Forum : Vol. 42, No. 02 (Fall : 2018)
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons FORUM : the Magazine of the Florida Humanities Florida Humanities 9-1-2018 Forum : Vol. 42, No. 02 (Fall : 2018) Florida Humanities Council. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/forum_magazine Recommended Citation Florida Humanities Council., "Forum : Vol. 42, No. 02 (Fall : 2018)" (2018). FORUM : the Magazine of the Florida Humanities. 79. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/forum_magazine/79 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Florida Humanities at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FORUM : the Magazine of the Florida Humanities by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE MAGAZINE OF THE FLORIDA HUMANITIES COUNCIL FALL 2018 floridahumanities.org Living the writer’s life in Florida MEET THE FLORIDA BOOK AWARD AUTHORS • LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER JEFF KLINKENBERG SPULITZER PRIZEtat WINNERe JACK oDAVISf • TRACING I MARJORYn STONEMANspi DOUGLAS'rati FLORIDAo JOURNEYn Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at work in Cross Creek. ALSO INSIDE MIGHTY STORMS: HOW HURRICANES SHAPE FLORIDA ¡VIVA LA FAMILIA! THE TRADITIONS AND RECIPES BEHIND FLORIDA'S OLDEST RESTAURANT SAVORING OUR SOUTHERNMOST CITY Art Everywhere You Look Explore visual arts on Florida’s Historic Coast with a free itinerary on HistoricCoastCulture.com. Enjoy diverse galleries, public art and stunning architecture celebrating more than 450 years of artistic expression. Walking Tours | Folk Art Demos | First Friday Art Walk | More! Go to HistoricCoastCulture.com and click on the blue button: Plan Your Trip sjc295086_SpringForumAd-8.375x11_rSg.indd 1 2/5/18 11:36 AM Letter from the Director 2018 Board of Directors Celebrating the power B. Lester Abberger Tallahassee Wayne Adkisson, Vice-Chair Pensacola Juan Bendeck Naples of the word Frank Biafora St. Petersburg Kurt Browning San Antonio ords, carefully chosen and placed Peggy Bulger Fernandina Beach in the right order, convey who David Colburn Gainesville we are and what we value. It is no Casey Fletcher, Chair Homeland surprise that literature, poetry, Jose Garcia-Pedrosa Coral Gables Wand the study of languages are considered Linda Landman Gonzalez Orlando essential humanities studies. We cannot Joseph Harbaugh Hollywood David Jackson understand ourselves or each other — and Tallahassee Sue Kim Ormond Beach we cannot understand our history, theology, Linda Marcelli Gulfport philosophy or culture — when our words are Dabney Park Coral Gables misunderstood or not clearly stated. At the core Steve Seibert Nancy Kason Poulson Ft. Lauderdale of all we are as humans is the word. Sandy Rief, Treasurer Tampa In this edition of FORUM, we celebrate well-chosen words, including our annual Audrey Ring Ft. Lauderdale review of the Florida Book Award winners. Penny Taylor Naples These writers, Florida treasures all, demonstrate every day the wisdom so aptly Michael Urette Tampa expressed by the late writer-philosopher Susan Sontag. When asked to distill her most Glenda Walters, Secretary Lynn Haven essential advice on the craft of writing, Sontag responded: “Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world.” FHC Staff We also highlight Jeff Klinkenberg, the Florida Humanities Council’s 2018 Lifetime Steve Seibert Executive Director Achievement Award for Writing recipient. “Nobody writes about the real Florida with as Barbara Bahr Director of Operations much insight and affection as Jeff Klinkenberg,” writes Carl Hiaasen, another of Florida’s Laurie Berlin Director of Administration great authors. If the humanities are the stories of our human experiences, then Jeff is our state’s master storyteller. Alex Buell Program Coordinator And we talk to University of Florida professor and author, Jack Davis, who recently Danica Kelly Membership Coordinator won the Pulitzer Prize for his environmental history, The Gulf: The Making of an Lisa Lennox Web Admin./Prog. Coordinator American Sea. Both Davis and Klinkenberg are on the Council’s roster of speakers. Brenda O’Hara Fiscal Officer Please contact us if you wish to schedule a presentation by these amazing authors. Patricia Putman Associate Director The Florida Book Awards banquets are always inspiring, and the latest one was no Keith Simmons Program Coordinator exception. In fact, it sparked an idea you will see in these pages: Tyler Tarrant Program Coordinator Upon receiving his Florida Book Award, D. Bruce Means, a noted scientist now in his 70s, thanked his high school English teacher for introducing him to Shakespeare and FORUM Staff for teaching him the discipline required to write well. Jacki Levine Editor More than half a century later, the author still felt the influence of that teacher and Jon Wilson Communications Consultant thought it appropriate to recognize him. Ali Patterson Contributing Editor I suspect most of us experienced a special English teacher. I had two in ninth grade; Miss Blessing taught me to diagram sentences and Miss Hart taught the elements of David Meek Designer speech-giving (along with being a strict grammarian). How I communicate today is largely because of what they taught. Neither is still alive, but I thank them and honor To advertise in FORUM, contact: [email protected] their memory. FHC FORUM / Vol. XLII, No.2 Fall 2018 So here’s our idea: © 2018 Florida Humanities Council Let’s start a movement today to thank our favorite English teachers. You’ll see D. The magazine of the Florida Humanities Council Bruce Means’ piece as our first “A Teacher to Remember” essay. Write us at jlevine@ 599 Second Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5005 (727) 873-2000 flahum.org or send a video explaining how an English teacher changed your life. We’d love to compile and share them. This would be an appropriate tribute to those who have Website: www.floridahumanities.org The Florida Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization kept those carefully chosen words alive. funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Florida, and private contributors. FHC FORUM is published three times a year and distributed to the friends of the Florida Humanities Council and interested Floridians. If you wish to be added to the mailing list, please request so in writing or via the website. Views expressed by contributors to the FORUM are not necessarily those of the Steve Seibert Florida Humanities Council. We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. FLORIDAHUMANITIES.ORG FALL 2018 FORUM 3 Table of Contents Fall 2018 HUMANITIES TODAY 8 News and events of the Florida Humanities Council, including a look at FHC’s connection with the prestigious Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services; a remembrance of FHC board member Tom Lang; a look at documentaries to watch, and a book suggestion. A TEACHER TO REMEMBER: THANK YOU, MR. CROUCH 10 We kick off this new feature with an essay by scientist and Florida Book Award winner D. Bruce Means, celebrating the Alaska teacher who recognized the intellectual potential beneath the “jock” exterior. By D. Bruce Means 12 10 THIS FLORIDA LIFE: A CONVERSATION WITH SARAH HAMMILL 12 The new president of the Florida Library Association describes the rapidly evolving modern library — far more than just a warehouse for books. By Jacki Levine INSIDER’S FLORIDA: KEY WEST 14 The United States’ Southernmost city has long been the muse of writers and musicians. Explore the historic streets with a writer and a photographer who know it well, and discover your own True West. By William McKeen HERITAGE KITCHEN: LIVING THE LEGACY 18 The family behind this 113-year-old Ybor City institution talks tradition and shares a century’s worth of treasured recipes. By Betty Cortina-Weiss 18 COVER STORY: STATE OF ENCHANTMENT: 24 LIVING THE WRITER’S LIFE IN FLORIDA Florida’s master storyteller Writer Jeff Klinkenberg, our 2018 Lifetime Award Winner for Writing, has spent a career chronicling the people, places. and personality of our state. Plus, a look at his must-read Florida books. By Bill DeYoung Florida’s Smallest Post Office, an excerpt 27 By Jeff Klinkenberg 48 Writers on writing 28 Eight of this year’s award-winning writers talk about their inspiration and drive, and what keeps them going. By Bill DeYoung Meet the Florida Book Award winners 34 Among Florida’s best authors, you’ll find this year’s 27 winners of the Florida Book Awards. Get to know them here. By Jon Wilson 28 58 Bridging the Gulf FLORIDA FOCUS: HOW HURRICANES SHAPE OUR STATE 42 University of Florida historian and writer Jack Davis recounts 48 Stormy Florida: Years of quiet, years of destruction. exploring the mysteries of “America’s Sea,” and in the process, By Gary Mormino winning a Pulitzer Prize. By Ron Cunningham 1811: What we know about the storm that hit St. Augustine. 51 By Sherry Johnson LITERARY FOOTSTEPS: MARJORY’S JOURNEY 44 Historian and Marjory Stoneman Douglas biographer Jack Davis traces the path of the noted Remembering the great Okeechobee hurricane of 1928. 52 writer/activist as she begins her long, impactful life in Florida. By Eliot Kleinberg By Jack Davis Where do we go from here? 54 Building for the future with an eye on the storms. Say It Out Loud 46 Multi-talented Natalie Schimek, whose recitation skills earned By Ron Cunningham her the title of this year’s Florida Poetry Out Loud winner, is a poet herself. STATE OF WONDER: SARASOTA SUNSET By Barbara Peters Smith 58 A photographer spends days searching for just the right moment to capture an image of a storm, but finds another kind of beauty. By Rob Rutan ON THE COVER: Pulitzer Prize winner author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at her Cross Creek home. Like us on Facebook PHOTO BY ALAN ANDERSON, COURTESY OF THE MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS PAPERS, SPECIAL AND AREA STUDIES COLLECTIONS, GEORGE A.