By: Baba

Baba — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:49:38 +0000

My reactions had I not read Baldwin? That’s a really interesting point to reflect on. I can honestly say that I don’t know. I think my reading over the years has helped me achieve some level of self-awareness. Harvey this sounds like a conversation to be had over a huge simmering cup of tea.

By: julia molina

julia molina — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:47:09 +0000

i really enjoyed this amazing story akak life inspiring sequel i would love if u could u post more of these more often mabey one about your life ? i bet it would be intresting

By: Harvey Heilbrun

Harvey Heilbrun — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:19:53 +0000

This is an incredibly powerful essay. All of your points are well taken and written. I’m curious how you would have reflected and reacted to your experience in Poland, had you not read Baldwin which seemed to be a guiding and calming hand to your experience?

By: Diane Williams

Diane Williams — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:07:00 +0000

Your article shows incredible insight into an encountered experience. There is a sense of forgiveness throughout and thus your grace abounds. There’s so much that I want to say about your experience. We may not always know what words mean in another’s language. But just like Younde in the folk-story Younde Goes to Town, we leave ourselves to ignorance when we (humans as residents of this planet) don’t try to understand the context for the words we add to our vocabulary. In my own experience, after hearing Ramstein’s Du Hast Mich!, I found that I loved the hard metal rock beat in the song, but needed to take time to understand that the emphasis placed on “hast” can change the meaning of the word – just as language changes in Mandarin (I think) and other languages where enunciation, tone, and emphasis are used to define meaning (Du Hast Mich = You have me you hate me). Okay, so everyone doesn’t know that. So we shouldn’t blame the man/men that used the term, Nigger? Okay, your communications went well as a performer, but can we, as storytellers, seek to effect change for the non-performer, non-storyteller, who enters this same community? Maybe not in one visit, but this story that you shared encourages others of us to try or we leave this community in a virtual Twilight Zone. Change can be as simple as making friends and learning something about one another. For the storyteller coming into this community, your personal stories could be as valuable as gold. Finally, I am so glad that you shared it on Facebook and that you welcomed comments. I wish you would say that you would be attending the NSN conference next week (7/28-8/1), so that I could shake your hand for bravely sharing this. My son leaves for Sweden in two weeks and he’ll be living there for a year, I want him to read this. Not that he would experience your situation, but I want him to read it because he’s 24 and the world is huge and sometimes it has surprisingly isolated viewpoints and multifaceted perspectives. In closing, your perspective is scholarly and I would hope to see it in a college literary journal. It lends itself to much discussion – which is another way to effect change.

Comments on: Stranger in the Village 2010

By: Baba

By: julia molina

By: Harvey Heilbrun

By: Diane Williams