The Haitian Coat of Arms

As we all know, events in recent weeks have been difficult for the people of Haiti. Victories have been few, and all accounts suggest the nightmare is far from over. Today, though, is an important day in Haiti, a bright spot in their story for two reasons. Modern politics in Haiti are tied to February 7th, which serves as the date when dictatorial rule ended, and democratic rule began.

Duvalier

The first significant February 7th for the Haitian people comes with the story of Jean-Claude Duvalier, one-time “president for life” of the island nation. With his father’s death, the presidency was handed over to Duvalier in 1971 at the tender age of 19. While the younger Duvalier attempted to make amends for some of his father’s wrongdoings, he eventually turned into a greedy and absent dictator, allowing Haiti to fall apart as he embezzled large amounts of government money. After 15 years in power, a popular uprising forced Jean-Claude Duvalier to flee to France on February 7th, 1986, Read more »

AND NOW . . . the story of a regular man whose job is to find the Big Ideas peeking out from the small foibles and successes of our everyday lives . . . the story of a man who helps us not only to hear them, but also to feel them.

Act I, Scene I

Ira Glass at the mic at Memorial Hall this Saturday, performing “Radio Stories & Other Stories”

And so today we bring you a blog all about the importance of voices, of the spoken word launched out across the airwaves, and how these voices help us to more fully understand what it means to be a human being in this world.  That’s it.  Nothing bigger than that.  As in my life, it’s about conversations that take unexpected turns, and it’s about following them, helping the speaker along to some new and unexpected place. And helping us, the listeners, too.  In the case of Ira Glass and This American Life, “us” is the 1.7 million listeners who tune in each week.

Mr. Glass, or Ira, as I can’t help calling him, after hearing his voice in my kitchen or car every weekend, is a contributor to our book, Reality Radio: Telling True Stories in Sound, and is also, incidentally, host of This American Life, from Chicago Public Radio, brought into my kitchen by North Carolina Public Radio.  As you may know, Dear Reader, this show was one of the first, and continues to be one of the most loved, documentary series in what some call the new golden age of documentary radio.  It’s voice interwoven with sound and music, it’s an experiment in juxtaposition, humor, and candor,  and it’s a belief made audible that there’s a real relationship between the subject and the interviewer, and that this relationship is worth capturing too.

In a different way, that’s what Reality Radio does, as well.  In it, John Biewen has gathered together some of the most influential, recognized, and loved voices of our era to talk about how they work and why their work is important.  And Biewen should know: he produces documentary work for the public radio system and is the director of the audio program at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

From Rick Moody and the Kitchen Sisters to Sandy Tolan, Scott Carrier, and of course, Jay Allison, to name only a few, we read, and yes, we hear stories about why and how radio continues to matter to listeners as we learn more about how these producers and hosts assemble their pieces.  We’re talking about the programs that are cutting edge–and that are also becoming staples of our listening experience–This American Life, StoryCorps, and Radiolab as well as sites such as Transom, PRX, Hearing Voices, and Soundprint, as well as through the evolving world of the podcast.  In all, and in very different ways,  we are encouraged to think about the role of sound; the importance of voice and of respect; the splicing, editing, and condensation involved; the Big Idea or the moment captured.  And why and how listening changes us.  Again, boils down to the complicated, gooey stuff of humanity.

In fact, if you’d like to listen to what PRX and Saltcast have to say about Reality Radio, check out their site.  If you click on the actual podcast, you can hear John Biewen’s radio story “Racial Cleansing in America,” as well as a discussion of how the story is put together–how it works on us.  It’s a compelling story, and might be some good homework before or after hearing the talk this Saturday, to boot.  Check it out.

So, what to expect on Saturday night?  Thoughtful conversation.  Laughter. Reveling. Revelation.   Good luck, Ira, we’ll be hanging on your every word.

–beth

P.S. Why not let us know what you think about all this?  How do you listen to these stories? And why?  Will you listen differently now?

When it comes to public figures who bring their ‘A’ game, few will argue that television host Stephen Colbert is not near the top of the list. For proof, just look to the Emmy, Grammy, and Peabody awards that adorn the mantle on the set of his nightly satirical news show, The Colbert Report, or the fact that his book I Am America (And So Can You!) sat at the top of the New York Times Bestseller List for fourteen weeks. Obviously, Stephen Colbert comes to win.

Now, however, Colbert is stepping into a new realm, going for an award that isn’t an Emmy or a Grammy, but Olympic gold. It seems that Stephen Colbert is joining the U.S. Speed Skating Team as an assistant psychologist. See the video below for Colbert’s interview with sport psychology consultant Nicole Miller on coaching up the U.S. crew.

As he said, Stephen Colbert’s fairly new on the job, and the UNC Press bloggers want to support the American athletes any way we can, so we thought it would be helpful to pass on some pointers from Jennifer L. Etnier’s Bring Your ‘A’ Game: A Young Athletes Guide to Mental Toughness to Mr. Colbert. Read more »

UNC Press is excited to now offer some of our best-selling and award-winning Civil War books in easy-to-read, Large-Print format. Set in 16-point type, these books have been designed to make some of our most requested titles accessible to a larger number of readers than ever before.  A dozen books are ready now, and more are on the way in coming seasons. See the current selection after the jump. Read more »

On February 1, 1960, four students from the historically black Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (now the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University) sat down in the “whites only” section of a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. They were refused service, but stayed. The next day, there were around 25 protesters. Soon, over 300 protesters filled the store, and sit-ins had spread throughout North Carolina and the rest of the South, creating one of the most important moments in the quest for civil rights.

Fifty years later, the International Civil Rights Center & Museum is set to hold its grand opening on the site of the Woolworth’s store from 1960. Festivities are planned throughout the weekend: tomorrow’s gala at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center is already sold out, but a free Celebration of Unity Service at the Greensboro Coliseum is still open for Sunday evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Perhaps the most exciting upcoming event is the Monday morning ribbon cutting on the new downtown facilities.

The 1960 events in Greensboro are crucial to America’s history. With the addition of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, there will finally be a space devoted to the progress made there. UNC Press is excited to see another great museum join our community.

If you can’t make it to Greensboro on Monday morning, don’t worry: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC’s The State of Things will be broadcasting live on site. Later in the week, we should have more coverage here on the UNC Press Blog of this historic moment.

–Matt

Over at Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, Andrew Finstuen offers a response to the spiritual tones within President Obama’s State of the Union address last night, noting that the president summoned a unifying “civil faith” to lead the country through challenging times. Finstuen is author of Original Sin and Everyday Protestants: The Theology of Reinhold Niebuhr, Billy Graham, and Paul Tillich in an Age of Anxiety, just published in December. An excerpt from his thoughtful essay:

Many Americans share Obama’s faith in the American spirit, and thus they share in his American civil religion. Such a faith is in the tradition of the oldest political-religious narrative in American history. It is a variation on Puritan John Winthrop’s call for the settlers of colonial Massachusetts to be a “city on a hill” and a beacon to the world. Obama provided his most passionate articulation of this civil faith at the end of the speech, the only moment when the chamber fell completely silent, no doubt in homage to the “sacred” values of America. He noted that American leadership overseas “advances the common security and prosperity of all people,” and the United States takes such initiatives “because our destiny is connected to those beyond our shores. But we also do it because it is right.”

Preaching this civil faith is a part of being president, and Obama is among the few presidents to preach it with a measure of humility. Like all good preachers, he implicated himself and his party in the sins that have led to the gridlock of Washington politics, prohibited the exercise of the American spirit, and reduced the federal government to a place “where every day is Election Day.” He also distinguished himself from some of his predecessors by explaining that the greatest realizations of the American spirit came as a consequence of making sacrifices in the face of enormous crisis.

This humility notwithstanding, President Obama’s civil faith in America clouded his judgment at a crucial point in the speech. He highlighted national security as the greatest source of unity in US history and lamented that the unity achieved after 9/11 “has dissipated.” It is one thing to suggest that war and armed conflict are permanent fixtures of history, as he did in his Nobel speech. It is an altogether different thing to champion the national cohesion that comes from it.

Read the full text of Finstuen’s comment at Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.

–ellen

iBook’s bookshelf view (not actual size)

Earlier today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled his company’s latest creation: the iPad, a half-iPhone/half-laptop device. On the UNC Press Blog, we’ll leave it to the experts to explain most of the bells and whistles, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a look at one specific feature included in the completely-touchscreen answer to the laptop: iBooks.

Jobs highlighted iBooks as one of the iPad’s strongest features, and made it clear that Apple plans to battle Amazon’s Kindle in the burgeoning world of the e-book. And while some are concerned that the iPad’s LED-backlit screen won’t be as easy on the eyes as the Kindle during long reads, book lovers  should be happy to hear news about products and programs like iBooks and Kindle at all: in a time when the publishing world has seen some uncertainty, we are optimistic to see one of the main questions selling points hovering around the debut of a new product be, “this will help you read books!”

In his January 26th editorial for The Atlantic, media guru Peter Osnos makes just that point. “It is fascinating and encouraging to see the titans of technology competing to distribute digital books,” the senior media fellow at The Century Foundation begins. Read more »

Happy Friday, readers! Here at UNC Press, we’re finishing up our book launch week–planning out our titles for Fall 2010. The books we plan to put on the shelves in 2010 have us very excited, and we know you’ll enjoy them.

In the meantime though, we thought it would be good to highlight some of the interesting events happening across the Internet recently, both in and out of the UNC Press world:

• First up, head over to the UNC Press Blog’s friend, First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies, for a thorough critique of Avatar, James Cameron’s high-grossing film, by Aboriginal Studies professor and fantasy writer Daniel Heath Justice. Justice’s writing is illuminating, pointing out the successes and eventual shortcomings of the Pocahontas-like story. Commenting on the movie’s examination of colonialism, Justice says, “[Avatar is] powerful in so many ways, but why do we need yet another story about Indigenous struggle told through a non-Native’s voice and perspective?” Take the time to read the entire post.
• Are you interested in UNC Tar Heel basketball? The history of blues music? How about the North Carolina coast, or the best recipe for Cherokee persimmon cake? If so, go now to UNC Press’ Southern Gateways page, Read more »

kick and scream all you want, but the call isn't going to change

For the amateur athlete, there are countless resources that explain how to improve on the mechanics of any given sport. Yet, very little has been said about the mental preparation needed to perform at the highest level, an aspect that is of equal importance to the physical side. Filling that void, Jennifer L. Etnier’s Bring Your “A” Game is an invaluable tool for young athletes who want to get their head in the game.

Now, we want to direct your attention towards the newest extension of Jennifer Etnier’s fantastic work on the mental side of sports–her companion blog, Bring Your “A” Game. There, you can find any and all information about Bring Your “A” Game: from the upcoming author appearances in Greensboro, NC to video introductions for athletes, parents, and coaches, and most importantly, commentary from Etnier about the the biggest topics in sports. Interested in the saga of Urban Meyer’s retirement (and subsequent unretirement) as the head coach for the University of Florida’s football team? Take a look at one recent post, “Burnout in Coaching.” Wondering what will happen as tennis star Serena Williams returns to a major competition, the first since her rage-filled, John McEnroe-inspired exit from the U.S. Open? Then check out Jennifer Etnier’s newest entry, “Dealing with Officials.” Etnier writes,

Obviously, this event provides a teachable moment for athletes from all sports.  It is worthwhile for athletes to ask themselves these questions:  How do you react to officials?  Can you control your emotions in response to what you perceive to be incorrect decisions by an official? Do you let a “bad” call by an official take you out of the game? Being able to control your emotions, to put a “bad” call behind you, and to focus on those aspects of the competition that are within your control are mental toughness skills that are displayed by the athletes who are the most successful in their sport.  It is important for athletes striving to develop their mental toughness to gain an awareness of their reactions to officiating and to learn to control those reactions so that their performance is not hurt.

If you are a young athlete, or if you know one, Jennifer L. Etnier’s timely online commentary will offer expert lessons in sportsmanship and mental training that can help anyone get ahead in the game. Now if only someone had told Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella about it before he threw that fit you see at the top of the page.

- Matt

Harvey Neptune, author of Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the United States Occupation, offered some background on Haiti for the arts blog at Temple University (where he is an assistant professor of history). I wanted to share some of his comments on the country’s history as well as his challenge for lovers of freedom to help Haiti rebuild–not just past the present moment of acute crisis, but to the point that it can thrive.–ellen

…despite lectures that laud the creation of Haiti in 1804 as the most inspiring and daring democratic movement in the modern Western world, the nation’s subsequent fate bears way more than its fair share of despair.  From the very beginning, this fledgling black republic was punished for its precocious, defiant seizure of freedom from French colonizers.  Over the next two centuries, peace and prosperity have proved precarious if not elusive on the western third of Europeans’ pioneering New World settlement.  Racist international recrimination, destructive civil war, abrupt agro-industrial collapse, arrogant US occupation, violent chauvinist neighbors, cruel Cold War meddling, atrocious dictatorial leadership, relentless ecological ruin –  name your setback, and there’s a good chance that it has visited Haiti,  conspiring to make Haitians’ present often appear like a mockery of its heroic past.  In their eyes, history must surely sometimes seem like an extended rendezvous with defeat.  Once a sugar colony of legendary riches, the soil of this country has become in recent times an infamously iconic patch of global poverty.

…

For those of us who believe that insofar we have a “civilization” worth saving, we owe no small part of it the small black republic founded two centuries ago, it is time to give concrete meaning to that conviction.  To be truthful, there is no silver lining in the dark clouds hovering over Haiti.  Clichés do not apply.  What does exist is a challenge, a monumental one.  In the devastation lies an opportunity for us all to help build a Haiti that honors the large sacrifices this nation has made for liberties we all cherish today.

To read Neptune’s full commentary, see the post at Temple’s Cherry TArts blog.