Edisto Beach State Park

I was among a group of three intrepid residents of Ottawa who decided enough was enough- this year's record snowfall was no laughing matter. We took the reins and planned a road trip to the sun. In this case, our final destination was Savannah, the legendary city in Georgia that has inspired many writers and travelers alike.

However, on the way we made several show-stopping discoveries, not in the Columbus sense, I'd never be bold enough to make such extravagant claims, but nice new places to return to in the future.

Besides the Outer Banks of North Carolina (Kitty Hawk, Cape Hatteras, Ocracoke Island), the most glorious spot on the map that we played at was Edisto Island, South Carolina. In fact, we camped for two nights in Edisto Beach State Park, a wonderful place to spend a few nights. If I had had the time, I think my entire week would've been spent in Edisto camping among the Palmettos and warm spring Atlantic wind.

The park itself has two separate campsites. One is down by the beach, but be prepared to book spots way ahead of time here. The other is only a couple of kilometres away, adjacent to a salt marsh. We stayed at the latter, and explored the 5 kilometres of trails in and around the large marsh. The one downside about our site were the over-excitable mockingbirds, which in my opinion, should pipe up only when spoken to.

While the camping and beach were great, my stay in Edisto, and perhaps in the South more generally, seemed haunted by the silences. It seems everywhere I went in Edisto- the general store, local pub/restaurant, state park, etc- I was served by African-Americans, even though to my admittedly un-trained eyes it seemed like none lived near the beach, a place reserved mostly for wealthy landowners and vacationers. This area of South Carolina was once world-renowned for its Sea Island cotton, and the large plantation-style houses speckle the drive along Highway 174 onto the island.

My next trip to Edisto will include an extended discussion or two with local residents about this particular history, and the contemporary segregation that exists in the area. The unsettling feeling nibbling at my mind demands such future inquiry.

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow by James Sturm

When I saw this book at the new Drawn & Quarterly store on Bernard Street in Montréal last week, I knew that I had to have it. I'm not a very big baseball fan, but the idea of a well-drawn graphic novel telling a political story through sports struck me as something I'd like to check out. And I wasn't disappointed.

I knew very little about Paige before this, and if for no other reason, knowing a bit more about this charismatic figure's life was worth the ticket price. I was aware of the Negro League's popularity during the Jim Crow years, but I had no idea how big Paige had become by the time he played in the majors for the first time at the age of 42. He went on to play several more years in th majors, even becoming an all-star. This novel primarily tells the story of his Negro League and barnstorming days, all through the eyes of one of his former opponents.

Most of the story occurs in the sweeping panels that Rich Tomasso draws since there is very little dialogue at all throughout, which is both a strength and a weakness. More of the former perhaps, but I couldn't help but feel like I wanted more, I could've read this for hours, but instead had to contend myself with 30 minutes of pleasure.

It's a fun story that highlights the injustice of the Jim Crow south without sparing much detail. For those of us who see sport as a crass commercial exercise today, it points to a past where sport, and in the case of Paige, extremely popular stars, actually have an eye on social justice. If you are anything like me, you might find yourself googling Paige or the Negro League and checking out some biographies soon after reading this book.

Another exciting aspect of this graphic novel are the extras after the story. They were useful in describing some of the key terms and giving an historical overview that helped to place me in the story.

Check out the Center for Cartoon Studies' page with draft illustrations and commentary by Sturm and Tommaso.

Aya by Marguerite Abouet & Clément Oubrerie

This is the story of teenaged Aya and her cast of friends growing up in Yopougon, a working-class neighbourhood of Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast. Abouet's deft storytelling sensitively introduces readers to life in Abidjan in the late 70s, what art historian Alisia Grace Chase, writing in the preface, calls the Ivory Coast's "golden age".

Abouet crafts a clever story of skirt-chasing boys, late-night make-out spots, happening night clubs and deceiving spouses that is at-odds with almost all representations of Africa in the West. Oubrerie's stylish colour drawings complement the exciting storyline, adding flashes of life at the very moments the story risks becoming sombre. But instead, the narrative takes a refreshing twist, keeping readers guessing as to what will come next. Both the first panel, a delightful introduction to the Coast's television industry, and the final panel, a hilarious plot twist I didn't see coming, are wonderfully executed.

And for all you people who prefer watching TV series on DVD these days, there are half-a-dozen pages of terminology and tips, such as recipes, how to swing your hips and get noticed, and other fun stuff that serve as the 'extras' at the end of the book. Not to be missed.

Check out the Book Slut's interview with Abouet.

L`historiographie québécoise : un présent décevant

Donc, je suis dans la belle vile de Québec ce soir, une journée pleine de neige, un peu comme à Ottawa dernièrement. Je suis ici pour un colloque à Laval, un colloque qui a pour thème le 400ième de la ville de Québec.

Ce soir, j`ai pu observé une conférence par deux historiens bien connu du Québec, soit Jacques Mathieu et Jacques Lacoursière. Comme un de mes intérêts principaux pour ma propre dissertation sont les commémorations cette année à Québec, je me disais chanceux de pouvoir entendre deux grands historiens jaser à ce sujet. Cependant, j`ai été déçu par leurs rapports sur l`histoire canadienne-française.

Leur conférence me rappelait d`une manifestation nationaliste, appuyé par un ton d`objectivité remarquablement naïf. C`est un peu comme s`ils étaient à la recherche d`un `nous` francophone non-problématisé. Quoique c`était peut être un projet admirable à un certain, et même ce j`écris maladroitement, époque, de nos jours ça me semble terriblement dépourvu.

Qui sont ces gens, scientistes qu`ils se considèrent, près à revendiquer un passé imaginaire pour le présent, tout en faisant semblant que le passé parle pour lui-même. Je ne peux même pas commencer à déconstruire leur discours, mais pour le moment, le point que je veux faire c`est justement ça - qu`il y a un manque important d`histoire critique, avec un regard sur les relations coloniales du passé et particulièrement du présent, au Québec, et que c`est passé le temps pour des interventions majeures.

Pour finir, ce soir j`ai assisté à un discours sur 400 ans d`histoire français dans les Amériques, et la seule fois que la question de respect ou de responsabilité a survenu c`est en considérant comment les nouveaux-arrivants au Québec doivent respecter la culture québécoise. Parle-moi d`une historiographie arrièrée.

160 Workshop Series III

Best of 2007

With the spirit of 2007 behind me, here's my best-of/most lists.

Top 5 Most Listened-to Tracks (as compiled by iTunes, my record player and walkman, and the CD player in my car)

1. Intervention- The Arcade Fire
2. Roads- Portishead
3. Aside- The Weakerthans
4. Throw Down Our Arms- Sinead O'Connor
5. Forever Indebted- Shout Out Out Out Out

Top 5 Most Listened-to Albums

1. The Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
2. Harvest- Neil Young
3. Linton Kwesi Johnson- More Time
4. Lipa Kodiya City Council- Untitled
5. The Weakerthans- Reconstruction Site

Top 5 Books

1. Palestine- Joe Sacco
2. The Jew of New York- Ben Katchor
3. Persepolis- Marjane Satrapi
4. Exalted Subjects- Sunera Thobani
5. Maus- Art Spiegelman

Top 5 Biggest influences/highlights of the year

1. My friends, home and away (all year)
2. Teaching my first university course (post-september)
3. Bringing a record player into my life (february onwards)
4. Reading my first graphic novel (sometime in the spring)
5. Learning that alone is ok (still ongoing)

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine

Adrian Tomine's latest graphic novel "Shortcomings" is a work of subtle, yet deep intensity that takes readers through a range of emotions, using his notable wit and humour.

On the outside, it seems like the story of Ben Tanaka and Miko Hayashi, two thirty-somethings coming to the end of their long-term relationship. And in some ways, that's it. But through Tomine's evocative illustrations and his punchy dialogue we are taken into the often boring/at times riveting world of everyday human desire and interaction.

This is best exemplified through Ben's ongoing desire for white women, articulated in his porn addiction and hiring practices, both of which Miko regularly problematizes. As the rift in their relationship grows with Miko's evolving race politics, Ben delves further into himself to escape any reproach. The reader is left wondering why these two are in fact staying together, a point poignantly made by Miko near the end of the story, when she explains, rather self-evidently, that holding onto someone simply/mostly because you're afraid of change is never a good idea. Indeed. But just how many of us have done this, and continue to do this? When one is stuck- as Ben and Miko so painfully are- in a pattern of denial, then anything is possible.

In any case, the true strength of Tomine's narrative is in the minutia, for example, the conversations between Ben and Miko, or Ben and his best (and only) friend, Alice. The dialogue is raw and real, so much so that I couldn't help but continuously think back to arguments I've had with lovers, friends and some odd characters who have come and gone in my life. In that sense, reading this book is a little like finding yourself in a Leonard Cohen poem- sexy, surly, and a bit surreal (is this really happening to me?)

Did I mention the drawings? Those are some fiery hot lead characters. Tomine is quickly becoming a master.

The 160 Workshop Series

We're planning our second installment of the 160 Workshop Series. Check out our blog or click on the image to find out about the details.

www.160workshops.blogspot.com

The 160 Workshop Series

Beth & I have decided to tap into the wonderful creative energy that surrounds us and bring it together- a synergistic attempt to meld artistic mediums.

The 160 Workshop Series invites all interested peeps in Ottawa to join us in a series of music, visual arts and baking workshops. Click on the link below to access our blog, where you'll find all the pertinent information. Among the workshops--- intro to sound recording and turntabling, bookmaking, t-shirt design and vegan baking.

Come join us for the fun.

http://160workshops.blogspot.com/

Remembering

I watched a movie and it seemed everybody in it was trying to forget, but no matter how hard they tried, they remembered even more. So much so, that it became all they could do. Remembering what they were trying so hard to forget.

They would stare blankly at perfect strangers and loved ones alike and claim to know nothing. Rumours, conspiracies, gossip, they’d say. None of it was true. It was everything to remember something someone could point to. For years this was enough to push the voices that kept creeping into their minds away. But then the voices became so loud that they were forced to let them in, where they had always been, silenced.

A lifetime of trying to forget, to erase, is exhausting. I can’t forget those things I wish I could, they stay with me for days that turn into years, yet I never really claim to forget them, even though I wish to. But, I was reminded tonight that fighting to forget is doomed from the beginning.

It’s never about forgetting the past. It’s about remembering it differently.