Blog Entry 10

Alaskan/Yukon Literature is as unique as the individuals who compose it. There are myths, short stories, novels, and poems that all contain a piece of Alaska. Whether the work is describing a landscape, family life, religious beliefs, or Alaskan recourses, each one has the ability to convey images and meanings that are not necessarily expressed through words. Over the course of this semester, we have read a large body of work that has spanned many centuries, from the oral stories of tribes to the contemporary poems of writers who are still living in Alaska today. Which has presented us with the opportunity to see the sights that the writers envisioned, live through the eras they did, and enjoy the Alaskan wilderness as they had.

This week, I really enjoyed John Straley's "Every Single Day" poem. The ability to evoke so many memories and thoughts with just the words "Springtime" or "King Salmon" speaks volumes to the wealth of experiences Alaskans can have. Just from reading the poem I began to think about my first spring after winter and my first time seeing a king salmon. Alaska is full of many seemingly insignificant events that turn out to be the memories we reflect on most.

It would be difficult to go through each and every thing I have learned about Alaskan Literature from this class. However, I will sum it up by saying, I have gained a greater appreciation for the state of Alaska that I did not have before taking this course. As an English major, I like to know what inspires people to write. I have usually looked at British authors and authors from the lower-48, but I never really paid attention to Alaskan authors. Reading some of the works this semester has taught me to look at my surroundings to find the inspiration the authors we've read felt.

(http://wikitravel.org/en/Alaska)

Blog Entry 9- Seasons in Alaska

The seasons in Alaska vary greatly. While Fairbanks to Anchorage might only be 450-miles, there is a drastic temperature difference. I remember running track in high school in the Interior meant we didn't get to go outside to practice until we could shovel the snow off of the track. Our first and second scheduled meets were usually canceled due to weather, and the first part of our season was spent running through the halls and practicing on the gym floor. Schools in Anchorage, however, usually had three or four official meets before we even got to do one. It was a great advantage for all of the Achorage athletes, who got to compete with various schools and travel.

The difference between the two largest cities in Alaska is drastic, and Alaskan weather only gets more drastic as you reach out to the Arctic and the Coast. Alaskan seasons are unreliable. Temperature, season length, snowfall, wind, precipitation, hours of sunlight, ice fog, ect are all dependent on where you live. There is no consistency in the Alaskan seasons. One summer may be beautiful with clear skies and very small bug populations, while the next may be darks and gloomy with overcast caused by large forest fires.

Alaskan seasons are never consistent or distinct, they tend to blend together at the most strange times. The Winter darkness, the Summer sunshine, the Fall chill, and the Spring rain are about the only identifiable characteristics of each season, but even they can happen in random order. All in all, Alaskan seasons are as unique and undefined as the Alaskan landscape and people living within it.

Blog Entry 7- Coexisting

People with even the most different beliefs, appearances, and opinions can find a way to coexist. Art and literature are an example of the media in which gender, color, age, and sexuality can be disregarded in order to appreciate something aesthetically. Being the indigenous people of the land or foreigners entering a new country can also breed understanding between cultures and people.

In Richard K. Nelson's "Woodsman" it seems as though the common threat of death by the hands of the woodsmen brought people together. Fear brings about a common understanding or in this case a common nightmare. When Nelson refers to "A Huslia man" (639) he is outlining the fact that the different cultures/groups have similar horror stories and experiences with the cannibalistic woodsmen. Although the woodsmen are a piece of folklore, the idea that a mutual fear can unite people is a way in which different cultures can come together and coexist.

            Another example of cultures/people coexisting can be found in Edna Palace’s Ice Palace. It appears that the peaceful interactions between people cause the: “kind of balloon feeling” (622) for everyone in the town. The tranquility exaggerated the senses of the writer who states, “It was true that everything in Baranof seemed exaggerated. Edges seemed sharper. Skies bluer. Mountains higher” (662) which shows the way in which a sense of peace can cause a person’s life to improve. The characters in the beginning of the piece seem to be on the same accord and working together instead of capitalizing on differences.

 

Edna Ferber (1957)

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/bartlett/palace.html

 

Ferber, Edna. "Ice Palace" Last New Land. Ed. Mergler, Wayne. Alaska Northwest Books, (c) 1996. 661-671.

 

Nelson, Richard K. "Woodsman" Last New Land. Ed. Mergler, Wayne. Alaska Northwest Books, (c) 1996. 636-641.

Blog Entry 6

Personally I don't interact with Alaskan wilderness on a regular basis. Thinking back to when I first moved to Alaska in 1999 (when I was 7), I became best friends with the girl across the street, and because of that friendship I became somewhat comfortable with Alaskan nature. When I was younger, playing in the tree house, by the slough or in the woods by my house was something I looked forward to. However, when my friend moved in 2003, I lost my desire to go out and play in nature.

Although I had some of my best childhood memories playing with my best friend in the woods, I believe that my perspective as a 20 year old has changed my view of Alaskan wilderness. I think that as I've gotten older, I've gained knowledge about how dangerous the Alaskan wilderness can be. A person can be so vulnerable when out in the Alaskan wild, and the possibilities of danger can arise not only from the weather, but the wildlife. The fear of extreme weather and animal attacks have kept me from venturing into nature as an adult. Which leads me to believe that as a child, I was more adventurous and willing to take risks, but as an adult I am more skeptical because I have some knowledge about the danger of the Alaskan Wild.

I believe that I have lost most of my wonder when it comes to the Alaskan Wilderness. Although I still find it breathtakingly beautiful at times, I make sure to keep my distance. I have never gone camping, hunting, and have only fished at a lake and once on a charter boat in Homer. I do enjoy nature, but its from a distance.

Photo of a Moose taken my my stepdad on trip to Anchorage in April 2011.

Highway infront of Mountain. Taken on trip to Anchorage April 2011.

Blog Entry 5: Alaskan Wilderness

The Alaskan wilderness is a very unique place. Wilderness in genereal will bring to mind different images for different individuals. Although wilderness can be a beautiful and solidary place in which people venture to in an attempt to escape city life, it can also be dangerous. In William Cronon's essay "The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting back to the Wrong Nature" he describes how many people now-a-days see the wilderness as a place to escape to when city life isn't going well, and also as a place that needs to be protected.

This contemporary view of wilderness is very similar to the sentiment of the Romantic writers. I learned in my Eng 309 class that writers like, Wordsworth and Coleridge believed that everyone should return to nature to find their peice of mind. Although Coleridge and Wordsworth are two very successful writer, who produced great works, their opinions for the most part were not shared by  their peers. The truth is, wilderness can be a very scary place that people enter into without the slightest idea of what is means to survive on nothing but what you can produce. Alaskan wilderness in particular is dangerous, not just for people visiting but for residents as well.

The Alaskan wild is an unpredictable and sometimes scary place to be in, especially if you don't prepare for the unexpected. In Nick Jans "Beautiful Meat", he describes the death of a "sow" all because of his folly in chasing down a family of bears in order to take pictures. Once he attracts the unwanted attention of the bears and has to run for his life back to his boat, he becomes aware that one of the bears will be killed by his friend clarence "an Inupiat hunter, part of a centuries-old tradition" (463) and feels responsible for the loss of life. The contrast between Clerance and the narrator in the story is very important to understanding the Alaskan wilderness. While the narrator has this ideal view of nature, Clerance the "Inupiat hubter" is much more skeptical and warry of what lurks in the wild.

Personally, I have a respectful but very skeptical view of the Alaskan wilderness. As an Alaskan resident I feel that I have a little more insight into the dangers (I.e. frostbite, animal attacks, harsh weather) than most Americans. In recent years Alaska has been in the spotlight, and people watching the various "reality" tv shows may see some of the dangerous situations people find themselves in, but it is presented in a very romantisized way. To see a man or woman conquering the wild, will give others the idea that they can do it, which is often not the case. Although I believe nature and the wilderness should be preserved as much as possible to pretect the species that inhabit it, I have no direct involvement with the wilderness around me.


(A collection of poems and lyrical ballads written by Willam Wordsworth and Samuel T. Coleridge-1800).

http://www.wordsworthclassics.com/det/poet/1840225351.htm


(Logging and Deforestation of Tongass National Forest (AK/Canada))

http://www.skolaiimages.com/stock/displayimage-5666-Logging-and-deforestation-Tongass-National.html

Blog Post 4: The Theme of Resources in Alaskan Writings

The use of resources is a reoccurring theme the Alaskan Literature. Being that Alaska is a plentiful land, with an unforgiving climate means that providing for oneself can be an often daunting but fulfilling task. Many of the authors we've read about recently describe the process of procuring food in the wilderness as opposed to the gathering of the "natural resources" we tend to think about today (i.e. oil, gold, fur).

In Richard K. Nelson's "Moon of the Returning Sun", Nelson describes the Eskimo hunting method to that of the polar bear when he writes,"So it was that Eskimo and polar bear hunted the same animal in almost the same way" (409). This quote is significant to the piece as a whole, because the description shows that both man and beast are on an equal plane when it comes to hunting in the Alaskan wild. Neither man nor beast has the upper hand, and both may need to adopt each other's methods in order to gain resources necessary for life.

In Pamela Houston's story "Dall", she describes the travels of sheep hunters in Alaska. When comparing Houston's story to Nelson's, it is evident that the hunters of each story had different motives and methods of obtaining their needed resources. When Houstin writes,"Apparently they all split up and James came upon the herd and shot six animals in a matter of seconds." (439), it seems to me that the purpose of hunting the sheep was for bragging rights, rather than actual need. When put into that context, the hunting of the sheep seemed like a disrespectful use of the Alaskan resources.

In Barry Lopez's "Tornarssuk (Ursus Maritimus)", Lopez describes the hunt of ringed seals. The purpose for hunting seals was tied to the study of marine food chains in the arctic (431). Lopez's use of Alaskan resources differed from both Nelson's and Houston's depiction of hunting in Alaska, because the resources were used in the pursuit of education. Whether the purpose is food, entertainment, or education, Alaskan resources seem to appease a multitude of people.

Blog Entry 3- Sister Goodwin

Sister Goodwin is a very interesting person to read about. Through her marriage to Andrew Hope III she was able to merge her Inupiat Eskimo heritage with her husband's Tlingit heritage. Goodwin's Inupiat name was Taliifaq, and after marrying and being adopted into the Tlingit traditions she was given the name Tsanak. Much of Goodwin's poetry from her 1984 poetry collection A Lagoon Is In My Backyard deals with Alaskan nature and landscapes.

Sister Goodwin's poem "Nomadic Inupiat, for Kappaisrunk" published in 1984, relays the story of Goodwin as a young girl and gives the audience her unique opinion of the seasons. Goodwin's description of the Alaskan landscape and the changing of the seasons gives insight to how she was raised. Unlike many other poets who describe colors, feelings evoked by the weather, and physical descriptions of Alaskan landscape; Goodwin's writing gives the audience insight into what she did during those seasons with her family which demonstrates the importance of them.

The poem begins with Goodwin's parents taking the children out of school to go out and enjoy nature. The act of being taken out of the structured/ institutionalized world (school), and being put into the always changing, unpredictable world of nature to enjoy quality time with family gives the audience an idea of her Goodwin's childhood was like. Goodwin seems to have gotten her appreciation of Alaskan Landscape and nature from her parents who thought enjoying nature and simplicity was a necessary part of development. Goodwin's description of her family's activities, gives the impression that nature was synonymous with family to Goodwin as a child. I believe the best example of this is when Goodwin writes, "how special for a whole family to sit together reminiscing laughing planning for the winter" (298).



Goodwin, Sister. "Nomadic Inupiat, for Kappaisrunk" Last New Land. Ed. Mergler, Wayne. Alaska Northwest Books, (c) 1996. 296-298.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=klea&id=I33661