Quite a week here in Alaska. A lot of us still feel as my daughter did when I woke her at 8 a.m. last Friday to tell her Alaska was making history. As we watched McCain introduce his new running mate, my daughter said, "I have this feeling that in a little while I'm going to wake up saying, 'Wow, I just had the weirdest dream.'"
We've heard a lot of misinformation about Alaska. Anyone with a 907 area code apparently breezed through call screeners on national talk radio. I tuned in as one woman was bragging about how Sarah's very own lieutenant governor had just beat out that bad old boy Ted Stevens in the state's primary election. News flash: Sarah's LG ran against Don Young in a race that was too close to call; we'll see where it stands after absentee and questioned ballots are counted today. All the ensuing radio blather about how anyone who could take on that corrupt SOB Ted Stevens had to be great was a teeny bit misplaced.
Then there was Karl Rove lauding Sarah's accomplishments as mayor of the second largest city in Alaska. Move over, Fairbanks. I could go on and on with the misrepresentations of fact, all too common in politics as well as in Alaska.
But the flurry has also generated spirited dialogue. The Anchorage Daily News has done a marvelous job of providing coverage. Among the author-related news reported by ADN as well as national media: Sarah's attempt to fire the Wasilla librarian after she refused to agree to ban books.
Also worth a read is Dena Fox's fine piece, pubbed in the Alaska Dispatch, "Reflections of Palin from a Christian in Wasilla." I spent a good deal of my adult life in evangelical churches, and while I worship elsewhere now, I'm always interested in intelligent discourse from a subculture where it takes some guts to step out of the box. Bravo, Dena - I hope we hear more from this Alaskan author.
Non-Sarah, author-friendly upcoming events include Garrison Keillor's visit next Wednesday, Sept. 10. I hope you were swifter than I was and bought tickets before the show sold out. Bill Sherwonit is signing his new collection of essays, Living with Wilderness, on Thursday, Sept. 11 at Title Wave. And Lance Mackey, two-time consecutive winner of both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest, who may not be an author but who has a great story to tell, is speaking at 7 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 6, at the Eagle River VFW.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
AUTHOR OF THE DAY
Republican speechwriter Matthew Scully is the Alaskan author of the day. I doubt he's ever set foot in our state, but the text he prepared for Alaska governor Sarah Palin's debut at the Party's convention caught the attention of more Americans than perhaps the last decade of books written in and about Alaska.
Never mind that the speech was littered with errors, omissions, and sleight-of-hand. Alaska has not "begun a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline." The legislature authorized the governor's controversial AGIA plan, giving a Canadian company a license to explore the permitting process for a pipeline, with no obligation to actually build one. But facts, Schmacts. Loaded pickups are already gunning north to get rich on our state's next boom.
Forget the $27 million in earmarks Sarah sought as mayor of Wasilla. Last night's Sarah "ended the abuses of earmark spending by Congress." Cut taxes in Alaska? Not much to cut when you consider that we have no state income or sales taxes to start with. And you'd think maybe they could have dropped the Bridge to Nowhere line after it came out that Sarah campaigned in favor of it.
But hey, when you're on a roll, why bother with truth? Just criticize your opponent for rhetoric-charged speeches plying different lines with different audiences (the folks in Bridge-to-Nowhere Ketchikan have a lot to say about that). Irony, after all, is just one of those words liberals like to toss around. When they do, simply berate the press by charging that the only reason for their scrutiny is that you're not "a member in good standing of the Washington elite."
Most Alaskans interviewed by the press lauded the speech, saying that this was the Sarah they know and love. I agree - on the delivery. But Sarah hasn't accomplished what she has in Alaska with the kind of divisive fear-mongering Scully wrote for her last night.
The best line, an apparently scripted aside addressed to conveniently placed hockey-mom banner wavers, was that the difference between hockey moms and pitbulls is lipstick.
We'll have to get used to this new Sarah. Because even pitbulls know better than to bite the hand that feeds them.
Never mind that the speech was littered with errors, omissions, and sleight-of-hand. Alaska has not "begun a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline." The legislature authorized the governor's controversial AGIA plan, giving a Canadian company a license to explore the permitting process for a pipeline, with no obligation to actually build one. But facts, Schmacts. Loaded pickups are already gunning north to get rich on our state's next boom.
Forget the $27 million in earmarks Sarah sought as mayor of Wasilla. Last night's Sarah "ended the abuses of earmark spending by Congress." Cut taxes in Alaska? Not much to cut when you consider that we have no state income or sales taxes to start with. And you'd think maybe they could have dropped the Bridge to Nowhere line after it came out that Sarah campaigned in favor of it.
But hey, when you're on a roll, why bother with truth? Just criticize your opponent for rhetoric-charged speeches plying different lines with different audiences (the folks in Bridge-to-Nowhere Ketchikan have a lot to say about that). Irony, after all, is just one of those words liberals like to toss around. When they do, simply berate the press by charging that the only reason for their scrutiny is that you're not "a member in good standing of the Washington elite."
Most Alaskans interviewed by the press lauded the speech, saying that this was the Sarah they know and love. I agree - on the delivery. But Sarah hasn't accomplished what she has in Alaska with the kind of divisive fear-mongering Scully wrote for her last night.
The best line, an apparently scripted aside addressed to conveniently placed hockey-mom banner wavers, was that the difference between hockey moms and pitbulls is lipstick.
We'll have to get used to this new Sarah. Because even pitbulls know better than to bite the hand that feeds them.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
What's Cooking, Alaska?
No, I'm not going to discuss how Sarah dumped the state cook or leak the mooseburger recipe of our State Super Mom (aka the "perfect woman," according to one Republican delegate). Frankly, I'm not sure how much more I can take of people like Wasilla's current mayor gushing about how running her town and running the country require exactly the same skill set.
SOOOO...let's talk about food. Alaskan cookbooks, to be specific. Apolitical, unless you're going to get into Sarah's aversion to Prop 2, which would have put limits on aerial wolf and grizzly kills, or her aversion to Prop 4, the Clean Water Initiative, to protect Alaska's salmon-spawning waterways.
OOOOPS. Let's just assume we've got fish and wild game is taken by - ahem - legal measures. (Rumor is that some of those Palinburgers were made with moose taken illegally by Troopergate star Mike Wooten).
Okay, then. Look no farther than What's Cooking, Alaska?, a collection of 100 recipes from Chef Al Levinsohn, billed as Alaska's Favorite Chef. Chef Al does cooking spots on one of the local stations here in Anchorage, and he runs a couple of great restaurants - the Kincaid Grill and the City Diner.
Levinsohn's book features approachable recipes, some more Alaskan than others. I suspect it's a nice balance for readers who don't have easy access to wild game or berries, but I would have liked the collection to be more uniquely Alaskan, not just in terms of ingredients but aloso in the chapter and recipe introductions. Still, I've found several dishes I want to try.
Poached Alaskan Salmon Salad, anyone? Make it now, before Pebble Mine takes its toll on those salmon streams.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Blogging Alaska-Style
If Alaskans have complained in the past that we're overlooked by the rest of the nation - the old "Can you use American currency there?" and "Do you need a passport?" routines - we've got no business complaining now. Palin as VP pick; Palin as soon-to-be grandma (mom yet unwed); Palin target of legislative investigation; Stevens on trial this month on seven federal charges; Don Young and Sean Parnell still duking it out almost a week after the primary.
No shortage of attention here. And new on the scene among Alaskan writers is the Alaska Dispatch, brainchild of well-published freelancers Amanda Coyne and Tony Hopfinger. They feature a nice variety of opinions and original reporting.
Any other mention-worthy Alaskan blogs out there?
No shortage of attention here. And new on the scene among Alaskan writers is the Alaska Dispatch, brainchild of well-published freelancers Amanda Coyne and Tony Hopfinger. They feature a nice variety of opinions and original reporting.
Any other mention-worthy Alaskan blogs out there?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sarah Love
Sarah Palin, with whom John McCain rocked the political world yesterday, has a story that is quintessentially Alaskan: from hockey mom to VP nominee. (Note to Karl Rove: Hockey moms don't play hockey; their kids do.)
McCain hopes you'll think Sarah's just like Obama. She's living the dream in a country where anything can happen.
But that's not the whole story. Sarah's where she is today in large part because she's an Alaskan.
Obama had to prove himself in the national arena, beginning with his powerful speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention and culminating in a hard-fought battle with Hillary Clinton. Obama has a law degree from Harvard. Sarah has a degree in Communications from the University of Idaho.
Yes, Sarah took on party politics and won in a state that was thankfully growing weary of corruption and big oil. A state that has a smaller population than Brooklyn. A state where it's easy to rise to the top because we have lots to do and not so many people to get it done. Could she have been elected governor in any state other than ours? Doubtful, and definitely not in such a short time.
I'm not trying to diminish Sarah's accomplishments. I'm stating a simple fact that applies not just to Sarah but to countless other Alaskans, myself included.
I came to Alaska as a dewy-eyed, fresh out-of-the box teacher in 1979. The next year I was promoted to principal. No questions asked. The district was desperate for leaders. I started successful businesses and a New York publisher picked up my first book. Would all that have happened had I not been in Alaska? Maybe eventually, but not as easily.
Though it's not the popular stance in Alaska at the moment, I agree with Mike Doogan's editorial in today's Anchorage Daily News. Doogan, a state legislator and novelist, has in no doubt benefited as the rest of us have from being a capable person in state that's desperate for capable people. Like Mike, I like Sarah. But does she have what it takes to run our country? No.
It's the Peter Principle run amok. We see it all the time up here. Thankfully the damage from someone placed beyond their capabilities is usually minimal, though you have to look no farther than Don Young to see that it can be huge. With national and international consquences at stake, it's a risk this Alaskan's not willing to take.
McCain hopes you'll think Sarah's just like Obama. She's living the dream in a country where anything can happen.
But that's not the whole story. Sarah's where she is today in large part because she's an Alaskan.
Obama had to prove himself in the national arena, beginning with his powerful speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention and culminating in a hard-fought battle with Hillary Clinton. Obama has a law degree from Harvard. Sarah has a degree in Communications from the University of Idaho.
Yes, Sarah took on party politics and won in a state that was thankfully growing weary of corruption and big oil. A state that has a smaller population than Brooklyn. A state where it's easy to rise to the top because we have lots to do and not so many people to get it done. Could she have been elected governor in any state other than ours? Doubtful, and definitely not in such a short time.
I'm not trying to diminish Sarah's accomplishments. I'm stating a simple fact that applies not just to Sarah but to countless other Alaskans, myself included.
I came to Alaska as a dewy-eyed, fresh out-of-the box teacher in 1979. The next year I was promoted to principal. No questions asked. The district was desperate for leaders. I started successful businesses and a New York publisher picked up my first book. Would all that have happened had I not been in Alaska? Maybe eventually, but not as easily.
Though it's not the popular stance in Alaska at the moment, I agree with Mike Doogan's editorial in today's Anchorage Daily News. Doogan, a state legislator and novelist, has in no doubt benefited as the rest of us have from being a capable person in state that's desperate for capable people. Like Mike, I like Sarah. But does she have what it takes to run our country? No.
It's the Peter Principle run amok. We see it all the time up here. Thankfully the damage from someone placed beyond their capabilities is usually minimal, though you have to look no farther than Don Young to see that it can be huge. With national and international consquences at stake, it's a risk this Alaskan's not willing to take.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sarah Who?
Alaska's governor Sarah Palin is the talk of the nation. Just a few weeks ago, I spotted Kaylene Johnson's book, Sarah: How a Small-Town Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment on Its Ear on the remainder table at a local bookstore. I'll bet they move it front and center first thing this morning.
When I typed in "Sarah Palin" to check the books sales on Amazon, I was asked if meant "Sarah Plain." Before the day's done, readers looking for the classic Sarah Plain and Tall will be asked if they didn't mean "Sarah Palin."
Kudos to Kaylene Johnson for seeing what none of the rest of us saw coming.
When I typed in "Sarah Palin" to check the books sales on Amazon, I was asked if meant "Sarah Plain." Before the day's done, readers looking for the classic Sarah Plain and Tall will be asked if they didn't mean "Sarah Palin."
Kudos to Kaylene Johnson for seeing what none of the rest of us saw coming.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Short Story Celebration
Publisher's Weekly reports that the Rocky Mountain News is commissioning short stories from some of the state's best authors to celebrate Denver's sesquicentennial. Among them is Pam Houston, one of my personal favorites. The stories celebrating Colorado will be published weekly on Tuesdays from now through the end of the year.
How about it, Alaska? Sure, we've got some good collections out there, but wouldn't it be great to read stories penned by some of our best in celebration of our 50th birthday? ADN? FDNM? Anchorage Press? Hope to hear that one of you is latching onto the concept and making it ours.
How about it, Alaska? Sure, we've got some good collections out there, but wouldn't it be great to read stories penned by some of our best in celebration of our 50th birthday? ADN? FDNM? Anchorage Press? Hope to hear that one of you is latching onto the concept and making it ours.
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