SBA

Susan "died" at 10:46 p.m. I ended the story of their friendship at 10:55 p.m. About then, I heard Linda come downstairs.
She comes to the basement. I look up:
"I just finished. Do you want to hear the ending?"
"Yes."
I read it.
"Perfect," she says. "It's moving & perfect."

Writing books is a miraculous process--it's so hard & then so easy, or so it seems.

ECS

As if she had just died now, I noted what time it was when I wrote the sentence "Two weeks before Elizabeth’s birthday, Harriot sent a telegram to Susan with the news: 'Mother passed away at three o’clock.'”
For the record I wrote that at: 8:08 p.m., April 19, 2009, page 266 of my manuscript Stirring Up the World: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, a Biography of a Powerful Friendship. I'm teary eyed; writing biographies is an intense experience. Now to write about Susan's reaction. First, I should go upstairs and tell Linda.

End stretch

I'm pressing onward to finish Stirring Up The World: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, a Biography of a Powerful Friendship. My editor is waiting. Spring break is over, back to teaching 3 classes at Queens next week, plus a author visit at a school on Friday, etc. Yikes! I'm close, but I think torn between the pressure of needing to get to the end of their friendship and not wanting to have them die! My music for this end stretch is Beethoven's piano concertos--over and over they play. Right now I'm struggling with a section I wrote last night & realllllly like, but in the light of day I think it slows down the narrative---plus I can't go forward & that always means I have to unravel until I can.

Sophie's Experiment

Sophie & I were working in the garden. (We both love gardening, in particular digging holes.) A cardinal was singing and singing.
"Grammy, wouldn't it be a good idea to make a nest for the birds?"
"Well, that's an interesting idea." Briefly I considered pointing out that we don't get birds that nest on the ground, but I was tired and she was so enthusiastic, her imagination was in high gear.
"We could dig a hole, put soft things in it. . ."
"Well, yes, I guess we could start collecting things," I replied. (Yes, it was an attempt to stall.)
"We could use a towel," she said & dashed off to the house.
She returned with a hand towel & asked me if that was OK to use. "Yes," I absentmindedly replied and went in to make dinner. As I left, she said, "We need to leave food for the birds. Do you have bird seed?"
"No, it's gone, but I'll look for something else."
In a few minutes, she was in the kitchen asking for the food. I got some bread crumbs.
"Do you want to sprinkle some on or put them in a dish?"
"A dish."
Out she went with a half-filled glass custard dish.
While I cooked, she made a second nest with another dish of food.
She ate & then I drove her home. On the way, she said, "Grammy, tomorrow, don't forget to check the nest to see if the bird is there."
"Ok"
"Check everyday. You can make a chart."
"Ok"
"Check the food too. Even if the bird isn't there, it might eat the food. You can put that on the chart too."
Ok.
I returned home & went back to writing Stirring. When Linda arrived, I told her the story. She figured that Sophie must had gotten the good guest hand towels from the downstairs bathroom (because Linda put them there for our weekend guests). We went out to look. The sight was so sweet--the "nests," each with a dish of food, carefully arranged side-by-side between the daffodils and hyacinths. "Let's leave it. We can wash the towels," Linda said. "Yes," I replied. "Besides I have to make a chart."

Sophie's Observation

What: Snippet from our conversation
Where: My car
When: Driving Sophie home this evening

Sophie: I passed my swimming test. I moved to a different level.

Me: Wow, that’s great.

Sophie: Now I have a boy teacher in the deeper end. All the boy teachers are in the deep end. The girl teachers are in the shallow end. But that’s not fair.

Me: Why isn't it fair?

Sophie: Because what if a boy teacher likes little kids and wants to teach them in the shallow end?

Me: Oh, that's a good point. Did you talk to someone about that?

Sophie: Yes, Scott (her boy teacher) said he likes to teach big and little kids and they’re going to make another pool . . . (Sophie continued with the explanation but I got distracted navigating the traffic on the George Washington Bridge & couldn't track it.)

p.s. No, I've never done that type of gender analysis i.e. "all the boys teachers are in the deep end. . ." with Sophie.

Sophie, Bee-Eaters & Writing

We spent yesterday at the Bronx Zoo. Here are pictures and a brief video of the zoo biologist feeding crickets to the White-Throated-Bee-Eaters, birds that lives free in East Africa. L to R: Sophie (with pigtails) watching the biologist reach into a plastic bag full of live crickets. Bee-Eaters on branches. They catch a cricket mid-flight and then "smack" it on a branch to make it easier to eat. The"cliff" is where they build nests (last year they produced 9 fledglings). In captivity, the birds eat "cat chow" (you're not hearing things in the video; that's what she says), softened with water, enriched with calcium. The cricket feeding activity, she explained, is for "fun," i.e., to keep the birds from "getting bored." When the weather gets warmer, she collects bees from the hives that are on the top of the building (The World of Birds) and releases them for the birds to chase and consume. The exhibit is open, i.e., above the railing in the first picture (the birds stay put because of the branches, "cliff", and food), except when the bees are released. Then a curtain is drawn to keep the bees from escaping. The "smacking" ejects the toxin and stinger from the bees.
Later while we were eating dinner, I asked Sophie what she liked about writing:
"Using my imagination," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Looking in my brain."
"Imagination is interesting," I said. "You can use it to make up things to write or you can use it to remember something that really happened to write about. That's what I mostly write about--things that really happened."
As an example, I suggested, we use our imagination to describe the White-Throated Bee-Eaters.
"Their beaks are like bananas," she said.

Up at 3 am

I've been up since 3 a.m.--no, that is not typical, in fact, I've never done that--but my editor is waiting for my manuscript for Stirring Up The World: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, a Biography of a Powerful Friendship. Plus Elizabeth and Susan are soooooo on/in my mind that I decided to get up and write. It's now 12 hours later--I'm drinking iced coffee (from the breakfast left-over) and popping popcorn--no, not typical, in fact, I've never done that either; maybe I'm delirious!? Back to work!

Reading with Sophie

I thought Sophie would be intrigued by Sylvia A. Earle's first-hand account, Dive!: My Adventures in the Deep Frontier (National Geographic Society, 1999). Earle, a legendary marine biologist and ocean explorer, starts off with a note that immediately engaged Sophie. "If you want to . . ., " Earle begins and continues with a series of possibilities. She concludes: “I know such things are possible because I have had the fun of doing them and have glimpsed how much more there is to discover.” Opposite the note is a full page color photo of Earle wearing scuba equipment & eyeballing a jellyfish, with the caption: “Jellies, such as this lacy beauty, collapse into great gobs of goo on the beach. The best way to get to know them and other sea creatures is to go where they live—underwater.” Sophie & I laughed at the descriptive phrase “great gobs of goo” (and delighted in the alliteration!) because we’ve seen them during our many walks along the beach at the Jersey Shore. There’s lots of text, but Earle’s personal style held Sophie’s attention until I read about the summer she went to “the whales’ dining room—the plankton-rich waters of Glacier Bay, Alaska." Then she interrupted me to ask:
“Grammy, why did she say ‘dining room?’”
“That’s an interesting question. I wondered about that too,” I replied. “Perhaps she thought it would be easier for readers to understand that that’s where humpback whales go to eat. Sometimes writers do things like that. What do you think? Did she need to write ‘dining room’? Was it a good idea?”
“No,” she said. “But keep reading, Grammy.”

Earlier in the book Earle reported that humpback whales make “short grunts and squeals.” At which point, I interrupted my reading to say, “That's the sound I made when I sat down on the floor to read this book with you!” She laughed; me too!

The Met

Lucky, lucky us--two nights in a row of going to the Metropolitan Opera, and tomorrow is the radio broadcast! It happened this way because we had to exchange tickets once my teaching schedule got set. It's a wonderful happenstance because my writing on Stirring Up the World has been flowing--I'm right up against the deadline--and going to the opera will not disrupt that (nor does my time with Sophie); everything else does to some extent.

Sophie & Daffodils & Writing

Over the years, I've planted daffodils--all kinds--all over our backyard. This year the first to bloom are at the edge of our "woods." Sophie and Linda are headed to pick a blossom for Sophie to take home. Later we were coloring together & she spontaneously said:
Sophie: I don't want to be a writer.
Grammy: Why?
Sophie: Because they write all the time.
For me, this was a particularly interesting exchange because Sophie's school (she's in kindergarten at a NYC public school) uses a writing program in which during the writing period students' real names aren't used; instead they're called "Writers." In my classes at Queens College (long before Sophie started school), I've questioned that practice for several reasons: it erases student's individual identity, it collapses the art and skill of becoming a writer into a generic label, and it conflates/confuses the task of learning the life skill of writing with the decision to be a writer when you grow up--while that decision is optional, the task is not.
So what did I do?? Oh, wow, I thought, now what do I say? (while simultaneously thinking--this is evidence for my critique). Then I said,
G: But you don't have to be a writer, you just need to be Sophie who can write.
S: Oh.
G: Do you still want to be a veterinarian?
S: Yes.
G: So you don't have to worry about having to write all the time. But you do have to write when you go to school to learn how to be a vet, and when you write How-To books about taking care of animals (Sophie had written a how-to book last week on "How to put children to bed). And you love to illustrate stories, right?
S: Yes.
G: So that's another reason to write, to write stories for your pictures.
S: Oh.

Making up a Story

On Thur--our Sophie/Grammy Day--Sophie wanted to go to the American Museum of Natural History. Although there wasn't much time,--I pick her up from kindergarten at P.S. 153 at 4 pm & the museum closes at 5:45--off we went. Having gone many times, including taking Planet Classes, she's a pro at getting around (Over the years, I've gone a gazillion times, but am definitely not so skilled!) & we had a great time. We exited to discover it was raining & cold & on the trek to where we had parked, we exchanged this dialogue:
Sophie: My feet hurt.
Grammy: Mine too
Sophie: My toes hurt.
Grammy: Mine too
Grammy: Sophie, are you thinking that it would be good idea for someone to carry you to the car?
Sophie: Yes
Grammy: Well, you’ve grown so tall, I’m not sure I could carry you all that way. Besides, you’re the granddaughter and I’m the grandmother and I read somewhere that granddaughters are suppose to carry grandmothers.
Sophie: Where did you read that?
Grammy: “Oh, I don’t know somewhere in a story.
Sophie: a long pause then: Grammy, I think that’s a story that you’re writing right now.
Grammy: with a delighted laugh: Sophie, you're right--that's just what I'm doing!
She laughed too & in no time we arrived at the car.

Heads-Up for Earth Hour and Women's History

My lifelong friend Mary Dalrymple Putnam just emailed me this heads-up: "Have you heard or read about Earth Hour set for tomorrow evening? People everywhere are asked to turn out their lights at 8:30 for an hour. I thought Sophie would like this. Another exciting activity is The Globe at Night. www.globe.gov/globeatnight explains the project based on views of Orion that one can report." Check out Earth Hour at www.earthhour.org

My women's history colleague and dear friend, Margaret Crocco, Chair, Department of Arts & Humanities, Teachers College, Columbia, University, sent me a link to an interesting interview with the editor of a book, The Evolution of American Women's Studies: Reflections on Triumphs, Controversies, and Change, in which she has a chapter: http://www.insidehighered.com Margaret is also a co-editor of the new & invaluable book, Clio in the Classroom: A Guide for Teaching U.S. Women's History.

Rosie the Riveter

On March 23, 2009, I presented the keynote address, Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II, at the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Club of GFWC's 101st Public Affairs Day. Two women war workers were in the audience--Ruth Siuta, who did what was called an "essential civilian" job at the Air Force Base in Rome, New York, and Rosalie Cutitta, a riveter who worked on bomber planes like the B-17 Flying Fortress and the Grumman Avenger at the Fleetwings Plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Despite suffering hearing damage, Rosalie says she would do it again. Here's a video clip of her comments, including her story about driving across the Delaware River on the Burlington-Bristol Bridge from her home in New Jersey to the factory in Pennsylvania. Ruth Siuta is at the left in the video. On the right is, Anne H. Redlus, president of the New Jersey Federation, who organized the marvelous event. Rosalie and Ruth received a standing ovation from the appreciative audience.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

A couple of years, David and Crystal, gave me the Shout, Sister, Shout!, the biography of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, an extraordinary musician everyone-who-loves-gospel- rhythm- blues- rock-and-roll should know about (and I didn't).
Yesterday on my way to the airport to pick up Linda, (who had been at a research conference in New Orleans), I heard a terrific piece about Tharpe; on what would have been her 94th birthday, a group of fans raised the money to buy a headstone for her grave. The link is http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102167126
There are many videos on the internet of her performing; check out her powerful voice, dazzling guitar playing and exuberant style.

Spring, etc.

A lovely coating of snow greeted me this morning--the first day of Spring; happily my snowdrops and crocuses held their blossoms high!

This post is a potpourri: in addition to Happy Spring to all, I want to tell you about a blog I recently discovered, "Ms. Yingling Reads: One librarian's attempt to read all the Young Adult Literature in the world and shoot her mouth off about it." On March 3, she reviewed Thanksgiving: The True Story, which is why I happened to find her blog. I read more of her reviews & liked her insights and voice. Here's the link: http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2009/03/wednesday.html (Scroll down to the pic of Thanksgiving.

Re my last post about my daughter-in-law Sarah Jones, if you google "Michelle Obama + Sarah Jones," you'll find a cool pic and articles about MO's women's history day in Washington, DC.

Celebrating Women's History

Tomorrow Sarah Jones, my daughter-in-law and Tony award winning star of "Bridge and Tunnel" is celebrating women's history by having breakfast with Michelle Obama and 20 other women, spending the day doing events for girls in DC schools, and performing at a dinner at the White House. For more about Sarah go to: http://www.sarahjonesonline.com/ My son Steve emailed me the update. He's a poet and a star of the Tony award winning show "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on Broadway." All of the events are for school girls and women from the Obama administration and other celebs, so, although Steve's going with Sarah, he says that he will be "watching from the front gate."
As for me tomorrow, I'm doing my "Celebrating Women" multimedia presentation at the FDIC (yup, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) in the morning, then racing to Queens College to teach. On Thursday, I speak at the United States Mint in Philadelphia (yup, the money-making place). If you're wondering why??--it's because Women's History Month is designated by Congress therefore federal agencies, including the military, need to schedule programs; thus they sometimes contact me, which means I've gone to many interesting places to share my passion for women's history!

Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin

Sunday morning, I was half-listening to NPR while reading the newspaper when the lead to a segment titled "Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin" snagged my full attention. Having written about Claudette Colvin in my book Girls: A History of Growing Up Female, I abandoned the paper and turned up the volume on the radio. Do check it out--it's a terrific segment with excerpts from an interview with Colvin, a 69-year-old retiree who lives in the Bronx. Phillip Hoose talks about his new biography Claudette Colvin for teenagers. (I'm going to discuss the book with my classes next week.) David Garrow, a historian of the Civil Rights movement, welcomes the visibility of Colvin's role because "the real reality of the movement was often young people and often more than 50 percent women." Here's the link to the NPR piece: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101719889

Link from Charlotte

My dear friend Charlotte Bennett Schoen, an indispensable member of the city council in Englewood, NJ, just sent me this link to the Jewish Women's Archives, which "is launching a series of podcasts of Jewish women recalling "ah-ha" moments that catalyzed their social activism, political activism, or work as religious innovators." I checked it out http://jwa.org/discover/throughtheyear/march/activism and heard Bernice Stern recall taking a stand to condemn racial prejudice against African-American soldiers serving in World War II; Anita Weinstein talk about her advocacy for women on campus; Lynn Amowitz remember overt discrimination during her graduation from medical school; and Idit Klein recall the moment when as a four-year-old she asked her great aunt about the blue numbers on her arm. The podcasts are a few minutes, a transcript and photo of each woman are included.

Sophie's Pussy Willow

This evening, during a phone conversation with Sophie, I discovered that she thought that the pussy willow she had planted last year had died during the winter. (See 3/25/08 for a pic of Sophie planting it.) So, out I went to check on the pussy willow and happily discovered the first catkins. I emailed this photo to Sophie & thought that you all would like to see that Spring is on its way in NJ, despite our recent snowstorm.

To the Library

What Darwin Saw: The Journey That Changed the World by Rosalyn Schanzer (National Geographic, 2009) In her Author's Note, Schanzer tells readers that she "loved everything about making this book." She traveled & took over 3,000 pictures and did "reading, reading, and more reading." Her decision to use "a graphic novel layout with lots of diagonals" resulted in a book replete with her illustrations--as many as 10 separate images (some realistic, many cartoonish) on a two-page spread--many quotes (some in quote bubbles) and her own minimalist text. Abridged quotes from Darwin's various writings appear in brown type, quotes from everyone else are orange, and the author's text is black (that hard-to-find information is provided on the title page in a bird's dialogue bubbles). To make sense of everything, I had to skim, read, and reread the book. Soliciting other opinions, I showed it to Linda Hickson, special education professor, Teachers College, Columbia University; Sue Kirch, science educator, New York University; and the graduate students in two of my classes (“Issues in Children’s Literature” and “Nonfiction Literature for Children” ) at Queens College; to a person they agreed that the format was overwhelming; so much so that it limited the appeal and/or usefulness of the book. If you do decide to teach with the book, here are some sequential suggestions: brief students about Darwin and his importance; underscore the fact that the book features his journey on a ship, the H.M.S. Beagle; explain why that journey is important; examine the map in the end matter; read the black text (author's narrative) all the way through (before scrutinizing the illustrations and quotes); read the information in the bird bubble on the title page. Also my graduate students noted some advanced vocabulary words; so have a dictionary handed. If you have comments, please feel free to add them.