Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Abraham and Anna Malm in Eagle, Alaska

A Link to Ted Genoways, Anna, Washing.  And a link to Fort Egbert and Eagle, Alaska, A Preservation Plan.    On page 98 of the Preservation Plan is a photo of the old Abraham Malm house in Eagle, Alaska. 

Saturday, February 22, 2014

A Link to K.G. Olin's Alaska, Del 2: Guldrushen

An Important source about the Gold Rush in Alaska is Alaska, Del 2: Guldrushen, by K.G. Olin.  This source is in Swedish.  In Seattle to view the Gold Rush National Park a few weeks ago, my lunch time was made very pleasant by the Waterfall Garden Park very close by the National Park.  The Waterfall Garden Park celebrates the 100th anniversary of the United Parcel Service. 
The National Park has a display that illuminates the surrounding Preservation Project at Pioneer Square in Seattle.  Both Seattle and Tacoma were gateway cities to the Gold Rush, were both actively outfitting and preparing prospectors for Alaska. 

Saturday, February 15, 2014

My Poem "A Photo Caption" which I read at King's Books

Visited The Poetry Series at King's Books last night.  The reader was Maya Ganasan, a really young lady who began writing poems when she was even younger.  Connie Walle was enthusiastic about her and clearly enjoyed introducing her and having her there.  I read in the open mike, this poem is the one I decided to read, an appreciation of a caption from one of the books from the Arcadia History series:

A PHOTO CAPTION
            from Old Tacoma, by Carolince Gallaci
            and the Tacoma Historical Society
 
A Streetcar tells the editorial we: 

Old Tacoma, Caroline Gallacci and the Tacoma Historical Society - "A streetcar rounding the bend at North McCarver and Thirtieth Street, with the Lowell School bell tower in the distance, tells us that this Paul Richards photograph was taken at the very end of the 19th century."   

If the streetcar tells
someone, they are the editors.
What the streetcar tells  

the book's reader
is not known to the editors, but the caption
continues, not intimidated

by the unknown,  Seven blocks
to the right of the photo
two girls set out for another
morning of school, Lowell School, 

the steep walk up McCarver.
The streetcar and Lowell School
bell tower
show me the blocks, for three years by then, 

they walked along,
rising above it.

The Editors titled the photograph,
Continuing Presence
of Native Americans: 

"a native american  couple
casting off their canoe 

after a day of gathering
clams along the beach",   

The native american women
dominates the foreground, 

the man can be seen
and the eye sorts out the canoe
from other boats at the dock.   

The couple
are not old.  They board  

the canoe.  The caption explains
a native village to the left. 

The middle ground repeats
and repeats a visual pattern.
This pattern iresembles the definition of the editors'
 
word Ramshackle.
for the close scattered structures.
this middle ground has all the permanance
of close scattered structures.
 
Akin to Old Norse soekja, to seek,
is Old Norse Rannsaka, to search a rann,
or house, for stolen goods,
whence Middle English ransaken.
 
English, to ransack, which has
frequent ransackle, past participle
ransackled, whence ranshackled,
whence ramshackled, whence
the still further eased Ramshackle, adjective. 

The close scattered structures. 

Seven blocks to the right
Some morning within 
the girls thoughts
Uncle Abraham and his wife who is
so old, carried the gear 

they had accumulated
away to The Gold Rush.  

The Photo tells me
when Abraham returned, the steep hill
was diminished, was no longer
so much a hill.  The Chilkuut Pass 

made their Tacoma home
less remarkable.  Did
she hear the girls outside
and open the curtain?

Never could Anna Malm say it
was an end to the bachelor days, Johan
and Anna and Abraham,
batching on the hillside, 

Johan and Johanna
had their daughters to send to school.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Some Of Yesterday's Sunlight Was Like Spring

Caught the bus on time yesterday after doing errands and shopping, and connected.  Some of the sunlight during the day had been like spring, when I walked from the bus stop there was no need to wear gloves.  Of course I carefully made sure I had wrist warmers and gloves along as I left the apartment today.  Cause and Effect. 

Monday, February 3, 2014

New Link, "Anna, Washing" by Genoways

New link to "Anna, Washing" by Genoways, a chapbook about Abraham and Anna Malm in Eagle, Alaska.