assimilate into the main stream. If you want to learn more about this, check the book out! It’s a very interesting and little-known important part of our cultural history.  

                         Camino del Sol : Fifteen Years of Latina and Latino Writing
 

How about we stay in the south (or the southwest) and look at another notable ethnic group in the U.S., the ever growing Hispanic population. Unlike the last two books, this one is more contemporary, dealing with issues in the Latino community, like migration, cultural assimilation, and gender. As the most rapidly growing minority in the U.S., Hispanic culture has become a major part of mainstream America. This book has a nice combination of writing, with poetry, short stories, and essays. It’s also a good mix of different nationalities and backgrounds (Latinos/Hispanics being a pretty diverse group) as well as a mix of time periods, with poetry from Hispanics serving in WWI, to modern day Latina women navigating cultural traditions and the desire to join the professional world. I know that some people are touchy about certain Hispanic issues, like illegal immigration and Spanish being such a prominent language, but this book isn’t about that. It’s about the importance of Hispanic writing, and its cultural impact on America.

America is, as we’ve discussed already, a pretty unique place. Lots of different people and places, and a whole host of experiences, especially for a relatively young country. Due to this background, Americans have created several of their own genres, each with their own unique flavor. Take Southern Gothic, a genre set in the American South, often taking realistic southern issues and using strange, grotesque situations and characters to get the point across, sometimes with the supernatural. And no, I don’t think Larry the Cable Guy movies count (although he is pretty grotesque).  One of the most famous is A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, king of this type of work. It’s the well-known story of a faded southern belle and her relationships with her timid, working class sister and her sister’s brutish but steamy hot husband (Google young Marlon Brando- dang, could he work a white shirt), who becomes way more of a creep as the play goes on. There’s also an equally famous movie which is quite close to the original play. Streetcar is an archetypal Southern Gothic tale of the death of the old south, with creepy characters, strange situations, madness, and decay. It’s an interesting and twisted genre, one that continues to this day, its influence in TV shows like True Blood, or movies like recent Oscar nominee Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Interested in another American subgenre? You could fight me on this, but I would count the work of John Steinbeck (and others of his era) as a genre of its own. His depression era stories, such as The Grapes of Wrath, marked a time when artists, musicians, and writers looked around their country struggling in the Great Depression, and wrote about the awful things they saw, with no sugarcoating. Steinbeck’s most famous book, the tale of an Oklahoma farm family migrating to California in a desperate attempt to find work, is an American classic. It’s a story less about individual characters, and more about the country as a whole, whose people desperately struggled, persevering despite the odds against them. This book also has a famous movie, which I like a lot, but beware- there’s so much dust and grime onscreen that you just want to take a shower. America does love its outdoors.
 

So, have we gotten any closer to figuring out Americana? Is it wild tales? The outdoors? The struggles of the American people? Diversity? Super Bowl Commercials? I still have trouble describing it but, I can feel  it. It’s the way America feels, its odd, confusing history, its love of independence and kitsch. A country that loves roadside attractions and endearing weirdos. Bits and pieces of Americana seep into each other, creating one large, ever changing culture. U.S. history has a lot of darkness, but it’s always prided itself on looking towards the future. My road trip may not have given me all the answers, but it did give me a lot of great stories about trying to find them! So check out these books, and try to see if you can figure it out better than I can. I mean, I haven’t even talked about the World’s Biggest Ball of Twine…      
 

CP

Blogging down Route 66:The Road to Americana Part 1

When you think of uniquely American culture, what comes to mind? The American Melting Pot? Bald Eagles? Tailgating, cheap beer and football? Put all those together, and you get Americana- which is basically defined as artifacts related to the history, geography, and culture of America, things that have a distinctly American flavor. America is a geographically large and diverse country, having been shaped by Native American culture and history, and its immigrant heritage, with people from every corner of the world settling here and adding to the exchange of cultures.  All this has given birth to a number of themes, styles, and traditions that are distinctly American, many of which are seen in the literature that we have created. Alright, it’s a bit hard to actually define Americana, but you know it when you see it, I think. What does or what does not fall under Americana can be confusing, but I’m going to try anyway. Tall Tales, ghost stories, poems, I am going to try to figure this out! Wish me luck, as I drive down the Route 66 of Americana!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
 

I guess the best place to start is at the beginning, or at least the beginning of classic American traditions  we know today. Washington Irving (1783-1859) was one of the earliest American writers who made a huge international splash. He’s also one of the pioneers of the short story as a legitimate literary style, with a distinct American flavor. If you look his two most famous stories, ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’, and ‘Rip Van Winkle’, you notice some very similar themes. They both take place in small farming communities in the early days of the United States as a country separated from England, they both deal with the conflict between the contemporary and supernatural worlds, and they both warn about the dangers of the woods. Both are stories based on Old World tales of ghosts and curses, with Irving applying them to the New World in some of the earliest stories in the American tradition of Romanticism. So, we owe a lot to Irving, for his contribution to American literature and culture, and many a Halloween haunted trail. Oh, he also had a particular nickname for New York City: Gotham. This was later borrowed by some comic book writers who were creating this new character, around sort of bat theme…. Yeah, it turns out that Christopher Nolan owes Irving a writer’s credit or something. Strange how often literary creations can end up influencing each other, even influencing different genres and time periods. Speaking of…

                    Tall Tale America, a Legendary History of our Humorous Heroes

Americans have long been fascinated by the outdoors, by the wildness of nature, and what better place to exemplify that then the American (often wild) West? That’s how we get to tall tales. Tall tales were sort of like old timey Chuck Norris jokes. They were a bragging contest about how big and bad they could make the hero of the story sound. Sometimes called Big Men stories (although they weren’t actually just about the guys) these were larger than life tales of courage, strength, and cleverness, usually told in a humorous, good natured way. The heroes range from working men like John Henry, the railroad man who died proving a man could do the work of a machine, or Paul Bunyan, the lumberjack with the size and power of a giant, to wild frontiersmen like Pecos Bill, who lassoed a tornado, or Davy Crockett, part time hunter and explorer, part time politician. Those are just a few of the many heroes of Tall Tale stories, more of which can be read about in Tall Tale America, which not only lists several of the tales, but also gives some historical context about American folklore, and how it differs from lore in other parts of the world. The book frequently uses regional dialects in the stories, which can get rather distracting, and it’s definitely an older book, but it’s still a good place to start looking if you’re interested in knowing more about these American myths. 

                                    Voices from the Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was an explosion of African American culture, centered in the NYC neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920s. This book gives both a history of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as examples of the poetry and essays of the time, covering authors such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Wallace Thurman. This is just a small sample of the work coming from this era, and from African American culture in general. Much of this material deals with African American identity; the writers and poets of the time were attempting to find where they stood in a country that seemed to be progressing, but no one was sure how much. With the book having so much history in it,  it may be more for history buffs than poetry lovers, but it has some great writing here, and is a good book to check out if you’re a fan of history, writing, or art (of all kinds).

I’m going to exit the highway and rest now….but check back for Part Two!

 

Masques, Sea Shanties, and the American Poets

What do you think of when you hear the word 'poetry'? Moon-June rhyming things? Things you had to read in high school? Personally, I love poetry. It can be funny, romantic, interesting, or profound. It can help you understand times and places you can only visit in your imagination, and get into the heads of people from all over the world. Poetry predates the written word, with the earliest poems being oral legends and stories, and folk songs. It ranges from ancient storytellers waxing eloquent about that day’s buffalo hunt, to modern day spoken word poetry delivered in auditoriums packed with avid listeners. The United States has a long poetic tradition, reaching back to the pre-colonial days, with American writers eventually stretching beyond their British roots and creating a style that was distinctly American. And as it turns out, we have many wonderful books of American poetry right here! Want to experience the power of words (or just sound smart at parties)? Take a peek at these great examples!

                                                                  The Portable Edgar Allan Poe

  Like your poetry creepy and gothic? Then have I got a book for you! Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous and influential American poets, a pioneer in horror literature, mysteries, and Hot Topic t-shirts. This book includes information Poe's life (alcohol, tuberculosis, dark colors, marriage to his 13-year old cousin), samples of his poetry, his short stories, letters, and a number of other writings, giving a very impressive picture of his general work and style. Everyone knows his most famous works, like The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Raven, but take this opportunity to see some of his slightly lesser known works, like The City in the Sea, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, and The Masque of the Red Death. It’s pretty amazing how much modern horror was influenced by Poe, so check it out, and see where modern horror met modern mystery.

                                    American Folk Poetry

Remember what I said earlier about oral traditions in poetry? Yeah, America has those too. For years, Americans made up songs, games, and poems that were shared around the campfire, on ships and docks, or in coal mines. You can read more about these in American Folk Poetry, a hefty anthology of songs, ballads, and sea shanties, often focusing on the lives of rural Americans, sailors, miners, lumberjacks, and young lovers. There are chapters about Christmas songs and lullabies, party songs, TONS of weirdly specific genres of love songs, religious hymns, murder ballads, etc. Many of them are still heard today, like 'Oh Susannah', 'Yankee Doodle', 'Battle Hymn of the Republic', and many songs that would later be covered by country stars. I have  looked up some of the sea shanty/working man style songs, and they are really dang catchy, so beware!

                                        The Road Not Taken: A Selection of Robert Frost's Poems

You have probably heard of Robert Frost. Great American poet, 'The Road Not Taken', you probably had to read something of his in class at some point. Frost's poetry is known for its traditionalism, and its focus on nature and the world of the average American. Most of his poems are not epic sonnets of love and power, but are just about things around the house, like a doorway, a woodpile, or a sand dune. But he takes the ordinary things in life and makes them beautiful, finding all that love and epic-ness in everyday life. This book has not only a lot of his poetry, but also a decent amount of  biographical information, and some essays written by other poets about him, so this is a great place to start if you interested in learning more about his poetry. After reading his work, you might never look at a creepy, muddy pathway the same way again.

The saddest thing about this blog is that I have a limited amount of space to discuss my topic. Especially with a huge topic like American poetry. I haven’t even touched on Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Shel Silverstein, and dozens of others. I just may have to revisit this later in the semester....There's so much out there, so many styles and topics and genres, you need to go investigate yourself! Head to the library, and start investigating ASAP. I am sure you`ll find something right for you! I mean, what else are you going to do? Your homework?

CP

Be my Valentine?

Valentine’s Day gets a bad reputation. It seems like every year, more and more people take it as a day to complain about being single, and hate on people who aren’t. People say it’s just a day created by candy and card companies, or a day to make people feel bad for being single, or it puts tons of pressure on couples to have a perfect Valentine’s Day. Personally, I never got that. Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be about expensive dates and flowers. It’s just a day to take some time out of your busy schedule to remind the important people in your life how much you care. It can be your significant other, friend, parents, siblings, roommates, pets, or the guy who makes your coffee perfectly at Starbucks. Love is about more than romance and date nights, so just have fun and spend time with someone you love, even if they happen to be a goldfish. And really, what’s wrong with a little more love? Even when I’m not in a relationship, I’m happy for people who are! In fact, it really is a time when I tend to get a little mushy about love and romance, so here are a few books and videos to check out from the library, if you want to get in that lovey dovey Valentine mood!

                                              The Last Song/Message in a Bottle 

                                                          Nicholas Sparks
Come on, you had to see this one coming. Nicholas Sparks is our premier writer of romance stories that will inevitably become movies that come out in February. Nicholas Sparks has written 17 novels in his career, with 8 of them being turned into movies. His books almost always strongly feature a love story, either of first love, or of older characters finding a second chance for love after being divorced or their spouse dying tragically. Oh, that’s the other Nick Sparks thing. His books basically are about love and death. People fall in love, there are complications, and someone dies, all in a small town somewhere in the South. Two of his books are The Last Song, and Message in a Bottle, which both pretty much nail the Sparks formula. The Last Song (the one with the Miley Cyrus movie) is about a teenage girl connecting with her estranged father while falling in love for the first time. Message in a Bottle is about a woman who while jogging on a beach finds…well, guess what. She reads the romantic letter a man wrote to a woman, and decides to find him. Both stories deal with love, loss, and moving on from tragedy. Sparks’ books do tend to be somewhat formulaic, but they know what they are. Grab up a bag of tissues, pull up a comfy chair, and get ready to be Sparked (even if you’re a guy- I won’t tell).

                                       The Look of love: The Art of the Romance Novel

But Sparks was not the first person to write about romance. Ever since the 1940s, people have been eating up dramatic, steamy romances. Back before they invented HBO or the internet, romance novels were the only outlets that repressed, 1950s women had to release some of their…romantic tension. This online book looks at the history of the romance novel, distinguishing between steamy romances, and love-filled pre-Sparks books. While the book is about the history of romance novels, it also is about the story of how women and men have related to each other, and women’s place in society. And it also has some hysterically cheesy old time covers, from a time when you couldn’t even show a couple kissing, so take a peek! History and romance, what’s not to like?

                                                    Finding Nemo/The Philadelphia Story  

Hear me out on this one. When you think V-Day movie, you might not think about the wacky misadventures of a neurotic clown fish that meets up with a blue tang fish and searches the sea to find his missing son Nemo. But remember what I said up in the first paragraph, about different kinds of love? Well, Finding Nemo is basically a movie about the honest to God power of love. It’s about parental love, and friendship love, and how much someone will go through for love. While this movie doesn’t really have a love story, the two main relationships, between Marlin and Nemo (father and son), and Marlin and Dory(friends/travel partners) are ten times more meaningful then most generic romantic flicks. Oh, and funny talking fish. And bubbles. MY bubbles.

Oh- you want a little bit more romance in your V-day movie? Then check out the granddaddy of all romantic comedies, The Philadelphia Story. The movie is a classic comedy of class conflict, farce, and partner swapping. The basic plot is that Katherine Hepburn plays a rich girl about to get married, only her ex-husband, played by Cary Grant shows up, as well as a couple of reporters who are trying to get the dish on a possible scandal within Hepburn’s family. There’s even a meddling younger sister- anyone have one of those? Really, it’s all about the performances, and the dialogue, which is whip smart and sassy. It’s a very classy romance, where the characters look great, they sound cool, and everything works out in the end. Alright it’s from the early 40s, so some aspects haven’t aged well, but still, it’s amazing how much modern day romance movies have been influenced by this one flick that came out so long ago. I don’t want to say much more, just give it a try!

Hope you all enjoyed this blog, and that it can help you have a happier Valentine’s Day! I know it can be a touchy time for some people, but hopefully this will help you have a fun time, whether or not you have a Valentine! Call someone you love, watch some Finding Nemo, eat some chocolate, and feed your goldfish. Just have fun!
CP