October 2012 the Vol. XI No. 2 Figure in thecarpet

Leaves of Light: Celebrating ’s America

I first met Ken Burns in Washington D.C. usually had a draft of the narration and was combined with seeing the rough cut of in 1992 at a meeting of consultants for his some version of many of the interviews at the film, it was engaging and stimulating, documentary Baseball. There were about this point) for mistakes, for revisions, for even if it made for long days since all of twenty people present besides Burns, his criticism. I found this, at first, to be exceed- these films, exceptUnforgiveable Blackness, scriptwriter Geoff Ward (whom I would ingly tedious, and I did not think I was es- were 12 to 18 hours long when broadcast get to know well), co-producer Lynn pecially good at it. (The other consultants and even longer in their rough cut ver- Novick (whom I would also get to know were fantastic at this sort of things, much to sions. I don’t think I ever got any better well), and other staffers. The consultants my envy.) I went through this process with at providing much useful criticism. But included baseball historian John Thorn, four other Burns films: (I contributed Burns, like any good director, knows what baseball biographer Robert Creamer, base- an essay to the book that accompanied this he wants from his actors; and I suppose ball biographer and historian Charles Al- film as well), Unforgiveable Blackness: the my one-trick pony offering was something exander, statistician and writer Bill James, Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (I have always that he liked. (I should add that he might writer Dan Okrent, and other noted base- thought this to be a rather uncharacteristic not, probably does not, think of me at all ball specialists. film for Burns), The War (the most pow- as a one-trick pony critic; it is the way I see erful Burns film), and the upcoming The myself.) He has kept an open invitation for The only reason I wasn’t thoroughly con- Roosevelts (an amazingly lyrical film about me to consult on virtually any of his films, vinced I was in over my head was because politics). As time went along, I found the if I felt I had something to contribute. Burns wanted me there. Geoff Ward rec- process to be less tedious; in fact, when it ommended me to Burns, who seemed I have said repeatedly that what I learned supremely confident that I could do what he wanted me to do. What he wanted changed over time: first, just to provide a perspective he hoped would be both use- ful and different from those of the other consultants; then, to be a talking head for the film; and finally to contribute to the book that accompanied the film. What struck me about Burns was he seemed to know how to use the people around him to get what he wanted. “Used” may seem too pejorative a term; it might be better to say that he understood, after a point, what people had to offer and was able to deploy them in certain ways. The consultants’ meeting consisted of go- ing over the script page by page (Burns Gerald Early and Ken Burns

Published by The Center for the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis visit our blog site at http://cenhum.artsciwustl.edu/pubs/blog.htm Advisory Board from Burns was how to surround myself (inspired by his daughter’s book on the (or try to) with creative, talented people infamous Central Park rape case), and The Nancy Berg Olivia Professor of Lahs-Gonzales and give them some kind of direction and Roosevelts. Hebrew Language Director, a mission to achieve something. Burns is When the selection committee for the and Literature Sheldon Art one of the three or four people who really prize selected Burns, I was incredibly hap- Galleries taught me a lot about how essential plan- Ken Botnick py, not just because I know him and have ning and focus are to successful leader- Professor of Art Steven Meyer worked with him, but also because he Director of Associate ship. adds a new dimension to the prize itself, Kranzenberg Professor Book Studio of English On Friday, November 16, at 5pm in Stein- being a filmmaker and not a writer. I like berg Auditorium on the campus of Wash- to think of Burns as a sort of poet, in some Gene Dobbs Anne Posega ington University in St. Louis, Ken Burns measure, the filmmaker version of Walt Bradford Head of Special will become the fourth recipient of the Whitman with his broad American can- Executive Collections, Director, Olin Library International Humanities Prize, awarded vas, the sweeping pile-on of images. Call Jazz St. Louis biannually and funded by Dr. David and his oeuvre after the filmmaker’s primary Qiu Xiaolong Mrs. Phyllis Grossman. The previous obsession: Leaves of Light. Elizabeth Novelist winners were Orhan Pamuk (2006), Mi- Childs and Poet Gerald Early Etta and Mark chael Pollan (2008), and Francine Prose Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters Steinberg Joseph (2010). Burns will show clips of and pro- Professor of English and of African and Professor of Schraibman vide commentary for three of his upcom- Afro-American Studies Art History Professor of ing films: Dustbowl, The Central Park Five Director of the Center for the Humanities Chair of Spanish Art History Henry Schvey Mary-Jean Professor of Cowell Drama The Common Reader Associate Professor of Wang Ning Performing Arts Professor of English, Tsinghua A Tale of Eisenhower Phyllis University A Review of so far, only) use of nuclear bombs. Today Grossman Retired Financial James Eisenhower 1956: The President’s Year many Americans think the United States Executive, LA66 Wertsch of Crisis—Suez and the Brink of War will not wind up swapping atomic bomb Marshall S. Snow By David A. Nichols attacks with anyone, even if someone, by Michael A. Professor of Arts stealth, uses a nuclear weapon against Kahn and Sciences Simon and Schuster, 2011, 346 pages us. But during the days of Eisenhower, Attorney, Author Associate Vice including index, notes, and photos and Adjunct Chancellor for there was great fear that conflagration Professor of Law International “To [Dwight D. Eisenhower],” David anywhere might lead to a major war and Affairs Nichols writes in Eisenhower 1956, “nu- possibly the use of atomic bombs. This is Zurab clear war was not a fantasy but a distinct why Eisenhower, as Nichols notes, “was Karumidze Tbilisi, Republic possibility.” That is, perhaps, one of the skeptical about ‘brushfire’ wars.” The gov- of Georgia Ex Officio major differences between the cold war, ernment, Eisenhower proffered, should or at least the 1950s and 1960s epoch not commit itself to “little wars at great Peter Kastor Edward S. of the cold war, and today’s decentered distances from the United States.” He felt Associate Macias world. Americans may still see them- Professor of Provost & Exec that they could easily become nuclear History and VC for Academic selves in peril, but most do not think that wars. This is why he was so committed to American Culture Affairs the world will be wiped out by the Soviet ending the Korean War when he entered Studies Program Union and the United States swapping office and did so within seven months of Gary S. Wihl atomic bombs in a war that would truly, Chris King Dean of Arts his inauguration. if not end, then certainly trump in mass Editorial Director, & Sciences The Middle East, that is, the conflict -be The St. Louis destruction, all wars. Remember that in American the mid-1950s, the devastation of World tween the newly formed state of Israel War II was still in the memories of vir- and her Arab neighbors, was the biggest tually all adults including the first (and, foreign policy problem Eisenhower faced

2 October 2012 | The FIgure in the Carpet The Common Reader during his time as president. It was one of not think world opinion would support the places he most feared would erupt into it. (This was something that Nasser was World War III and nuclear war. (Other deeply grateful for and deeply impressed presidents would have the same assessment by—that the United States would not of that region of the world.) Eisenhower support its allies in this effort because it felt tried to be a neutral player, evenhanded in the war was unwarranted. Nasser, despite dealing with both the Jews and the Arabs. the fact that Egypt was defeated militarily In part, this was because of oil: the Arabs in this war, would emerge a hero because sat atop a great deal of it at a time when the war was meant to drive him from pow- the western world—both Europe and the er and he not only survived but retained United States—was turning increasingly control of the canal and recovered territo- to oil for most of its energy needs. For ry he had lost in the Sinai to Israel.) Eisen- instance, even before World War II, Brit- hower 1956 tells the entire story of this ain was rapidly moving away from coal to war, from lead-up to aftermath, against the power its navy and to heat British homes. backdrop of Eisenhower’s foreign policy- After the war, oil was an even bigger making and his own particular fortunes at source of energy for Britain. Eisenhower the time as both a political leader and as a also felt that being neutral was the best person. way to broker a deal between the two par- Nineteen fifty-six was a complicated year ties. He felt that the United States had to for Eisenhower. He had suffered a serious favor no one in order to be trusted by all ing voice for Pan-Arabism and something heart attack in 1955; many thought, includ- the belligerents. Moreover, despite the fact of a threat to how western states saw the ing his brother, Milton, that he should not that he, like all subsequent presidents, was balance of power in the region. run for re-election in 1956 for health rea- pressured by many American Jews to favor Before 1956, Nasser was to express support sons. This was further exacerbated when Israel, Eisenhower could afford to be a bit for the Algerian revolt against the French, Eisenhower required intestinal surgery in more detached because Jews overwhelm- recognize communist China, toy with the the spring of 1956. He was already, at 66 ingly voted for Democrats. Eisenhower idea of having the Soviet Union finance years of age, the oldest man to be presi- was an anti-rightwing Republican. the Aswan High Dam, witness the signing dent. These illnesses affected Eisenhower What made the situation particularly of the 1954 treaty ending the British oc- deeply: not only the question of should he difficult for Eisenhower was: 1) wound- cupation of Egypt, and generally give the run again but what was the whole purpose ed Arab pride as a result of five Arab impression that, like India, Egypt was part of his being president, what did he wish to nations losing the 1948 Arab-Israeli war of some kind of “non-aligned” movement. accomplish, what did it all mean. and thus revealing their considerable mili- This threat crystallized when, in July 1956, Would the United States have financed tary weaknesses; 2) the vestiges of Euro- Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, largely the Aswan High Dam had Eisenhower pean colonialism in the region which af- in response to the United States’ refusal to been in good health in 1955 and 1956, fected how Britain and France, both still finance the Aswan High Dam project, af- since John Foster Dulles, his Secretary of trying to claim some portion of their co- ter having given some fair indication that State, seemed more opposed to Nasser lonial prestige and advantage, reacted to it would. The canal was the lifeline for the than Eisenhower and perhaps steered anti-colonial movements; 3) the unten- transportation of oil to the west as well Ike away from the project? If the United able or at least disadvantageous military as something of a monument to western States had financed the dam (unlikely, as and geographical position of Israel which engineering and ingenuity when it was Congress opposed funding it), would the made preventive war with its Arab neigh- opened in 1869. In order to recover eco- Suez Canal War have been completely bors always a distinct possibility; and 4) nomically from World War II, Britain par- avoided because Nasser would likely not the rise of Arab nationalism, particularly ticularly needed cheap, Middle Eastern, have nationalized the canal? Nichols’s with the ascendancy of the charismatic especially Iraqi, oil. Eisenhower 1956 can be read as the for- young army officer Gamal Abdel Nasser as Nasser’s act precipitated the Suez Canal eign policy complement to his earlier the head of Egypt in a 1952 revolution. For War in the fall of 1956, led by Israel, Brit- work A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the west, despite the fact that it had no oil, ain, and France. The United States opposed the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolu- Egypt was the most important, the most the war and, stunningly, broke with its al- tion (2007). Both are essential reading to influential, of all Arab states. Nasser cer- lies—Britain and France—over it. Eisen- understand the Eisenhower presidency tainly felt that way, as he became the lead- hower opposed the war because he did and Eisenhower the man.

The FIgure in the Carpet | oCTober 2012 3 Of Local Interest Rachel Gold Defends Us All

A Review of demographic profile of literature’s crime solvers these days, in our age of identity A Handful of Gold: Three Rachel Gold politics and role models for every psychic Short Stories fancy and political whim, is indeed quite By Michael A. Kahn important for readerships, markets, and Amazon Digital Services, 2012, 117 pages the like. If the Catholic Chesterton could have his Father Brown; if African Ameri- If you own a Kindle, for $0.99 you can pur- can novelist Chester Himes could have his chase these stories. That’s a real bargain hard-boiled black cops Coffin Ed Jones as these are deliciously entertaining tales and Gravedigger Johnson; if Roger Simon about Rachel Gold, St. Louis’s own deter- could have his low-grade Marxist, ex-hip- mined and clever Jewish lawyer with, as pie, Jewish detective, Moses Wine; why not one of her adversaries put it, “sexy legs.” Michael Kahn’s upscale gorgeous Jewish As the author describes her, she is “a law- lawyer of the Central West End? After all, yer’s lawyer,” the kind any distressed client our demographics today have become a bit dreams of having: dedicated, amazingly like an a la carte menu, which makes read- smart, and morally infallible—that is, if ing this sort of literature all the more fun she takes your case, you are clearly on the for its unintentional social satire. right side of whatever principle is at stake. The fact that Gold is Jewish figures in some Michael Kahn, a local attorney who has degree in all the stories but is an essential “Truth in a Plain Brown Wrapper” is an written seven Rachel Gold novels, provides detail in “Bread of Affliction,” unquestion- entertaining send-up of St. Louis’s upper this small digital sampler for those who ably the best tale here, originally published crust, as a fashion designer must defend may want a taste of the character before in- in 1999 in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. himself against a selfish, nouveau riche vesting time in reading a novel. But those This is a layered mystery with the quasi- matron after accusing her of returning a who are rabid followers of the series will stock elements of a missing will, a misan- dress he made after she had worn it. The enjoy these stories as well, as tasty tidbits thropic Jewish Holocaust survivor whose third story, “Beyond the Grave,” tells of until the next novel comes along. Here are will is being contested, a sympathetic Gold representing a woman in the case of a Kahn’s three favorite Gold stories, includ- black servant, and a slimy but brilliant bloodline trust, whose adversary—the son ing one written especially for this collec- adversary whose tremendous knowledge of her late elderly husband—accuses her of tion. And every St. Louisan, even if you are of Jewish tradition becomes his undo- not bearing the husband’s biological child. not a mystery fan, should read A Handful ing. These conventions are nicely worked A Handful of Gold is highly enjoyable. of Gold, if only for the local color, for the here to produce something fresh. The tale Kahn provides a lot of technical details stories are full of details that make our fair turns on understanding, indeed, decoding about preparing court cases, arguing in city, its neighborhoods, its restaurants, its the rituals of Passover and is wonderfully court, and investigating cases that enrich court system, come alive in a new way as a done, while being informative to "non- the stories with an authentic patina with- “locale.” (I wonder how many people who Jewish" readers. The story in fact gives a out, in any way, burdening the narrative know Kahn, particularly professional as- more complex portrait of Jews and their or boring the reader. In fact, Kahn makes sociates, read his Gold stories to see if and relationship to their customs and practices the law seem like a fascinating profes- how they figure in them. Certainly, Kahn than might be apparent on its face, partic- sion, combining elements of the human would attract more readers of this sort ularly considering the characters of Gold, comedy with the mundane but profound than some writers might because—since her adversary Myron Dathan, her mother intricacies of the court system as a flawed he is moonlighting—his novels and stories (a significant character in the story), but surprisingly effective way for people to may seem a creative avenue or outlet for her dead father (also significant), and the work out their disputes. The stories are not him to critique, satirize, or glamorize his dead man, Mendel Sofer, whose will is at cynical, despite portraying several cynical profession and his hometown.) the center of all the contention. characters. They restore your faith in the The fact that Rachel Gold is Jewish is The other two stories are good but not system. no throwaway demographic detail. The quite as rich as “Bread of Affliction.”

4 October 2012 | The FIgure in the Carpet Josephine Baker Arrives in Korea

sons, nationalists, the colonial govern- Ji-Eun Lee is Assistant Professor of Korean ment, anti-colonial activists, socialists, in the Department of East Asian Languag- Christian missionaries and their organi- es and Cultures at Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Lee was a Faculty Fellow at the zations, and education advocates all drew Center for the Humanities during Spring Korean women out of their inner quarters, 2012. She worked on a book project entitled literally and figuratively, and into the pub- “Women Pre-scripted: Reading Women’s Issues in lic arena, urging them to be equal citizens Pre-colonial and Colonial Korea,” which is a study in the march toward a new Korea. Such of prescriptive reading and writing between the groups (ab)used Western exemplars in- 1890s and 1930s. cluding Josephine Baker, Lady Roland of the French Revolution and Joan of Arc, to The accompanying illustration comes name just a few, to further their particular from the story “Modern Sim Ch’ŏng,” fea- agendas. tured in the 1935 inaugural issue of Chog- wang (Morning Light/Light of Korea), a This call for “women” to enter the public general interest magazine. In this scene, arena became a lightning rod for collid- from a comical rendering of the well- ing politics, invention and redefinition, known folktale about a filial daughter especially regarding gender and a distinc- named Sim Ch’ŏng, Ch’ŏng’s mother has tion between “new” and “old” classes. The an anomalous dream: instead of typical primary medium for calling out women prophetic signs like a dragon or beautiful and morphing them into a figure or im- age was the printed word. Newspapers flowers experienced by most soon-to-be- Sinyŏsŏng magazine, 1932 pregnant women, Ch’ŏng’s mother sees a and magazines, the main sources for my half-naked woman arriving on the back Samsin Grandmother, a mythical figure study, provided the arena for diverse dis- of a heron. The woman pays her respect who, in the traditional belief, assigns ba- cussions on modernity, women, and mod- in the most proper way, and introduces bies to couples. ern women. In my manuscript, “Women Pre-scripted: Reading Women’s Issues in herself as Josephine Baker from Paris. Ms. Korea’s modernizing process was among Pre-colonial and Colonial Korea,” com- Baker then produces a cure-all medicine the most condensed in history. In 1876, pleted during my tenure as a faculty fellow for women’s illnesses, a well-known rem- Korea was forced to open its ports to at the Center for the Humanities, I unpack edy in a “country of colors” like Paris, and the outside world through the Kang- the complex topography and overlays of wishes Ch’ŏng’s mother pregnancy be- hwa Treaty with Japan; by 1945, it had Korean modernity, and conclude that the fore disappearing. Upon waking, Ch’ŏng’s gone through four international wars Korean New Woman was largely a discur- mother finds the advertisement featuring (the Sino-Japanese, Russo-Japanese, and sive construction, a set of projected ide- Josephine Baker on a piece of newspa- First and Second World Wars), and 10 als and frustrations that was not empiri- per that, as poor people customarily did, percent of its population lived overseas. cally based on the situation or aspirations had been re-used as wallpaper. Josephine The colonial capitalist system, fueled by of “real” Korean women. Indeed, a main Baker (1906-1975), of course, is a native military expansions into broader East and contribution of those projections was of St. Louis, a singer, dancer, actress, and Southeast Asia, was firmly in place, yet that they provided space to discuss and political activist with trans-Atlantic fame this unbalanced and unequal system also experiment with an alternative and colo- in the U.S., France, and beyond. By 1935, triggered the vigorous growth of social- nial modernity, a set of activities that went her fame and her prophecy about a con- ism within Korean society. During this far beyond issues of women. Similarly, sumerist modern era had reached as far process, Korea’s modernity was often em- discussions on women writers (yŏryu east as Korea, then a colony of Japan. The bodied in several different, contradictory chakka) in Korea pigeonholed more than illustration is thus a snapshot of Korea’s images and ideas of a “woman”—woman studied actual women writers, many of encounter with a modern world, a two- as a metaphor of the helpless, ignorant whom had socialist leanings and dis- pronged modernity of capitalism and Korean people; as a symbol of material played little “femininity” in their themes, sexuality encroaching from the West. Jose- culture; and as savior of the nation. For style, and language. As with anything phine Baker and modern medicine replace their own socio-political or religious rea-

The FIgure in the Carpet | oCTober 2012 5 Josephine Baker Arrives In Korea cessive spending on clothing and fashion found in the Korean magazines seem to be preaching to the wrong audience. For another example of the difficulty in pigeonholing women and women’s writ- ing during this moment of conflicted ide- alisms, consider the writer Ch’oe Chŏng- hŭi (1906 or 1912 — 1990). In 1942 Ch’oe published the “The House of Roses,” featuring a young couple who have adjusted comfortably to a modern lifestyle. Set in the fictional Culture Town, the story showcases an ideal modern mar- riage based on “free love” (chayu yŏnae 自 由戀愛) rather than decisions by families, a marriage characterized by the couple’s romantic and relatively equal relation- ship. It is as if the decades of argument and struggle over modern marriage—one of the most hotly debated issues among Korean intellectuals during the colonial period—had come to a happy resolution in “The House of Roses.” Taking this mes- sage of success even further, the story de- Josephine Baker advertises medicine in Mrs. Sim’s dream picts everyday life as peaceful, as though bliss in marriage leads to stability and approaching reality, women were not a Korea the only independent country colo- strength in society—this despite the cata- monolith, and each one faced her own nized by a non-European empire (Japan), clysms of war in East and Southeast Asia, task of interpreting and adapting “mod- but the depth of penetration by the colo- which fail to dampen the optimistic mood ern,” “Western,” and “New” in her every- nizer far exceeded that of French or Brit- of the story. The comforts of modern life day life, inside and outside the home. The ish colonies—the basis of most theorizing abound in Culture Town, and prosperity attempts to write about and for women, about colonial mechanisms and identity. is guaranteed. Two definitions of domestic and to prescribe values and conduct for In Korea, for example, Japan brought in (“of or relating to the running of a home women, were met with a strategic and ac- thousands of Japanese citizens to work in or to family relations,” and “existing or oc- tive writing that defied such control. This the Governor General’s office (246,000 to curring inside a particular country and disparity, I argue, is a potentially rich site rule over 25 million Koreans, compared in contrast to foreign or international”) for exploring the intricacies of colonial to under 3000 French bureaucrats in Viet- are seamlessly combined in Sŏng-rye, the power, including its influences on con- nam). Japan also populated the peninsula wife in the story. As soon as the war starts, structing gender. abundantly with Japanese settlers, who in Sŏng-rye lets her maid go. She uses only 1942 comprised 3% of the entire popula- one room in the house so as to reduce en- As a concept, the New Woman phenom- tion. One manifestation of that settlement ergy spending, and wants to educate her enon reached around the globe, and in was that a majority of women in Western neighbors about the need to conserve, buy Japan, China and Korea it was referenced clothing walking the streets of down- national bonds, and willingly participate using the same Chinese characters “新女 town Seoul in the 1920-40s were Japanese in air-raid drills. But running her house- 性”. The impulse in Korea appears smaller rather than Korean. Indeed, numerous hold this way also comes to express the and more limited in scope than counter- articles year after year note the limited idea of nation when Sŏng-rye calls Japan parts elsewhere in East Asia. However, job prospects for educated young Korean “our/my nation,” which both renders a both the limits to and identity of the Ko- women, and women workers in the gov- country’s ambitions in personal and lo- rean incarnation must be assessed care- ernment offices, banks, and department cal terms and defines the family and the fully. Colonial Korea (1910-1945) had stores in Seoul were mostly Japanese. Re- individual through their embodiment of unique characteristics that distinguish peated warnings and criticism against ex- the political and military trajectories of Korea from other colonies. Not only was

6 October 2012 | The FIgure in the Carpet the country. More pragmatically, Sŏng- tic, and “home” at their core. Some of strengthen Korea so that it could wrench rye links local and national by becoming them are set at home, some try to define free from the grip of colonialism. For a leader in her own local community, or the domestic, and others range in search people in rural areas, meanwhile, mo- Patriotic Section (aeguk pan 愛國班), as of home country and its identity. But these dernity was something far less organized local community units were called. Sŏng- very settings beg the question about set- or coherent, something that had seeped rye’s domestic operation thus supports ting, for “home” is not a place of settle- through into their everyday lives, into national and imperial warfare through ment in any of the discussions on Korean their homes, onto a scrap of newspaper a blurring of boundaries between pub- women. Rather, it is an arena where the re-used as wallpaper, even into a lic and private, national and colonial, modern lifestyle and traditional customs strange dream centered on the dazzling and also between colony and empire: she clash head on. The arrival of Josephine exoticism of a woman’s body. does not use the conventional word naeji Baker in a comical piece thus reflects the (內地, in-land), which refers to Japan as complexities of modernity in Colonial Ko- distinct from the Korean Peninsula and rea. Especially when perceived as primarily 1 other colonies. Western (and not Japanese), modernity was 1. This story is exemplary for its pro-Japanese position desperately chased (by political lead- and its blatant encouragement of Korean men and women The writings on women discussed in my to actively engage in the Japanese war effort, so it is no ers) in order to catch up with global surprise that Ch’oe, a leading woman writer since the 1930s, book manuscript have family, the domes- was soon branded an active collaborator of the Japanese changes, or sought (by nationalists) to colonial regime. The Impact of Absence

A Review of “is God’s work,” and therefore doesn’t Birds of Paradise have “a goddamned thing to apologize By Diana Abu-Jaber for.” In part, he feels guilty because he knows his son, Stanley, a socialist-lean- W.W. Norton & Company, 2011, 362 pages, with Reading Group Guide ing foodie who owns an organic market, disapproves of his work. But Stanley too In Birds of Paradise the Muir family tries is struggling. He’s trying to buy his store to understand the meaning of what’s miss- and needs money, so he’s forced to turn to ing. “Was it possible to still love someone his parents, who ignored him growing up when she fantasizes about solitude?” Avis because of his sister. With another hur- Muir wonders towards the beginning of ricane threatening financial ruin, Stanley Diana Abu-Jaber’s novel (issued in paper- wonders if he should just sell out to GNC. back May 7). Questions of separation, love Felice is also tired of taking drugs, mod- and absence lie at the heart of this novel eling whenever the mood suits her, going about an upper-middle-class family torn to clubs and hanging out on the beach. asunder when daughter Felice runs away She’s trying to do something different, at thirteen. but she’s not sure how and she’s not sure The book chronicles a few weeks in the what. As each character gets pushed away Muir family’s lives leading up to Felice’s from what has worked, the tension rests in eighteenth birthday, with each chapter whether they’ll reach for each other or just told from a different family member’s drift further apart. Avis is a Gallic-style baker but has lost perspective. After Felice runs away, the The narrative was inspired by Abu-Jaber’s focus and instead becomes interested in remaining family members (mother Avis, own experience. She grew up in New York her Haitian neighbor and her loud my- father Brian, and brother Stanley) isolate state with a German-American mother nah bird. Brian, her husband, is an Ivy- themselves from one another with work and a Jordanian father, who was so strict League-educated real estate lawyer but but are starting to find that work alone is that to get away from him she finished can no longer convince himself that his not sustaining them. high school early and enrolled at SUNY company is simply building houses, which Oswego when she was just 16.

The FIgure in the Carpet | oCTober 2012 7 The Impact of Absence Diana Abu-Jaber first came to national right when she writes (in a review in the of the four Muirs so well that while the prominence with her book The Lan- New York Times) that “at times, the pile-on reader understands how permanently and guage of Baklava (2005), a memoir of descriptions and metaphors renders the ruinously they hurt one another (especial- about family and food. She had writ- novel’s images hazy, as if they’d been faded ly Felice), the events feel as inevitable as a ten two other books that met with mod- by too much sunlight.” hurricane, something that swept across their lives because the winds were right. est success, Arabian Jazz (1993) and Also there’s a problem with politics in the Just as no portrait of Miami would be Crescent (2003), and her literary thriller novel. Though Abu–Jaber Origin (2007) was widely reviewed. She isn’t preachy, she brings in is known for her descriptive powers, so many current events— The narrative was inspired which are on full display here. She pep- there’s civil war in Haiti, by Abu-Jaber’s own experi- pers her prose with intriguing and perfect bullying, real estate over- metaphors like “townhouses uniform as expansion, the organic ence. She grew up in New barracks,” or “the rain comes in like an food movement, suicide York state with a German- opaque sheet, it’s like peering into a wave,” and teen runaways—that or lettuce “that was filigreed in blood-red, sometimes it seems that bits American mother and a as if a circulatory system ran through it.” of the narrative are handily But her descriptions of a pulsating Mi- contrived to include a cur- Jordanian father ami are the most compelling: Felice and rent event. Emerson “head back to the smooth brick It also strains credulity that the insanely complete without her destructive winds boardwalk, cutting between hotels, the beautiful (as Abu–Jaber oft reminds us) and rains, “Felice’s departure has become white cabanas and silver bellhop carts, thirteen-year-old Felice would survive an essential piece of her—the price [Stan- past cheap jewelry vendors, soap bubbles so well on the streets without descend- ley’s] family had to pay for his sister, for spiriting over the walkway, to their right ing into heroin or meth use (she does do having her at all. sprinklings of salsa music, oiled bodies on other drugs) or prostitution or encounter- massage tables. Prisms hang in a silvery ing much physical harm. mist from the hotel fountains. To their left, walls of jasmine and sea grape trees, the But some parts of the plot Abu-Jaber han- beach perimeter plumed and swaying with dles cleverly, like using Hurricane Katrina sawgrass and sea oats…. In the distance, not only to bring about the final denoue- Rosalind Early is assistant editor of ment but also to serve as a metaphor for St. Louis Magazine and Stlmag.com. beyond the royal palms, blue umbrellas She is a 2003 graduate of Washington and awnings flap in the breeze; the sand is what happened. Stanley likens his sister’s University in St. Louis. already scorching.” running away to “a sort of natural disas- ter—inescapable, and nobody’s fault.” Abu-Jaber captures the heat, vegetation, By the end of the book, Abu-Jaber has and the splintered neighborhoods of her woven together the disparate narratives adopted hometown, but Cristina Garcia is

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8 October 2012 | The FIgure in the Carpet Announcements The Center for the Humanities and Washington University Libraries Presents Celebrating Our Books, Recognizing Our Authors The Eleventh Annual Faculty Book Celebration 2012 We are pleased to announce latest book, The Honor Code: How the Center for the Humani- Moral Revolutions Happen (2010), ties and Washington Univer- Appiah argues that honor and mo- sity Libraries's eleventh annu- rality are two separate entities, al Faculty Book Celebration, and that social reform stems more which will be held on Thurs- from evolving notions of honor day, November 29th, at 5:00 than from a true understanding of pm in the Women’s Building morality. Formal Lounge. Our keynote Professor Appiah is a 2012 speaker for this year’s event is National Humanities Medal win- K. Anthony Appiah of Princ- ner, and in 2007, Cosmopolitanism won the eton University. The title of Arthur Ross Book Award, the most sig- Professor Appiah’s talk is nificant prize given to a book on interna- “The Honor Code: How tional affairs. In 2009, he was featured in Moral Revolutions Happen.” the documentary Examined is the Life, and was named one of Laurance S. Rockefeller Uni- Foreign Policy’s top 100 public versity Professor of Philosophy intellectuals. at Princeton University. He is All faculty books published in also the President of the PEN the last three years will American Center, the inter- be displayed, and two nationally acclaimed literary Washington Univer- and human rights association. sity faculty members As a scholar of African and will talk about their African American studies, he new books. A book established himself as an in- signing and recep- tellectual with a broad reach. tion will follow the His classic book In My Father’s event. Books will House: Africa in the Philoso- be available for purchase courte- phy of Culture (1992) and his collaborations sy of the Washington University with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.—including The Campus Bookstore. Dictionary of Global Culture (1997) and Africana: The En- This event is free and open to cyclopedia of the African and the general public. For more African American Experience information please call (1999)—are major works of (314) 935-5576 or e-mail African struggles for self-de- [email protected]. termination. His seminal book Seating is limited. RSVP is Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a encouraged. World of Strangers (2007) is a moral manifesto for a world where identity has become a weapon and where differ- ence has become a cause of pain and suffering. In his

The FIgure in the Carpet | oCTober 2012 9 October 2012 Literary Calendar needed. 12:15pm, Room 402 JC Penney Center, UMSL, All events are free unless otherwise indicated. Author events are followed by signings. All phone 516-5698. numbers take 314 prefix unless indicated. Check the online calendar at cenhum.artsci.wustl.edu You are invited to An Evening with Sarah Vow- for more events and additional details. To advertise, send event details to [email protected]. ell. To fans of This American Life radio show, Sarah edu, fax 935-4889, or call 935-5576. Vowell, who is an extraordinary storyteller, needs no introduction. From 1996 to 2008, Vowell entertained Abbreviations and enlightened listeners with her unusual, quirky STL: St. Louis; B&N: Barnes & Noble; KPL: Kirkwood Public Library; LBB: Left Bank tales. She brings that same beguiling style to her Books; SLCL: St. Louis County Library; SLPL: St. Louis Public Library; SCCCL: St. books, essays and columns, revealing an American his- Charles City County Library; UCPL: University City Public Library; UMSL: University of tory that will never be found in standard texts. In her -St. Louis; WU: Washington University; WGPL: Webster Groves Public Library. sixth, most recent book, Unfamiliar Fishes, Vowell presents the history of the 50th state, Hawaii. Her two other bestsellers are The Wordy Shipmates, which Monday, October 1 labeled stupid and apathetic into confident, motivated, portrays the New England Puritans like they have never critical thinkers and socially aware high school gradu- been portrayed, and Assassination Vacation, a You are invited to a reading by John Dalton from his ates will erase that doubt for good. Her students lived strange, but intriguing road trip to sites dedicated to new novel, The Inverted Forest. Free and open to in an environment full of racism, rejection, and no murdered U.S. presidents. American Culture Stud- the public with no registration needed. 12:15pm, Room hope for the future. Instinctively, Gruwell understood ies Lecture, 7pm, Graham Chapel, Washing- 402 JC Penney Center, UMSL. 516-5698. their need for self-expression, so she asked them to ton University Danforth Campus, 935-4620. begin writing journal entries about their lives. The class The Brentwood Science Fiction Book Club decided to call themselves the Freedom Writers, and, in Tuesday, October 9th invites you to discuss Do Androids Dream of 1999, their entries became a best-selling book: Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. No registration is The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and Lindenwood University and Main Street required. Everyone is welcome to attend. 7pm, Brent- 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves Books present Pamela Meyer, who will share wood Public Library, 8765 Eulalie Ave., and the World Around Them. Spencer T. & Ann her research into finding truth in her book Liespot- 963-8630, www.brentwood.lib.mo.us. W. Olin Fellows Lecture. 4pm, Graham Chapel, ting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception. Washington University Danforth Campus, 935-4620. This author will discuss three methods of detecting You are invited to join the book club(s) at Main deception using facial recognition, interrogation, and Street Books. They meet at the store on the first and Thursday, October 4 comprehension research. Books are available for pur- third Mondays at 7pm. Tonight the book for discussion chase from Main Street Books. 7pm, 307 S. Main St., St. is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Re- Author of the bestselling novels Lucia, Lucia and Charles, 636-949-0105, www.mainstreetbooks.net. becca Skloot. New members are always welcome, and Home to Big Stone Gap, Adriana Trigiani members receive a 10% discount on book club books. presents the most ambitious novel of her career, The Wednesday, October 10 7pm. 307 S. Main St., St. Charles, 636-949-0105. Please Shoemaker’s Wife, a breathtaking love story that visit www.mainstreetbooks.net spans two continents, two World Wars, and the quest St. Louis County Library Foundation presents of two star-crossed lovers to find each other again. psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker Observable Readings presents poets Jericho 7pm, SLCL-Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., for a discussion of The Better Angels of our Na- Brown, from Emory University, and James Allen 994-3300. ture: Why Violence has Declined. 7pm, Library Hall, from Upstate NY, reading from their work. Their Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 994-3300. books will be available for purchase. 8pm, Schlafly Saturday, October 6 Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest, $5 suggested dona- Thursday, October 11 tion. stlouispoetrycenter.org/observable. Architrave Press celebrates the release of Edition Three with a reading and party at the Tavern of Fine You are invited to a lecture by Jeremy Rifkin, “The Tuesday, October 2 Arts in the Central West End. Reading promptly at 7pm Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is featuring poets Joe Betz (Bloomington, IN), Niki Transforming Energy, the Economy and the World.” Washington University Assembly Series Nymark (St. Louis, MO) and Mary Stone Dockery According to Rifkin, the world witnessed the end of the invites you to a lecture on “Liberal Arts: The Higgs (St. Joesph, MO). Free. Come early to enjoy the Tavern’s modern era in July 2008, when geopolitical and socio- Boson of Higher Education” presented by Walter menu, peruse the art & meet the poets. 7pm, 313 Belt economic forces sent the cost of oil soaring to $147 a Massey, PhD, president of the School of the Art Ave., 367-7549, http://architravepress.com/ barrel. Eighteen months later, there was a worldwide Institute of Chicago. Massey has made the most of his financial collapse. How the world got to this critical liberal arts education. It gave him the knowledge and The Saturday Afternoon Book Club will be point, and how to take advantage of the opportunities abilities to think, reason, analyze, decide, discern and discussing The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. 2pm, on the horizon, are the basic themes in Rifkin’s latest evaluate, and to use these tools to enjoy a long, fulfill- the Webster Groves Public Library. The library is book, The Third Industrial Revolution: How ing life and several successful careers. His appreciation in its temporary location on 3232 S. Brentwood Blvd., Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the of liberal arts makes him the ideal person to deliver 961-3784. Economy and the World. Elliot Stein Lecture the First Annual James E. McLeod Lecture on in Ethics, 12pm, Graham Chapel, Washington Father Dominic, former host of the PBS cooking Higher Education. The 1966 WUSTL alumnus is also University Danforth Campus, 935-4620. a champion for improving minority student education. show Breaking Bread with Father Dominic, 4pm, Graham Chapel, Washington University Danforth presents a new cookbook that goes beyond the basic Authors @ Your Library presents Stephen Kantrow- Campus, 935-4620. techniques of bread baking--you’ll find out why yeast itz, who will discuss and sign his book More Than behaves the way it does, how to substitute different Freedom: Fighting for Black Citizenship in Webster Groves Public Library invites you to flours in a recipe, and how to take a simple dough a White Republic, 1829-1889. This is a major discuss American Pastoral by Philip Roth. 6pm, the and make it extraordinary for a special occasion. 2pm, account of the long struggle of Northern activists— Library is in its temporary location on 3232 S. Brent- SLCL-Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., both black and white—to establish African Americans wood Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-961-3784. 994-3300. as free citizens, from abolitionism through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and its demise. Kantrowitz is the Wednesday, October 3 Monday, October 8 author of Ben Tillman and the Reconstruction of White Supremacy, which was a New York Times Washington University Assembly Series You are invited to a reading by Tullia Hamilton Notable Book and has won several scholarly awards. invites you to a lecture on “Becoming a Catalyst for from her new book, Up from Canaan, the story of Co-sponsored by Left Bank Books. 7pm, SLPL- Change” For anyone who doubts the power of story- the remarkable all-black community of Mound Bayou, Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120. telling to change the world, Erin Gruwell’s personal Mississippi, which was known as the “jewel of the story of a teacher transforming a group of students delta.” Free and open to the public with no registration

10 October 2012 | The FIgure in the Carpet St. Louis County Library presents an event with The reading takes place at the Tavern of Fine Arts, lo- under St. Louis Literary Award. Book signing the 2012 Read St. Louis Distinguished Literary Achieve- cated in the DeBaliviere neighborhood at 313 Belt Ave. at 4:30 pm; award presentation and interview at 5:30 ment Author Daniel Woodrell, author of the short Admission is $5 at the door, or $4 for seniors, students, pm. Busch Student Center, St. Louis University, 20 N. fiction collection The Outlaw Album and many and members. 7:30pm, more information about the Grand (valet parking at Busch Center, self-park at other critically acclaimed novels including Winter’s Tavern can be found at www.tavern-of-fine-arts.com. Laclede Garage), 314-977-3100, Bone. SLCL-Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh http://libraries.slu.edu/associates/award. Blvd., 994-3300. Tuesday, October 16 Thursday, October 25 Friday, October 12 In her enchanting new novel, Joanne Harris brings back the characters of her beloved classic Chocolat. Daniel Durchholz will be signing copies of his book St. Louis Poetry Center presents 2nd Friday When Vianne receives a letter from beyond the grave, Rock & Roll Myths: The True Stories Behind Notes at Whole Foods Café, Town and Country she returns to the French village in which eight years the Most Infamous Legends, written with Gary location. Featuring Poets Jennifer Fandel and John ago she opened a chocolate shop and learned the Graff, and Joe Williams will sign copies of Hol- Richards with musical guest Adrienne Burke. meaning of home. Now her old nemesis, Father Francis, lywood Myths: The Shocking Truths Behind Reading is free. Food and drink will be available for desperately needs her help. Can Vianne work her magic Film’s Most Incredible Secrets and Scandals. purchase. 7pm, 141 and Clayton Rd., once again? 7pm, SLCL-Headquarters, 1640 S. 7pm at Subterranean Books, 6275 Delmar, 862-6100. http://stlouispoetrycenter.org/ Lindbergh Blvd., 994-3300. Saturday, October 27 Saturday, October 13 Wednesday, October 17 Main Street Books invites you to join Steve Authors @ Your Library presents Robert Authors @ Your Library presents William Chafe, who Ward as he presents his book, Finding Your Posi- Randisi, who will discuss and sign his book It Was a will discuss and sign his new book, Bill and Hillary: tives. This inspirational book offers a self-help way to Very Bad Year. In Randisi’s newest novel, 1963 was The Politics of the Personal. Chafe boldly argues cope with life’s daily challenges and changing events a very bad year for Frank Sinatra, but the Rat Pack is al- that the trajectory of the Clintons’ political lives can be and to have compassion for others doing the same. ways ready to give a helping hand. Robert Randisi is an understood only through the prism of their personal Books are available for purchase from Main Street American author of detective and western novels. He is relationship. The latest book from one of our preemi- Books. 1pm, 307 S. Main St., St. Charles, 636-949-0105, the co-founder of both Mystery Scene magazine and nent historians, this is the definitive account of the www.mainstreetbooks.net the American Crime Writers League, and the founder Clintons’ relationship and its far-reaching impact on of The Private Eye Writers of America. His most recent American political life. This Maryville Talks Books Monday, October 29 novels are Fly Me to the Morgue, and I’m a Fool event is sponsored by Maryville University, Left to Kill You, both of which are part of the Rat Pack Bank Books, St. Louis Public Radio, HEC-TV, Reading by Cary Lee Thornton Jr. from his book Mystery series. Books will be for sale courtesy of Left and St. Louis Public Library. 7pm, SLPL-Schlafly Oath of Office, which chronicles his upbringing as Bank Books. 11am, SLPL-Carondelet Branch, Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120 an African-American child in the “Upsouth“and his 6800 Michigan Ave., 752-9224. exciting experiences working for the FBI. Free and open Thursday, October 18 to the public with no registration needed. 12:15pm, Main Street Books presents Mark E. Donnelly, Room 402, JC Penney Center, UMSL, 516-5698. who will share his book Rude Awakening. This Acclaimed author of The Orchid Thief, Susan book examines one’s walk of faith and how the teach- Orlean discusses and signs her new book on the Aron Rodrigue presents a lecture titled ing of Jesus Christ should be interpreted. Books are incredible life and legacy of Hollywood legend Rin Tin “Reflections on Sephardic Jewries and the available for purchase from Main Street Books. 1pm, Tin. 7pm, SLCL-Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Holocaust.”Groundbreaking research on the Sephardic 307 S. Main St., St. Charles, 636-949-0105, Blvd., 994-3300. Jewish experience during the Holocaust has put to www.mainstreetbooks.net. rest the widely held notion that Sephardim living in Sunday, October 21 the Balkans and other European lands during the Ho- Combining edgy suspense and the vivid period detail locaust were not as badly affected as the Ashkenazim that made The Given Day a smashing success, St. Louis Poetry Center presents a Sunday in Eastern Europe. Holocaust Memorial Lecture, award-winning, bestselling author Dennis Lehane Poetry Workshop with poet/critic Jonathan 6pm, Umrath Lounge, Washington University Danforth delivers a masterful epic of Prohibition-era America Smith, assistant professor of African American Studies Campus, 935-4620. told through the story of a charismatic young gangster at Saint Louis University and recipient of many awards on his rise through the glitz and the violence of the and journal publications. Free. 1:30-3:30pm, Univer- Roaring 20s. 7pm, SLCL-Headquarters, 1640 S. sity City Public Library, 6701 Delmar, 2nd floor. Lindbergh Blvd., 994-3300. Workshop submission must be received by October 13 for participation. Observers are welcome. Monday, October 15 http://stlouispoetrycenter.org/ Thief—A film screening and discussion by award- The BookClub’s 441st discussion will be on the book winning Julian Higgins, LA-based director who will Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, translated discuss strategies for young artists seeking to build a by Andrew Hurley (1999). For more information about career in the arts. Free and open to the public with no time and venue, email [email protected]. registration needed. 12:15pm, Room 402 JC Penney Center, UMSL, 516-5698. Tuesday, October 23 You are invited to join the book club(s) at Main St. Louis Poetry Center presents Poetry at the Street Books. They meet at the store on the first and Point, featuring OUTREACH Poets Marie Chewe- third Mondays at 7pm. Tonight the book for discussion Elliott, Jennifer Fandel, Susan Grigsby, Jane is Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland. New Ellen Ibur, Meru Muaddib, and others, reading members are always welcome, and members receive a from their work. Poets will also share their experience 10% discount on book club books. 7pm, 307 S. Main of teaching/leading. $3 suggested donation. Doors St., St. Charles, 636-949-0105. Please visit open at 7pm., the Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd. in www.mainstreetbooks.net. Maplewood, http://stlouispoetrycenter.org/. River Styx’s newly renamed and relocated reading St. Louis University Libraries presents An series, River Styx at the Tavern, continues its Evening with Tony Kushner, who will receive the 38th season with readings from Guggenheim Fellow 45th Annual Literary Award. The award ceremony George Singleton and poet Janice Harrington. is free and open to the public and can be found on

The FIgure in the Carpet | oCTober 2012 11 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Financial assistance for this project has been pro- vided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, St. Louis, MO and the Regional Arts Commission. Permit No. 2535 Dated Material Postmaster please deliver by October 1, 2012

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Washington University’s International Humanities Medal Friday, November 16, 2012, by Realscreen magazine listed Vietnam War, and the history of 5:00 pm, Steinberg Auditorium The Civil War as second only to country music. Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the We are pleased to announce the North as the “most influential 2012 recipient of Washington documentary of all time,” and University’s International Hu- named Ken Burns and Robert manities Medal, documentary Flaherty as the “most influen- filmmaker Ken Burns. The award tial documentary makers” of ceremony, sponsored by the Cen- all time. The late historian Ste- ter for the Humanities at Wash- phen Ambrose said of Burns’s ington University and the Uni- films, “More Americans get their versity Libraries, will take place Prose in 2010. history from Ken Burns than on the campus of Washington any other source.” Ken Burns’s University in St. Louis on Friday, Ken Burns has been making films have been honored with November 16, 2012. The medal— documentary films for more dozens of major awards, includ- awarded biennially and accompa- than thirty years. Since the Acad- ing twelve Emmy Awards, two nied by a cash prize of $25,000, emy Award-nominated Brooklyn Grammy Awards, and two Oscar and generously supported by Dr. Bridge in 1981, Burns has gone on nominations, and in Septem- David and Phyllis Wilson Gross- to direct and produce some of the ber 2008, at the News & Docu- man—is given to honor a person most acclaimed historical docu- A book signing and reception will mentary Emmy Awards, Burns whose humanistic endeavors in mentaries ever made, includ- follow the event. Books will be was honored by the Academy of scholarship, journalism, litera- ing The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, available for purchase courtesy of Television Arts & Sciences with ture, or the arts have made a dif- Frank Lloyd Wright, Mark Twain, the Washington University Campus a Lifetime Achievement Award. Bookstore. Please contact The Cen- ference in the world. Past winners The War, The National Parks: Projects currently in production ter for the Humanities at cenhum@ include Turkish novelist Orhan America’s Best Idea, and, most re- include films on the Dust Bowl, artsci.wustl.edu or 314-935-5576 Pamuk in 2006, journalist Mi- cently, Prohibition. the Central Park jogger case, the for additional information. chael Pollan in 2008, and novelist A December 2002 poll conducted Roosevelts, Jackie Robinson, the and nonfiction writer Francine cenhum.artsci.wustl.edu