On Thursday, September 26, 2019, recipients of the the 2019 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (AWBA) will be honored. The ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the KeyBank State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare. Edith Anisfield-Wolf, a former Cleveland Public Library Board of Trustee, established AWBA in 1935; it is the only juried book prize that addresses racism …
Read More 84th Annual AWBA Ceremony, September 26, 2019The Comanche The Comanche—or more properly, the Nermernuh, “the People,” the collective noun to which they traditionally identify —are an off-shoot of the Wyoming Shoshone. Following their indoctrination to the horse, the Comanche separated themselves from the Shoshone and moved away from the upper stretch of the Platte River in east Wyoming and down into …
Read More Literary Frolic Fridays: August, 2019 Edition. Alan LeMay’s The Searchers. The Comanche.In 1821, the Mexican legislature granted Moses Austin’s petition to establish an Anglo-American colony on Texas soil. When, upon his death, deed and title were transferred to his son and heir, Stephen Austin, Governor Martinez permitted Austin to break up the estate and offer land to potential colonists according to the following formula: Single men: …
Read More Literary Frolic Fridays: August, 2019 Edition. Alan LeMay’s The Searchers inspired by the life of Cynthia Ann ParkerWhat do “Amos,” “Ethan” and Odysseus have in common? Quite a lot. The Character of “Amos” from Alan LeMay’s novel The Searchers was transformed/reworked by screenwriter Frank S. Nugent’s into the character of “Ethan:” “Ethan” is “Amos” on steroids. Scholar Kirtsen Day has discovered that both “Amos” and “Ethan” share traits and experiences with Odysseus …
Read More Literary Frolic Fridays: August, 2019 Edition. Similarities between Alan LeMay’s The Searchers & Homer’s The OdysseyThe Searchers: The Book The Searchers was the 13th published novel of Alan LeMay, and one of four adapted for the cinema (1944’s Useless Cowboy was released in 1945 as Along Came Jones, 1934’s Thunder in the Dust was released in 1950 as The Sundowners, 1954’s The Searchers was released as The Searchers in 1956, …
Read More Literary Frolic Fridays: August, 2019 Edition. Alan LeMay’s The Searchers: Background.• United States acquired Western land from foreign powers On October 27, 1795 Thomas Pinckney, the American Ambassador to the Court of Saint James, received his instructions from President Washington to initiate negotiations with Spanish Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy concerning American access to the Mississippi River and (finally) settling the border between the United …
Read More Literary Frolic Fridays: August, 2019 Edition. Alan LeMay’s The Searchers: Setting the stage: Why did East Coasters undertake the perilous trek West?Born: 1953 Ohio connection: Birth George Bibel was born in Bedford, Ohio, in 1953, and graduated from Garfield Heights High School (1971) and received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in 1975. In 1980, Bibel took a leave of absence from his job at Sohio, Inc., to complete …
Read More Bibel, GeorgeFebruary 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019 Today, we mourn the passing of one of Ohio’s great literary figures. Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio, and would go on to become an internationally-renowned author in addition to being an editor and educator and other roles. In honor of her many achievements, we here at …
Read More Toni MorrisonDaniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon: Discussion Questions & Ponderables Ponderables According to Dr. Joel Frohlich, a postdoctoral researcher studying at UCLA, Charlie Gordon’s intellectual disability is a result of an inherited metabolic disorder called Phenylketonuria. This disorder occurs when cells are unable to produce an enzyme called phenylalanine hydroxylase. Why is this enzyme critical? Without …
Read More Daniel Keyes’ “Flowers for Algernon” – Discussion Questions & PonderablesDaniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon A Literary Frolic Friday discussion guide PART ONE: 1953-1966 How Keyes came to write Flowers for Algernon, publishing it first as a short story (1953) and then as a novel (1966), and how Flowers ultimately attracted the attention of actor Cliff Robertson In 1953, Daniel Keyes was hired by Martin …
Read More Literary Frolic Fridays – July Edition: Daniel Keyes’ “Flowers for Algernon”