Introduction So Far

On November 9, 1989 representatives from fifteen countries gathered together to discuss the politics of food. From their discussion the Slow Food International movement was formed and began to promote their manifesto that, “[i]n the name of productivity, Fast Life has changed our way of being and threatens our environment and our landscapes. So Slow Food is now the only truly progressive answer” (“Manifesto” par. 8). Since its inception the Slow Food movement has spread to 122 countries. This movement is not the only one of its kind. In recent years the focus on food has been a critical part of the ecological movement, introducing new concepts and even new language to describe the human relationship with food (locavore for example). These movements represent a sensible ordering of thought around a logical central idea. Food is a logical point around which to organize ones feelings and actions regarding their relationship to nature and resource use, because food is one of the few items that make obvious human reliance on and interconnection with the natural world.

The body of American literature contains multitudes of works focused on humanity’s relationship to the natural world. Many of these works, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries, rely upon a worldview which vilifies the urban and elevates the wild as a sacred place apart. This tension between urban and wild is a central element in Willa Cather’s 1925 novel The Professor’s House. Characters such as Tom Outland and Louis Marsellus seem emblematic of this dichotomy. Even their names provide support for this concept, Outland (out-land) as the mesa dwelling place apart, and Marsellus (mar-sell- us) as the eager capitalist who Cather portrays as corrupter of Outland’s legacy. While this division has been widely accepted in many circles for generations, the concepts of glorified “wild” and vilified “capitalist” are not in the end polar opposites, but rather reflections of a similar human desire to manipulate and organize the natural world while conveniently ignoring the relationship between humanity and nature that exists at all levels of landscape.

A useful place for interrogating this binary in The Professor’s House rests in Cather’s representation of gardens. According to garden enthusiast and philosopher Mara Miller, “[t]he task of the garden is to mediate those tensions or polarities which are important for a given culture” (25).

Ending with a Boom/ Beginning with Slow Food

It was the last regular day of 121 for my classes today. We ended on a great note, especially in my 10 am class. They were so intensely interested and interactive, it was tremendous. We laughed and joked and learned. I was totally delighted by the experience and I hope some of them will end up in my 214 class. 

In my own work, I've been pleasantly surprised to find that very little has been done addressing food and ecocriticism. In my brief preliminary search I found only a few links. One of the most interesting was a Call For Papers that I wish I'd found sooner.  Even this however does not make the link between food, ecocriticism and fiction. It seems much more interested in the literature of slow food or locavore movements. 

I am eager to really begin the paper, hopefully my enthusiasm will last. 

I also need to find a copy of "Loving Ourselves Best of All". A brief glance at this article has me pretty excited.

Gearing Up to Teach: An Ode to Indices

As the time to teach approaches I've been thinking more and more about how to best get my students involved mentally and perhaps even, dare I say, emotionally in their largest project. Last term I had some success with this by prompting them to write a 10 minute rant about something that as always interested or fascinated them. This could be something they really love, such as the word fork, or something that has bewildered them, such as: why isn't there a licence to reproduce? Or why do some dorm students find being rude to housekeepers acceptable? These topics produced amazing papers which shows me that this quick write was useful and worth repeating.

Now I am trying to think of ways to address other issues I see in my student's work. One issue that seems perennial is the fear of the book. This paper has a number of source requirements which the students must meet in order to succeed. One of these requirements is a book source. All this means is that all WR 121 students must find a book which they can use information from in order to produce their paper. Simple right? No. 

When I started teaching this class roughly one year ago I was certain that this requirement would be the easiest. Surely all my students know what a book is and how to find one. Wrong.  They understand the difference between credible and non-credible web sources with ease. They even have a reasonably firm understanding of peer-review journals and how they differ from magazines by the time the paper is due. What they often don't get is how to find a book that is suitable for their paper.

Fading print literacy? I can't say, but what I can say is that I am hoping to teach at least one full class in the library this coming term. My plan right now is to have each of my classes meet me in the library as soon as topic selection is done. There we will have a quick refresher on how to get around the building, how to shelf read library of congress, and how to look things up effectively in the catalog. After this there will be 10-15 minutes of time for them to gather up at least two possible book sources. We will then reconvene at an appointed location for a talk about indices and why they are your friend. 

As I was saying to Bird the other day I sometimes think the index is the most important part of a book. When I take out a book from the library and it is brimming with pages but no index I just want to scream. I'm thinking "Who are you to offer me so much information and no way to find it without reading this whole damn thing!?!"

So yes, I love indices and I want to share this love with my students. Hopefully the combination of being physically in the library with them and guiding them through the process of determining how useful or not useful a particular book is will help them to find new ways to approach the "problem" of a book source.

On the topic of books, I stumbled upon a blog today where the following video clip was posted. I was deeply amused by it. 

Woolen Mills Finale & Round-up Tease

Despite the bleak outlook, textile production at Pendleton was not over. In February 16, 1909, ownership of the Pendleton Woolen Mills changed hands. New owners, from a prominent family with a history of successful textile businesses, Clarence and Roy Bishop “eagerly accepted the challenge of the management of the new company” (Lomax 274) The Bishops felt that the mill needed substantial physical and mechanical improvements before the business could resume. Working alongside a construction crew, the Bishops oversaw the building of a new three-story cement facility on land adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad Company’s tracks. By September 1, 1909 construction was complete (274).

            The Bishops intended to continue the Pendleton production of Indian blankets and robes. The brothers employed Joe Rounsley, of the Philadelphia Textile school, to develop designs for the company’s Indian blankets. Rounsley’s product was “pure art, conceived by…living with the Indians” (276).

            In 1912 the Bishops procured the recently foreclosed Wahougal Mill in Washougal Washington (277). This purchased marked the beginning of a series of expansion moves the Bishops would coordinate. The expansions were used as a way to diversify product lines. During WWI Washougal produced army blankets while the Pendleton mill continued to produce Indian products (277) After the war, Pendleton began to develop virgin wool products and market them under the Pendleton blue and gold brand (279). By the late 1940’s Pendleton Woolen Mills  Inc. came to include facilities as far away as Nebraska (300).  Today Pendleton Woolen Mills is still operated by the Bishop family, and consists of seven facilities and 75 stores. The mill located in Pendleton Oregon continues to be the site of all Pendleton Indian blanket production (“About Pendleton”).

I'm hoping to find information regarding the ecological impact of the Indian blanket production that goes on at Pendleton. I am concerned that the intense colors of the blankets may mean that significant pollution from dyes is part of the process. So far I have found very little information. What I do know is that Pendleton has taken a public position advocating sustainability. Of course in this political and social climate this is a smart market move, but it is still significant. 

My next research endeavour is the Pendleton Round-up. So far I have a lot of fantastic vintage pictures depicting the Round-up's history, stay tuned for the visual feast.

Image of Pendleton Round-Up Blanket

Lomax, Alfred F. 1974. Later Woolen Mills in Oregon, First Edition, Binfords & Mort,Portland, 301.

 

Flagging, Feasting and Free-Verse

It seems I just can't keep the same intellectual pace up anymore. I haven't really read any scholarly works in some time. I've slowed down in my Wharton readings as well. I suppose the lull is understandable given the intensity of the past few weeks, but it is somewhat dismaying. I'm hoping to go to the map and photo archives tomorrow to find some information about the historical hydrology and geology of Pendleton, Oregon. The due date for this Columbia Basin paper is fast approaching. 

Despite the diminished scholarly work I have been busy mixing up pizza dough, making jugs of tea, Thai peanut sauce and the like. 

I've also written three or four poems, none of them very good, but they are first drafts after all. 

Channeled Scablands

1.

I will be a reminder

a curve

hugging close hand

to hip

a whiff of water

in a wasteland

slip of skin black

between shadowy hillocks

a glimmer of cataclysm

some will say

sun white in open sky

light I will be

reflecting

whispers the fluvial

fluctuations

of will whirling

star-spit in a field of

basalt umbilici