My Ramblings: 
I read this book as part of my Indigenous Lit and the West course at Montana State University. It was... difficult. It was also pretty amazing. Told from multiple viewpoints the story unravels in a spiral. You are introduced to characters, introduced to their lives and struggles and hopes. Slowly connections start to form, a relative here, a passing acquaintance there. Each story is both completely individual and one thread in the whole tapestry. In that way I found myself deeply invested in the characters and their chapters, while also finding myself jumping backwards to double check if I had really read what I thought I read. The context changing as the spiral tightens. Everything leading to the powwow and the events that unfold there. I won't go into it, to talk about where it all leads is to spoil the ending and the ending is both shocking and the inevitable conclusion of the paths the characters were all walking. 
There, There somehow manages to be both uniquely Native American while providing a universality that allows those who don't share this specific history to make a connection nonetheless. There, There deserves all the accolades and awards it has received. If you haven't read it, do. It's one that I know I will refer back to and read again. 

A Question on Analyzing Books: 
So like I said, we read this book as part of my Indigenous Lit course and as part of that course we dug deep into the books we read. Stories by and about Native American writers like Morning Dove and Tommy Orange. Books published 100 years ago and those published just last year. As we read we looked for meaning, tied the stories on the pages to the events occurring at the time, argued about what the author might have meant by a reference. Through it all we worked together, and sometimes against each other, to figure out why these books in particular were important, why the author wrote them, what importance they might have seen. 

Sometimes there were interviews that we could reference or other articles that would give insight to what the author felt or meant, but more often then not it was just us, guessing at meaning by using the clues were were able to pull from the story and our knowledge of the time the story was set in or even written in. It's a fun exercise and I enjoy the debate, of seeing where our personal biases and experiences color our interpretation. Still, something about it has always left me on edge, because I have seen in teaching where a question on a state exam or a story in an ELA unit will give a definite answer to something in a story only to have the actual authors of the story come out and say "well, that's not what I meant at all". All of this is to say that whenever possible I try to ask the author, and I try to impress upon my students to ask the author. Even if they don't answer, at least there is an attempt to get to the heart of it. 

For me I was delighted to see that he lectured much in the same way I teach. Basically, here's what we should absolutely remember to say, but also let me tell you this cool story. Orange was concerned that he was not a lecturer, but I found the whole thing pretty spot on. At there end there was time for questions, which is where this whole thing really comes back together for me.

I was lucky enough to be able to ask the last question of the night and I chose to ask about something that had come up in our discussions in class. There, There opens with what we generally categorized (in class) as a non-fiction essay prologue that speaks to the violent history that Native Americans had to deal with in the US. There is also an interlude that delves back into those topics. As a class we talked about the importance of the prologue and why Orange might have included it. We talked about how it gave the book context, gave it a backstory. We talked about how if you were not a person with a knowledge of how Native Americans were treated in the US, it would help frame the story to come. So last night at the lecture I asked Orange why he had chosen to write what was essentially a non-fiction Prologue before moving into the book proper. 

His response was pretty simple, and made total sense, while not at all being anything we had discussed in class. Orange first said that he didn't even know that he had written a non-fiction essay. That it was just writing and the information was important to the story. He also said that what he loves about prologues is that you don't have to follow any of the rules that you set for the rest of the book. His book is told from multiple perspectives set in the present day, this important information didn't particularly fit into that format, so it became the prologue. He said the other great thing about a prologue is that if you're a person who hates a prologue you can just skip it and still get the story. This information, while important, wasn't part of the narrative proper and so if you read it, the information enriched the story, but if you didn't read it, you would still get the story. In all the analyzing we did, these weren't things we considered. That isn't to say the things we spoke about were wrong, they just simply weren't the whole picture. 

Which brings me back around to my dilemma. How do you have students (or adults for that matter) make personal connections and analyze literature while also balancing the authors actual perspective? Do authors like us to reach out and ask, and if so what is the best way to do so? What if the author is no longer living- is there a way to figure it out or is it enough to simply say "we may never know what they truly meant, but here is what we can infer"?

These are questions that I don't have an answer to, but I'm glad I was given the opportunity to ask Orange last night, his answer enhanced and shifted my reading of his book, which is always an exciting thing. 

While there is no video of the lecture I attended last night, I am attaching a video of Orange speaking at Politics and Prose at the Wharf in June 2018. He reads from the book and at the 12:20 mark he specifically speaks to the prologue. 

I'm going to tell a story here that I went back and forth about sharing. This past weekend a strange and frankly humbling thing happened. First, a little back story.

Last week I attended the Supernatural Giving Back Tour in Cleveland.  In addition to the normal fun and games- like photo ops, panels, autographs, karaoke and the Saturday Night Special Concert- there were also a ton of chances to interact, both with games on stage with the actors, and with some challenges that you did on your own or with friends.

A year ago when I bought my tickets, I was intrigued by the Creative Quest- an art contest that would marry Rock and Roll with Supernatural. I wanted in, even though I knew I was not the best artist. I racked my brain for what I could do that would be in my wheel house and still fit the parameters... then I landed on it, I would paint an acoustic guitar. It took me months to figure out what to do and how to do it. There were several failed attempts, and numerous points where I almost threw the whole idea away. Then, with a few weeks left to go, I finally hit my stride. Still, I ran out of time. Life got in the way and the night before I had to leave the guitar was not nearly what I wanted it to be. It was missing several symbols I wanted to include and I never got the epoxy on to seal it all in. I almost left the guitar home, but decided to bring it anyways and enter the Creative Quest. When I saw the other entries I knew I was out of the game- the level of artwork that was on display was incredible. I was in awe of the talent that this family brings to the table. 

Then a funny thing happened. My name was called as a winner. I had to go on stage to speak about my work. Now, I love to be on stage and I have no problem talking to large groups of people. I should have been in my element, but I felt like a fraud. How could my work have won anything when up against some of the stuff that was entered? It felt a bit like one of those moments you see at awards shows where the winner steps on stage and says "I never thought I'd win!" I normally think those people are full of it, but now I think I know the feeling. I'm not even sure what I said up on the stage, and I don't know what the judges saw in my work that made them choose it (I almost asked for a critique!). I do know that the more I reflected on it, the more I realized that I was being given a chance to do something great. No, the guitar wasn't perfect, hell, it wasn't even finished, but they saw something in it that was worthwhile. So I came home and I finished the guitar, I made it into something that I am proud of. Something that I actually want to do more of as well- I already have some ideas for a few more guitars. 

So here it is:
​I painted this used acoustic guitar using acrylic paints. The flower design was done free hand and then I added in 9 Supernatural symbols into the design, before I put a clear glaze over the top to seal and protect the work. 

Symbols included:  Anti-Possession, Mark of Cain, Tibetan Tulpa, Horn of Gabriel, Angel Banishing, Purgatory, some Wings, Azazel Sigil, British Men of Letters (Aquarian Star). 

If you have been following this blog for the last year or so it will come as no surprise that I am a proud member of the Supernatural Family. One of my favorite parts of the fandom is the opportunity to go to conventions, not just to attend panels and meet the actors, but because you get to spend the weekend geeking out with other fans. I've been to 2 Supernatural Conventions and will be attending the Giving Back tour this fall and I've always walked away with new friends and great memories! 

This past January I happened to see a post on Facebook looking for submissions for a book called CONventional Wisdom, which has become a way for fan to share how conventions have changed their life in some way. I sent off a submission and since then have been lucky enough to become part of the CONventional Wisdom Family.

​Since January a lot of work has been done on the book and this past weekend I was able to interview the ladies behind CONventional Wisdom, April Vian and Melissa Kennedy! 

Thank you so much April and Melissa for chatting with us! I can't wait to see what is up next for CONventional Wisdom and see the finished copy of the book. 

if you want to stay up to date on CONventional Wisdom you can follow them on twitter and facebook and also check out their website CONventional Wisdom: Lessons learned. One con at a time