Wednesday, July 28, 2010

My California: Journeys by Great Writers edited by Donna Wares

A copy of My California is in Leatherby Libraries, but purchasing the book benefits the California Arts Council, which had its budget cut, according to the book's introduction from $31 million in 2000 to just $1 million in 2003 (to the equivalent of three cents per Californian). For those of us at Chapman here in SoCal, I especially recommend "Ode to CalTrans" by Héctor Tobar, "The Line" by Rubén Martínez, "Flirting with Urbanismo" by Patt Morrison (this one explained a lot to a Midwesterner!), and "On Being a California Poet" by Dana Gioia. Most of the essays give the reader a glimpse of specific places, often steeped with nostalgia for how things used to be (like "My Little Saigon" by Anh Do or "909" by Percival Everett).

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: F866.2 .C34277 2004
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Associate Professor, English
Rating: Highly Recommended

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