The River Churning

On 20th century Indic and English literature; articles.

In this fascinating collection of writings, Srilatha Batliwala, feminist thinker and practitioner, explores the many dimensions of what empowerment means for, and to, women. Looking back on a life lived through commitment to a cause—rather than to an organisation or to a sector—and working for it at many levels and locations, she traces the evolution of the concept from the late 1980s till now, unravelling its ambiguities, highlighting insights gained through practice, and analysing how and why it has been depoliticised and reduced by the state and aid agencies. Along the way, Batliwala traverses key sectors, including education for women, politics outside political systems, grassroots movements, energy for sustainable development, and a controversial questioning of a rights-based approach to women’s equality.

Birch Trueblood--a proud Ojibwe healer, who now works as a shaman, performing rituals for New Age believers and tourists. He does what he has to in order to support his young daughter. But when he's called on to help communicate with ghosts at an historic bed and breakfast, he never guesses it'll be the woman who runs the place that will haunt his dreams. Rochelle LeClaire--owner of Rosewood B&B. She and Birch have crossed paths before, and she has no reason to believe he's anything but a fraud. But then her eccentric aunt hires him--to communicate with the spirits haunting the house of all things! Suddenly he's in her space, in her thoughts . . . and eventually, in her bed. But when long-hidden secrets come to light, will their fragile bond be strong enough to hold them together? Kathleen Eagle published her first book, a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award winner, with Silhouette Books in 1984. Since then she has published nearly 50 books, including historical and contemporary, series and single title, earning her nearly every award in the industry. Her books have consistently appeared on regional and national bestseller lists, including the USA Today list and the New York Times extended bestseller list. Kathleen Eagle lives in Minnesota with her husband, who is Lakota Sioux. The Eagles have three children and three grandchildren.

On May 31, 1935, a storm system surged along the Republican River, bursting its banks in a matter of minutes with a roar that could be heard miles away. The greatest flood to hit the tri-state area of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, it left behind a landscape rearranged beyond recognition and claimed more than one hundred casualties. However, amid all the destruction and sorrow, amazing acts of heroism and unwavering courage were reported throughout the valley. Author Joy Hayden reveals the historic disaster and the steadfast resolve of those who witnessed it. Book jacket.

The Refugee Woman examines the Partition of 1947 by engaging with the cultural imagination of the ‘refugee woman’ in West Bengal, particularly in three significant texts of the Partition of Bengal—Ritwik Ghatak’s film Meghe Dhaka Tara; and two novels, Jyotirmoyee Devi’s Epar Ganga, Opar Ganga and Sabitri Roy’s Swaralipi. It shows that the figure of the refugee woman, animated by the history of the political left and refugee movements, and shaped by powerful cultural narratives, can contest and reconstitute the very political imagination of ‘woman’ that emerged through the long history of dominant cultural nationalisms. The reading it offers elucidates some of the complexities of nationalist, communal, and communist gender-politics of a key period in post-independence Bengal.

Neighbourly relations frequently position a “self” against an “Other”. This is the case for both individuals and nations, and, indeed, within the various cultural groups of a nation. Our racial, ethnic, social, or gender identities are often created in demarcating ourselves by stereotyping the Other. Disrespect of the immediate neighbour based on stereotypical pre-conceptions and cultural biases may lie dormant for a long time and then, as shown in recent conflicts around the globe, suddenly surface due to changed economic and political conditions. Media, including films and fictional as well as non-fictional texts, feature prominently in producing, propagating, and maintaining cultural difference and stereotypes in ideologically effective ways. This volume analyses re-presentations from various angles, as it comprises articles dealing with ethnic groups and neighbo(u)rhoods from three world areas, as well as genres and media instrumental to their respective cultural stereotyping. This focus on literary and media representations of the neighbo(u)rly Other from miscellaneous cultural environments results in a comprehensive understanding of analogies and differences in the mechanisms of production and perception of stereotypes. Addressing the manifold discourses at the heart of stereotyping the familiar Other, the book also points to their far-reaching repercussions on lived cultural practices.

Andrea Jones focuses on the familiar details of country life balanced by the larger responsibilities that come with living outside an urban boundary. Jones reflects on life in two homes in the Colorado Rockies, first in Fourmile Canyon in the foothills west of Boulder, then near Cap Rock Ridge in central Colorado. Whether negotiating territory with a mountain lion, balancing her observations of the predatory nature of pygmy owls against her desire to protect a nest of nuthatches, working to reduce her property's vulnerability to wildfire while staying alert to its inherent risks during fire season, or decoding the distinct personalities of her horses, she acknowleges the effects of sprawl on a beloved landscape.--from publisher's description.