I was delighted to do a return visit to Mrs. Hand's grade six class out in Carman, Manitoba last week. When I got to the school several students were watching and waiting for me - The Kulak's Daughter in hand. So first off I had to sign their books. Next, they took me on a tour of the school and introduced me to the principal, the librarian, the gym teacher, etc. They also showed me their favorite place - which was the kindergarten room. Then we headed off to their Grade six area.

I had a powerpoint to go along with my presentation and the students took care of all the technical details - which was great, because I'm still a bit of a luddite when it comes to technology. (I learn something more, and then something new comes along.)

Mrs. Hand's students had extremely interesting and well thought-out questions. They asked about Stalin, about my life as an author, and about the characters in the book. I was delighted to receive a copy of this question and answer exchange in the mail a few days later.

Thank you Mrs. Hand's grade six class! You made me feel very special, and Carman, Manitoba

will always make me think of bright, enthusiastic students and every author's dream of a teacher.

Kingdom of Trolls

Just finished reading Rae Bridgman's Kingdom of Trolls. (Sybertooth Publishing, New Brunswick) It's the fourth book in her Middlegate Series which is set here in Winnipeg, but over in the magical part - you know the area - in between the cracks of reality.

In Kingdom of Trolls, Sophie and Wil, the two young protagonists travel to Iceland - obviously inspired by the author's visits over there. I got to go to the book launch back in February and was thoroughly entertained by Bridgman's expressive reading. She weaves 'an enchanted web' over her listeners and I do hope she gets many opportunities to read her work out loud. The writing style - with its Latin, Icelandic and troll sounds - begs to be dramatically presented. That said, my one minor criticism would be the way the troll words were written. I found the mix of capitals and non-capitals hard on the eye. But then, that mix does convey the gruffness of troll's speech.

Bridgman's beautiful ink drawings throughout add another dimension to the story, and I kept referring back to the colorful cover (another author drawing) when the two characters were deep in troll country.

I don't read a lot of fantasy, so this was a real treat - to escape into a plot full of talking rocks, ghosts, trolls, crystal balls, and more. My favorite lines come in the translation of one of the Latin chapter introductions: Chapter XXXVII: Observation: Problems can multiply like flies. Another observation: Gifts soon beget gifts. Third observation: The story certainly changes depending on the storyteller.

This storyteller gives readers the gift of make-believe with dramatic style and an incredibly vivid imagination.

p.s. I heard that the first three Middlegate books have been translated into Chinese. Congrats, Rae!

Timothy Synder's The Bloodlands

Just finished Timothy Snyder's book, Bloodlands, Europe Between Hitler and Stalin. What a heavy read. It's mind-numbing. Page after page of senseless deaths reported.

The area that Snyder refers to includes most of present-day Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus, plus Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and western Russia. 14 million people. And this is just the 'non-combatants.' He's including the years of the Holodomor and the Great Terror, but

excluding the people collectivized under Stalin's First Five Year Plan.

If you think things were bad during those years, think again. They were, in fact, much worse. The camps liberated by the Allies in '45 were just the tip of the iceberg.

In one of the early chapters, Synder writes about the victims of the Great Terror. My grandfather was shot in September, 1937. His crime was documented and filed and I was able to read the interrogation proceedings, back in 2004. Part of my grandfather's crime was requesting and receiving food aid during the famine in 1933. Here's an image of those 'top secret' files

listing the letters, the amount of money involved and the dates.

And now, through Synder's book, I'm able to identify the weapon that was used. Here's a quote from the book (p. 83) describing that 1937/8 kulak operation:

"The killings were always carried out at night, and in seclusion ... The executioners were always NKVD officers, generally using a Nagan pistol. (Image of weapon from World Gun website) While two men held a prisoner by his arms, the executioner would fire a single shot from behind into the base of the skull, and then often a 'control shot' into the temple." The bodies were then dumped into prepared ditches. This is a photo of my grandfather's ditch, here.

Having a researcher like Timothy Synder corroborate my own findings about my missing grandfather is empowering. I want to share one more powerful quote from Snyder's closing paragraph.

"The Nazi and Soviet regimes turned people into numbers...It is for us as scholars to seek these numbers and to put them into perspective. It is for us as humanists to turn the numbers back into people. If we cannot do that, then Hitler and Stalin have shaped not only our world, but our humanity." (The Bloodlands, p.408)

Here's my grandfather's face. He once had a wife and a family. He had a home, a bit of land, a windmill and a purpose for living. For this, Stalin killed him - one of the 14 million.

From the Rhine to the Red River

I'm meandering around so much in the real world, that my online meandering has lagged behind. But I do want to continue this blog and will make every attempt to write a weekly post.

I've just finished a memoir by Anne Ullenboom Van Humbeck called From the Rhine to the Red River. This self- published book is a story of a woman and her family. It's written with warmth and humor. I especially enjoyed the first half where she shares her childhood war memories and then later, her first years in Canada as a newlywed and parent. My parents, too, were immigrants from Germany and so I always find it interesting how other families experienced the transition.

This is the second self-published book I've read this year and I must admit, I am impressed with the quality of the copy-editing and especially, with the strength of the writing. Again, a beautiful cover and a great read!

Remember Me by Sara V. Mosher

I’ve just finished reading Remember Me, No. 110 (Hyderabad) Squadron, Royal Air Force. by Sara V. Mosher. The book is beautifully produced, from the striking cover, the many photos, to the meticuously researched notes and appendix. But it’s the undercurrent of love and respect – not just between a daughter and her father – but between two generations, that gives the book its soul. The book isn’t just about the author’s father. The book is about a squadron of young men. It’s about youth, it’s about dying, and it’s about old men who remember. The title is perfect.

Once upon a time, - back in the sixties and early seventies of the last century, in a far away place – out in the western suburbs of Winnipeg, some children were playing, learning and growing. What I’m trying to say is that Sara and I have been friends since way back. Then we grew up, moved away and rarely saw each other.

Back to this current century. Unknown to each other, while I was busy trying to figure out my mother’s life, Sara started to research her own family’s past. We both had fathers who were in the air force (albeit different teams). Both fathers ended up living quiet lives in the suburbs, raising their children, worlds away from what were the tumultuous, life-changing years of war.

My reactions to the book? First of all, how very sad. So many young men died. Sara gives them names and faces and events. Boys with smiling faces. Dead.

My second reaction is awe. I’m impressed with detailed names of places, of planes, of dates. For anyone with an interest in World War II – whether because of family, or because of the military, this book provides exact details. There are no sweeping generalizations here. No blame, no verdicts. Just real people in unreal situations. The amount of research is amazing.

My own father’s war experiences disappeared into forgotten memory when he died. Sara has grasped her father’s military experiences and put them into a compelling narrative.

My favorite chapters were near the end where Constance Pitts and Kenny Mosher become a couple and thus, the future parents of my friend. Here, the author’s wry sense of humour sneaks out. The warm feeling that the large Mosher family still shares, is also evident.

Well done, my friend. I recommend this book to anyone connected to WWII.

Excerpt from the opening paragraph of Chapter 16, page 101:

“A clothes peg drops suddenly from her mouth as she tightens her grip on the other wooden peg that clips the freshly washed pillow case to the line. Her eyes are fixed on the sky as she stares at the German airship flying its customary scheduled route from Germany to New Jersey, passing over Apple River. It flies low and slowly. Mrs. Larsen feels sure the Germans are mapping the countryside. No one trusts Hitler. Even so, later that summer when a neighbor with a battery operated radio shouts anxiously across the field to Mrs. Larsen, "We're at war again with Germany," the news is met with disbelief."

For more information visit her webpage at www.saravmosher.com or visit her blog at http://110hyderabad.blogspot.com

Upcoming Presentation/Human Rights Museum Issues

I'm reviewing my research notes from The Kulak's Daughter as I prepare a talk for next month. The talk will be held at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre on 184 Alexander Avenue, Wednesday, Feb. 9th at 7 p.m.

I'll be sharing my photos from my visit to Ukraine, as well as relevant background reading I did on collectives, kulaks, and their exile to remote parts of the Soviet Union.

For more information please follow this link. If you're in the Winnipeg area, please visit!

Also, Winnipeg will soon be home to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. This massive project is slated for a Spring/2013 opening. As it stands right now, the Holocaust and the Canadian aboriginals will be the only 'permanent' exhibits. The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association (UCCLA) is challenging this proposed plan. They want a permanent exhibit for the Holodomor.

What is the Holodomor, you ask? That's why we need a museum. Perhaps the King Solomon solution to this controversial issue would be to have only the made-in-Canada human rights issues as the permanent features and all the other human rights atrocities as the revolving exhibitions.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

2011

2011! (Three more years - and then I'm RETIRED! Now let me see - 3 years, with 52 weeks, that's 52 times 3, minus vacation...I won't bore you with my calculations.) But the changing of calendars does bring out the calculator in me.

2011 this week looks a lot like 2010 last week. We were at -28 Celcius last night. Clear sky. Great for star gazing while walking the canine.

That's one thing we all have in common, no matter where or when we are in this huge world ruled by geography and time - sky. I wish everyone a happy new year and some daily sky time. Just you and sky. Now that's a monitor!