A Writer Writes!

 Recently I completed my responsibilities in preparing "Prairie Bachelor:  The Story of a Kansas Homestead and the Populist Movement" for publication by the University Press of Kansas scheduled for release December 4, 2020 and available for pre-order now.  So, what does an author do when she hands her book over to the publisher for the last time?  One answer is obvious...she continues the weekly blog she began in 2011.  Thank you so much to all of you who have followed my blog for all those years.  I have many more stories to share.

Until this summer, I had never participated in a writing group.  The Willa Cather Conference in June was held virtually, and because I did not want to miss the conference, I was forced to enter the world of online virtual meetings.  After much trepidation, I signed up and had a wonderful time.  At the close of the conference I saw an invitation to join an online writing group, which would meet monthly via Zoom, using quotes from Willa Cather's books and short stories as prompts to inspire writing.  It sounded like fun.

I joined and have participated in three meetings with other writers from both coasts and the heartland.  The objective is to use a Cather quote to inspire the topic about which we will write.  Our compositions can be fiction, personal biography...whatever Cather's quote inspires.  After 20 minutes for writing, we take turns sharing and receiving comments from the other members of the group. The objective is not to complete a polished composition but rather just to exercise our imaginations and writing skills, and then share positive and supportive comments.   

Our group includes writers who have published books, papers, encyclopedia articles, and work related to professional lives, in one case as a professional dancer.  When I mentioned to the group that I had written fiction that I put away and never showed to anyone, my fellow writers encouraged me to get one of my stories out of its box and work on it.

That is how I came to retrieve a Legal Mystery Novel I had written years ago, even before I "met" Isaac Werner.  Obviously, I have not been idle, since I have posted a blog every week since October of 2011, during which time "Prairie Bachelor" was completed.  But with the group's encouragement, I found my Legal Mystery Novel.  I specifically remember crafting the opening passage as I walked from my car to Fresh Market when we were living in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I had completed a first draft, but when I discovered Isaac Werner's Journal, my Legal Mystery Novel was forgotten.

Actually, that novel had gone into a box when we moved from North Carolina to Texas, and was still in its box when we moved from Texas to the farm in Kansas.  All of our moving made it difficult, if not impossible, to find the manuscript.  With Isaac now handed over to the publisher, I found my long-ago fictional hero, criminal lawyer, Kent Shaffer.  My husband has put up with sharing my time with homesteader Isaac Werner, and just when he thought he was rid of his literary competition, here comes a a fictional lawyer to steal my attention.

As a lawyer, I chose to write books related to the law--a book about the constitutional protections of faith and respect for differing beliefs (Should the Children Pray? published by Baylor University Press); a book about the impact of laws on the new options for creating families (Private Choices, Public Consequences, published by Dutton, a Division of Penguin); and most recently, a book about the Populist Movement that created our nation's most successful third party (Prairie Bachelor:  The story of a Kansas Homestead and the Populist Movement).  Each of these books is related to my love for the law and our constitution.  Now I have returned to a manuscript with a fictional criminal lawyer as its hero.  

While my books are very different, all of them relate to my love and respect for the amazing legal system our nation has, whether constitutional law or civil and criminal law.  I don't know whether  my Legal Mystery Novel will ever be published, and I don't have any idea about how to market a novel, but I share this week's blog to answer the question:  What does a writer do when her book is finished?  The answer is "A writer writes!"

Images:  At top, things from my Baylor Law School years, and at bottom, my Baylor Law Diploma and the certificates for admission to the Bar in Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina, both images shared in this blog because of its subject:  my love for the law.

Music and History

Ad from The Etude, Dec. 1915

Recently I have had many reasons to reflect on the role of music in our lives.  The most personal reason is that my piano had been in storage for 2 1/2 years, and having it available to play once again is wonderful.  It was on its side atop a piano mover's dolly, covered in packing blankets and a canvas drop cloth in our home during the construction, and as carefully as we protected it, I was worried.  I was also worried about the process of putting it back together and on its legs again.  It has been moved a few times before, but usually I hide during that process, afraid to watch.  This time I was needed to help with protecting the newly installed and finished floors, so I couldn't hide.  I even stayed to photograph the pivotal moment of attaching the third leg.  All went well, without a scratch to piano or man. The piano tuner concluded with the playing of Beethoven's Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor when he finished--a real treat!  (I do play, but not well enough to deserve this beautiful instrument.)

Setting up my piano

As the construction on our house nears completion, one of my tasks is sorting the things from our storage room into the "save" and "discard" piles.  This is a particularly difficult task for a genealogist and history researcher, but I am slowly making headway.  Among the things that made it into the "save" pile is the December 1915 issue of The Etude, from which the advertisements in this blog were taken.  The magazine includes not only articles but also music, and the editorial near the front of the 1915 Christmas issue read, "But the world is purging itself of the horror of war and the makers of war.  All the more reason why we should do our utmost here in America to proclaim the great message of peace."  (See "My Steadfast Tin Soldier, A Sequel," 10-2-2014 in the blog archives for a reminder of that era.) 

Ad from The Etude, Dec. 2015

Although the issue of The Etude that I found is not quite of the era in which Isaac B. Werner lived, it made me think of him nonetheless, for Isaac loved music.  His journal includes references to music in the churches of Rossville, IL, to spending evenings with friends who played musical instruments, and to the enjoyment of singing at Farmers' Alliance meetings.  (See "Music on the Prairie," 1-24-2013 and "Songs for Farmers' Gatherings," 11-5-2013 in the blog archives.)  The Etude magazine from 1915 contains advertisements for cabinets to hold sheet music, disk records, and player piano rolls, but for Isaac and most of his neighbors their musical entertainment had to be self produced.

Music is not just about entertainment.  I was recently reminded of that by folksinger, storyteller, and autoharp virtuoso Adam Miller, who performed at the library in St. John, KS.  As his brochure says, "Folksongs travel through History.  History travels through Folksongs."  

  

Adam Miller

Performing with autoharp and guitar, he sang one song using a version naming Texas rivers in its lyrics but told us that the same song is found in other regions includes the names of rivers from that locality; he also sang a traditional hobo song, a song about Amelia Earhart, and a song about a Kansas pioneer, among others.  He described American folksongs with their roots in English ballads.  There are folk songs about war, railroads, and sailing.  Folk songs were sung by cowboys, soldiers, sailors, and pioneers, and the lyrics tell of their lives.  It truly is history put to music, and Adam shared many examples.

An appreciative audience listens to Adam Miller

He especially enjoys singing folk music in schools, and if the young man in the audience at the St. John library is a typical example of how students relate to Adam's music, they must love it!  He calls his programs Singing Through History! and according to his brochure he has performed live for over 1.5 million American students in 48 states.  As someone who considers knowledge of history essential to the citizens of every nation, I especially appreciated the idea of bringing that history to young people through folk music!

Enjoying Adam Miller

If you want to learn more about Adam Miller or check out some videos of his performances, you may google Adam Miller folksinger.  You can also go to his website to sample some of his songs or buy CDs.

The next time you listen to a folksong, pause to consider the history it contains.  Remember:  "Folksongs travel through history.  History travels through folksongs."