Friday, December 12, 2008

Bronze memories ...

I never knew until the other night that it wasn't until 1853 that a bronze sculpture was made in the United States - an equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson by someone named Clark Mills. I learned this in section five of the Prelude to Mary Strachan Scriver's Bronze Inside and Out, a biography of sculptor Bob Scriver, who was also for a time Scriver's husband. This Prelude is filled with all sorts of fascinating information - about casting bronze and living to talk about it, about Blackfeet Indians and how tipis are raised, about a harsh and glorious landscape. It's a great setup for what promises to be an interesting read. And a very well-written one:
In old age Bob would say, "Those were the few really good years." I agreed. Just for those few balanced, centered moments of peace, Bob and I were an axis mundi, an oomphalos, the center of the world. And then we were spun apart, Bob to become a sort of monstre sacré on the Blackfeet Reservation and myself to wander, always trying to return. That was more than forty years ago. I like to remember it as mythic, poetic and tragic. Maybe it was. Time burns us out, then fills our loss with memories so that we ring like bells. Now I'm back on the east front of the Rockies, near the Blackfeet Reservation. Only the wind is the same.
Mary Strachan Scriver, by the way, blogs as prairiemary.

3 comments:

  1. GOSH,Frank! This is terrific! I was commiserating with Nancy Curtis, editor at High Plains Press who trustingly sends me books to review and she said:

    "We too have noticed in the last year that some of the places we counted on for reviews, no longer review books. Or review in such a narrow area that if your book isn't "fiction about lesbian witches who love dogs" then it doesn't fit in with their readers' interests.

    "The Casper Star Tribune runs weekly beer reviews but only reviews books about every 2 months if they are by Wyoming people or about Wyoming subjects. And then they don't really review, they just reprint the back cover."

    So I'm thrilled that you're reviewing my book, though I wouldn't want to deny you any beer!

    Prairie Mary

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  2. the beer. What about the lesbian witches who love dogs? Anyway, glad you liked the teaser. I write more as I read more.

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  3. All blogs very well, I might add. Always a good read.

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