Sunday, October 24, 2010

I Am A Man

Last week the UNL Bookstore featured a book club discussion in Joe Starita's "I Am A Man", which was chosen as the One Book One Lincoln book of the year. Here's a summary from www.goodreads.com:

"In 1877, Chief Standing Bear's Ponca Indian tribe was forcibly removed from their Nebraska homeland and marched to what was then known as Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in what became the tribe's own Trail of Tears." "I Am a Man" chronicles what happened when Standing Bear set off on a six-hundred-mile walk to return the body of his only son to the Ponca's traditional burial ground. Along the way, it examines the complex relationship between the United States government and this small, peaceful tribe. It looks at the legal consequences of land swaps and broken treaties, while never losing sight of the heartbreaking journey the Ponca endured."

The reviews on this page were very interesting: everyone seems to agree on the historical significance of the story, but find it less riveting than other forms of literature. This gets me thinking: how much creative liberty are we allowed to take to make a historical story more interesting to our readership? How faithful should we be to the story? Are there instances where embellishment might actually do justice to the message of the story? Can we even have objectivity when it comes to relating an historical event?

Obviously "I Am A Man" has had a powerful impact upon Lincoln, Nebraska. I think the best way to answer these sorts of questions would be to read the book for yourself!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Sheldon Fall on Campus Contest

The Sheldon Art Museum is having a contest where students take pictures on campus that show what fall means to them. The winner is chosen by Sheldon employees, and receives a $25 gift certificate to the museum gift shop, and a Sheldon Photography coffee table book. Details on their website.

This sounds like a great idea! Fall is such a great season in Nebraska, I'm sure there will be a ton of beautiful photos.

(P.S. You know where else you can send photos of fall on campus? Plains Song Review!)

Friday, October 8, 2010

PSR now accepting submissions!


In case you didn't already hear, Plains Song Review is now accepting submissions for our 13th volume! Submissions are due January 19th, and the magazine will come out in April.

We take:
fiction
poetry
essays
artwork
photography
comics

Send us:
A hard copy
A electronic copy
The Permission to Print form

Check out the submission guidelines for more information!
Questions? Email Kaitlin Ek at plainssongreview@gmail.com