Barbara Henning is een schrijfster wier werk de grens tussen poëzie en proza overschrijdt. Haar schrijven duikt in de complexiteit van het dagelijks leven en relaties, vaak doordrenkt van een stille melancholie en subtiele humor. Henning beheerst de taal meesterlijk en creëert resonerende beelden die de complexiteit van de menselijke psyche met een onderscheidende stem verkennen.
The narrative intricately weaves the life of the author's mother, Ferne Hostetter, who passed away when Henning was just eleven. Through a rich tapestry of family photos, newspaper clippings, and historical extracts from the 1920s to the 1950s, the book poignantly explores themes of memory and loss, capturing the essence of missed opportunities and the profound impact of familial connections. Henning's evocative storytelling brings to life the struggles and triumphs of her mother's era, creating a powerful homage to her legacy.
Calling to mind Basho¯’s late life journeys through the backcountry of Japan, two women poets in a well-worn Honda hit the road for a legendary pilgrimage in a far-flung (pre-pandemic) landscape of American poetry. Although a road trip across North American calls to mind Jack Kerouac’s youthful meanderings of self-discovery, this reading tour was more in the manner of Basho¯’s late life journeys through the backcountry of Japan. . . . The road trip was in a sense a pilgrimage of reengagement with their calling as poets, and a chance to reacquaint with like-minded friends, old and new, in a far-flung landscape of American poetry. Venues would include upscale bookstores, coffee houses, museums, legendary used bookstores, botanical gardens, university classrooms, art centers, and artist coops—in short, a unique sampling of poetry environments tracing an arc across the Southern States, the Southwest, and up the West Coast before hooking back to the Rockies. Framed as a personal challenge, the poets hit the road much in the manner of itinerant preachers and musicians, lodging at discount motels, funky hostels, Airbnbs, and with friends along the way. Adding a social media touch, Maureen and Barbara created a blog of their tour so that friends, family, hosts, and fellow poets might also share in their adventure. —from the Introduction by Pat Nolan
This dissertation explores the Ottoman-Kurdish Bedirhani family and its history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on identity formation in the context of the Ottoman Empire's collapse. It examines the family’s experiences as a case study to understand the dynamics of post-imperial identity amidst the rise of nationalisms in the Middle East. The research highlights the strategies employed by family members to navigate the transition from imperial to post-imperial contexts, analyzing the narratives they constructed about themselves and their history, as well as the networks they engaged with. The study argues that the end of the Ottoman Empire did not lead to an immediate replacement of imperial identities with nationalist ones; instead, identity formation is portrayed as a complex, long-term process with multiple pathways beyond Kurdish nationalism. By examining individual trajectories of Bedirhani family members, the research reveals diverse strategies and coping mechanisms that emerged post-World War I and after the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Unlike existing studies focusing on politically active relatives, this work highlights lesser-known family members who did not engage in Kurdish nationalist politics, offering insights into alternative life paths and the evolution of narratives surrounding more prominent relatives within the broader context of 20th-century Kurdish historiography.
