IF YOU'RE A WRITER, HOW DO YOU "ROLL"?

People write for as many different reasons as there are people who CAN write, and probably more because some people want to write but assume they can’t.  Here is a brainstorm list:

1.  An expansion of correspondence — maybe copies to friends and relatives like a group letter or maybe even a book like the dialogue published as “84 Charing Cross Road” or — to be radical, the letters of Paul to nascent congregations that became the bulk of the New Testament.

2.  A record of descent like the roll of begats in the Old Testament.

3.  A record of laws in print, beginning with the Ten Commandments printed on stone.

4.  A written version of oral stories usually sung by troubadors long ago or maybe happening a whole lot more recently.

5.  Beautiful poetic metaphorical writing to be used for meditation or in a prayer book.  These days they are often “environmental”.

6.  A way of seeing what you think, ordering ideas. 

7.  Political persuasion, polemics offering evidence.

8.  A tool of education, flushing out information that can be and should be shared.

And so on.  Lots more angles and new ones always.

At some point along comes the “novel” which is “immersive,” romantic, sexy, generational, anchored by a place and time, and dynamic — things happen.  Novels sweep the board, dominate everything, become synonymous with books.  Then those split out into genres: mysteries, Westerns, sci-fi, and so on.  And these, made into versions of a “codex” with printed paper between covers, become objects that can make money, reform cultures, defend the stigmatized, become elegant enough to be art objects. 

THEN, overnight, it all goes virtual, online, not necessarily the same manuscript through time.  Alternative endings, fan fiction, prequels, sub-expansions of minor characters, and whatever else people can invent.

Just now on the telephone I was wrestling with my bank which, adding insult to injury, has been charging me $2 a month for sending me a paper accounting and now want to know whether they should hire a collection agency after a one dollar deficit showed up.  They are trying to force me to go online but I keep telling them that in Valier one can’t count on internet, electricity or telephone and anyway EVERYTHING that goes online is public — I don’t care how many passwords a person has. 

I tried to tell her about yesterday’s bank scandal — $30 fee to cash a Canadian check for $29.97.  “I’m a writer,” I said, recklessly.  

“What do you write?” she asked.  

“Books,” I said, suspecting she wouldn’t know a blog if she sat on one.  

“Romance, mysteries or adventure?” she asked.  Those were the only categories she knew.  Nothing about neurology, deep time, or theory of existence.  

She thought for a moment.  “Do you live in Vermont?” she asked, evidently thinking that’s where all writers live.  

“No — Montana.”  She thought for another moment.  

“Why don’t you just drive over to Canada and cash the check?”  It’s a three hour drive to the University of Calgary Press and I don’t have a passport.  You have to have a passport to go to Canada these days.  She didn’t know.  Anything.

I did the monthly laundry yesterday where my fav laundry attendant, a WWII veteran and lifelong railroad man, struggles to understand me.  He can’t figure out how I can have two master’s degrees, have taught school, read a lot, and was married to a famous man — but not have a fame and fortune.  His indicators won’t compute.  He’s not alone.

The people I’m reading are in Aeon, sometimes Edge, not TED; often through specialty groups and mailing lists.  Mostly in Canada, which was an accident and often from aboriginal groups because of following Paul Seseequasis on Twitter.  I follow HIV-AIDS issues.  Outside of that, I read high-powered books and google their bibs.  That often links me into other groups but it’s unusual for those people to be in Montana.

The bottom line is that I write because I’m a print freak and an idea hound and that’s the way I roll.

One of the major book symbioses that I see is between women and novels, and looking at the attendees at book readings here, it dawns on me what’s going on.  They are looking for evidence about managing families and their own lives.  They prefer regional, pioneer and early day stories, but not so much tribal people unless they’re enrolled.  The Hutterite women, who also love novels, always include the dynamic of religion.  Everyone is solving troubled kids’ problems, finding the perfect man or redeeming an existing marriage, and always cherishing the fantasy of writing books themselves. 

This state has some very strong and informed women who take on environmental and political issues, but I don’t get the impression that they read novels or watch TV.  They are addressing real issues and a lot of the time they are cutting trail, but networking.  I admire them, but don’t travel with them.  But THEY travel a lot, which means they listen to audible books while they’re on the road driving the long Montana distances, or if they’re flying to Washington DC or conferences in foreign countries, they take whatever version of Kindle they use, fully loaded with books — maybe not novels.

Kathy, the Valier librarian, goes through her quiet hours (when we’re all snowbound or traveling to a tournament) with a little gleaming tablet that tells stories.  She’s on the main desktop computer to do her work — ordering, database maintenance, filing — or just at the counter laminating covers or stacking books into categories.  If there are patrons reading, she uses earphones.  She calls it her “little buddy” and clearly that’s what it is.  She knows that books are not just what’s on the shelf but also all the peripherals.

Tablet books work here because this has been a radio culture for a hundred years and was an oral culture before that — both whites and tribal people.  But also, they penetrate much farther into local lives than bound books ever would, going along on the tractor or through laundry and kitchen chores.  For people who download rather than buying and shelving books, the saving in space is major.  For people who move among households all the time, including kids, it’s a reassuring source of continuity.

All this is great but there is one big DISCONNECT:  the creation of the materials.  Kids can even make Hollywood-grade films using the computer and they do that.  But who is writing radio scripts?  Who is writing to read into a microphone?  Who is a writer sensitive to sounds and dialogue rhythms, aware of the “beats” of action?  In my grade school, in fourth grade, there were two teachers who specialized.  My teacher’s focus was hand-puppets; the other teacher’s focus was radio.  Anyone doing either now?

We just haven’t gone “wide” enough yet, which means we still don’t know all the reasons to write, which doesn’t have to be in print.

"GET THAT WOMAN UNDER CONTROL!"

Meagher County is a Montana county that is the “center” of the population of the state, though that means only that it is a small community about halfway between the bulk of the population which tends to be attached to mountains because of resource economics, and therefore divided into two centers, east and west.  Meagher County is not typical of the high population areas ( Montana has NO major city) or the four university-located towns: Missoula, Bozeman, Great Falls and Billings.  But it IS typical of the homesteader-based, small merchant, and ranching people.  White Sulphur Springs, the capital, got its kickstart from hot springs which were never developed into a major resort, but still attract a steady flow of people.  http://www.meaghercounty.mt.gov

White Sulphur Springs

Today the librarian is the one in hot water.  There is no controversy over the books per se, but a struggle over the building, which has become the focus of what I interpret as foundational forces that are now typical of the whole state and even the whole country.  That is, the management of tangible assets like the building and a management “style” which is, let’s say, non-collaborative.  The latter does not value humanities.  These two forces are typical of men who run ranches, businesses, and schools in this state -- probably just about everywhere rural.  I’d throw most churches into that pot as well.  It’s the norm most places that are still dominated by older white men.

According to the GF Tribune, the underlying problem here is quite literal:  the library building is on unstable ground, which is not surprising given the kind of geological forces that create hot springs.  

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20131210/NEWS01/312100026/Officials-dismiss-Meagher-librarian  The 2007 building had problems because the ground underneath was unstable.  Rebuilding was necessary in 2008, mold damage required two months of mitigation in 2009, and now there is a smell of sewer gas and the librarian, who is in the building the most, has developed strong allergic reactions.  

I’d be very curious about who managed to sell this land to the county for its library and what review by site development engineers was in place.  In the nineties I was the clerical support for the City of Portland’s site development team, becoming well aware of the kind of shenanigans that go on when someone wants to make some money and potential problems are “underground.”  No doubt there are people who have good reasons for not wanting such shifty stuff to be investigated.  When the librarian, Debbie Benedict, an eight-year veteran, was gone to a librarian’s conference, the carpets were shampooed, some kind of sealant was put on windows, and a trustee, acting as an individual, spread “essential oils” all around.  It was a “smother-up.”  Cosmetics in the face of possible structural problems.

The returned librarian, who says she’s made seriously ill from the smell in the library and believes it is actively dangerous, used the only weapon she had: she refused to open the library and work in it.  A “loss control specialist” employed by the Montana Association of Counties came in, looked around, and said he didn’t see any problem.  An “industrial hygienist" from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry came and tested for mold, but that was all, though she recommended that a licensed plumber take a hard look at the sewer system and suggested the installation of air scrubbers in the ventilation system.  The next level up of air testing would cost $1,500, which the Friends of the Library offered to pay in full.  The commissioners refused the offer.  The potential cost of sewer repair and land stabilization could go higher than the value of the building.

Instead, the trustees called a short-notice meeting and fired Benedict without public input.  That’s how you get rid of female pain-in-the-ass employees -- and wives.  The cows go to auction.  Little problems just become big problems unless you end them.  Don't get rid of the complaint -- get rid of the complainer.

There are two or three or maybe four issues here.  One is the importance of air purity which is taken far more seriously these days than just a “stink,” particularly when children are involved.   This issue seems -- at root -- about the building.  The building itself sounds pretty questionable -- the inspectors I worked with would challenge it.  Maybe state people ought to be taking a good look at how a public building came to be built on unstable land.  

If I were a member of the Friends of the Library in Meagher County, I would be thinking about moving the whole shebang to a different building or maybe even a different town in the county.  If the county officials would not support that, perhaps it is time for a private library foundation separate from their oversight, even in another town.   Possibilities include  Martinsdale, Checkerboard, Lennep or Ringling.   

Charles M. Bair

Checkerboard and Lennep are pretty small and not incorporated but there’s a lot of land for sale.  "Martinsdale was the home of the poet Grace Stone Coates, author of Black Cherries, Mead & Mangel-Wurzel, and Portulacas in the Wheat. It was also the home of Charles M. Bair one of the largest and most successful sheep ranchers in the United States, and the former Bair family home is now a museum.  Ringling is perhaps best known as the setting for portions of Ivan Doig’s 1979 book, This House of Sky. The town was also the subject of the Jimmy Buffett song "Ringling, Ringling" featured on his 1974 album Living and Dying in 3/4 Time."  Ringling is on highway 89 and in the path of “Chinook” winds, so gets a bit of winter warming.  Looks like Martinsdale or Ringling are good candidates.  

I suppose the next lawsuit would be over who owns the books.  I suspect that the County was paying for heat, lights, salaries but not much for books.  Benedict might be able to specify which books they did or did not buy.  Interesting stuff at the national level -- far more interesting than a little spat over firing one librarian who was too stubborn for her own good.  (Been there, done that.  Times have changed.)  It raises questions about the value of books, the practice of de-accessioning, and who owns the computers that equip most libraries.  Not unlike the early Congregational church splits in which there were legal battles over the Communion silver.  So many pesky problems.

But beyond these issues is an old-fashioned ham-handed management style that works in a private context and even in public venues if the citizens don’t care enough to get involved.  Forced compliance, cover-ups, denial, and quiet behind-the-scenes deals cannot be sustained in the long run.  Not because of high ideals, but because they don’t work.  Eventually, the truth comes to light, or an accumulation of small problems turns into a big one. (What happens if there’s an earthquake -- very common around Montana -- that brings the roof of that library down on a visiting group of school kids?)  Sewer smells are meant to be alarm signals.  Something underground is still shifting.

What happens if the citizens actually get interested enough to vote?  The most recent election was October 16.  http://www.meaghercounty.mt.gov/commissioners.html   There are three commissioners serving staggered terms.  Take a look at them.  Look like “good old boys” to you?  Their annual salary from this county job is a little over $7,000.  Why do you think they want these jobs?  For the library card?

I wonder if they have realized that they can be personally sued for bad decisions as commissioners.   Of course, maybe they did the right thing.