THE ALASKAN by Robert Lund -- PART 1

The paperback edition of The Alaskan by Robert Lund on the right above was still in print and available when I first came to Alaska in 1971. It soon went out of print. I read it with fascination while on Adak Island in the Aleutians. It's one of the reasons I became interested in Seward. I believe it's a neglected, underrated novel that depicts an uncanny accurate view of what it was like in small coastal town like Seward during the depression. It also is an accurate portrayal of the kind of person who came to Alaska during the depression to start a new life and reinvent himself.

Over the years, I've collected quite a bit of information about this book and the author who wrote it -- Robert Lund. In the 1970's, I met Robert Lund's brother who lived in Anchorage. He told me with certainty that The Alaskan is extremely autobiographical, that his brother actually lived through much of what he wrote.

Keep posted here. I'll be adding much more information about this excellent, neglected novel and the man who wrote it.

2011 SEWARD LIBRARY BOOK TALK

WELCOME TO THE 2011

SEWARD COMMUNITY LIBRARY BOOK TALK

Our theme this year is

ALASKA: THE REAL VS. THE IMAGINED

We'll be reading the following books in this order:

THE ALASKAN by Robert Lund

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011

NORTH TO THE FUTURE by Dermot Cole

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011

ORDINARY WOLVES by Seth Kantner

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011

RAISING OURSELVES by Velma Wallis

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011

TISHA by Anne Purdy (as told to Robert Specht)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Book talks will take place in the basement of the Seward Community on the dates listed above from 6:30 until about 8:30 or so.

IDEAS FOR NEXT BOOK TALK

Let's get started with suggestions for our next book talk in 2011. List your suggestions here with perhaps a bit of a summary and your reasons for suggesting the book.

Deadline for suggestions will be the end of April 2010.

THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS OF 2008

For those of you taking my Kenai Peninsula College class CWLA 33516 "Crafting the Personal Essay" -- this is your thread on this blog. This is where you should post parts of your academic journal comments about the essays we' re reading as well as the topics we're discussing in class. DO NOT use this thread to post your writing or to engage in critiques of each other's writing. Feel free to lead us to some interesting links on the web that are relevant to what we're reading, writing or discussing.

Other followers on this blog not taking this class are welcome to contribute to this thread as long as you stay on topic. That may mean reading some of the essays we're discussing in the text "The Best American Essays of 2008."

THE TROUBLE WITH BOYS by Peg Tyre

For those of you taking my Kenai Peninsula College class ED 38473, Professional Publication Seminar -- here is your thread. Use it to record parts of your academic journals and to respond to each other's journals. The author of our text, Peg Tyre, has an interesting website -- http://pegtyre.com/index.php Check it out.

Other followers on this blog not taking this class are welcome to contribute to this thread, as long as you stay on topic and tie some of your thoughts not only into personal experience, but also into some credible texts.

THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED by Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb is the final book we'll be reading in our series. We began with a book that confronts the question of evil and we'll end by expanding that discussion. We also have read three books that make us wonder what it means to "enjoy" literature. Did you "enjoy" Say You're one of Them? How do we define "enjoyment?" How about Antigone? Was that an "enjoyable" read? The same may be true with this book. Let's discuss what emotions encompass engagement when we read a book. Does engagement include enjoyment?

Wally Lamb's other books include

She's Come Undone (1992)

I Know This Much Is True (1998)

Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters (2002)

I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison (2007)

Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story (2009)

The movie I've selected to accompany this book is Bowing for Columbine, a film by Michael Moore.

PINICCHIO by Carlo Collodi

I'll begin this thread about Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. I've chosen the movie Artificial Intelligence to accompany this book for reasons that will become evident as you view it. The robot/child has Pinocchio read to him, and eventually begins a quest to find the Blue Fairy and become a real human being. You find the Pinocchio myth embedded in may stories. Remember The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams? You may also want to watch the Disney version of Pinocchio to see how the story was "Americanized." If you wish, when we meet, we can discuss how the Disney story differs from the original and why.