For more stories and reviews by Earl Colvin, go to ourbookshelf. This is quite and active Yahoo group, with an eclectic (to say the least) bunch of voracious readers!
 Earl Colvin reviews…ANCIENT PREJUDICE Break to New Mutiny by Mark A. Roeder Right at the start, let me make this statement. Mark Roeder has written a book so full of truth and so important that it should be required reading in every high school. The Right Wing-nuts will say the book is about extreme cases. This is truly not the case. A 1993 fourteen city study of lesbian and gay youth ages 14 to 21 found that 44% were threatened with physical attack, 33% had objects thrown at them, 30% were chased or followed and 17% were physically assaulted in high school environments. Most alarmingly, one third of the youth reported that no one, not even teachers or administrators, intervened in these circumstances. 22.2% of gay and lesbian youth reported skipping school each month because they fear for their safety on the school grounds, as opposed to 4.2% of the general student population. According to a study done by the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, 40% of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered high school students attempt suicide, as opposed to 10% of their heterosexual peers. Ancient Prejudice, Break to New Mutiny is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set in modern day in a rural high school in Indiana. The star-crossed lovers are two boys, Mark and Taylor. They meet at a dance and fall in love. They must keep their love a secret from everybody, parents, friends, teachers. Mark compares them to vampires who walk among humans and are accepted, but the minute they are discovered the stake in the heart awaits. He makes this point several times. They sneak out of their rooms late at night and meet on a deserted soccer field where they lie and look up at the stars and dream of being able to show their love in public. One night, on the soccer field Mark says, "I wish we could go someplace where being gay or straight didn't matter, someplace with just people, you know, just people." Taylor replies, "Maybe someday we can find that place together." But that place does not exist in this world. It's the innocence and naiveté of the boys that tears at the heart as the tragedy of their love moves to its inevitable finish. When discovered they are betrayed by parents, teachers and friends. They experience every form of hatred and abuse, from expulsion from their families to brutal physical beatings to taunts and derision from schoolmates and teachers. And as the boys try to defend and protect each other in the face of insurmountable odds, the story rolls to its foreordained tragic conclusion. The story is even more effective because it is told from the viewpoint of a teenager in the language of a teenager. I have only one small complaint, and to mention it really seems like nit-picking, but it is a complaint that I have with most self published books, and that is the numerous typos. The your/you're mistakes and the use of waiting on when waiting for is meant do not effect the value of the book, but they are distracting, especially to the reader like me who has spent 55 years as a printer and proof-reader. As I said, now I'm nit-picking, but please folks, get somebody to proof your book before you put it in print. And take the advice of someone who knows, You CAN NOT proofread your own work. Back to Ancient Prejudice, the book is a gem and should be read by every teenager, gay or straight, as well as every teacher and school administrator. Thanks for a fine book, Mr. Roeder.  A
Library ConflictBy Earl Colvin My grandfather, a country man who never went to school in his life and only came in contact with the teachers who taught his children and grandchildren had very little respect for the profession of teaching. He always said, "Them as can't do, teach". There's a certain amount of truth in his words. While it certainly does not pertain to all teachers, I've met a few who live up to his adage brilliantly. In my old age I've thought of a few similar sayings that have the same amount of truth such as, |
"Them as can't
cook
write restaurant reviews". And, to get to the point of this article,
"Them
as can't write get jobs working for public libraries, and deciding
whose
works are worthy of being included in their collections. It's not
that
these folks have any special qualifications, just that they have this
arbitrary
power. Bear with me, folks. This actually does have something to do
with
what I'm writing. Since I retired a year ago, I've done a lot of reading and spend a lot of time in the Onondaga County Public Library. They actually have a pretty decent selection of gay themed books. I noticed that they did not have any of Ron Donaghe's books. Since Ron writes to the young gay adult in a rural setting, I thought it would be good for our library to offer that choice, since we are a rural county in upstate New York. So I broached the subject to the very helpful librarian on the fourth floor. She checked the catalog and said, indeed, they did not have any books by Ron Donaghe. I suggested the library buy some and she made a note and asked me if I happened to know the name of the publisher. I informed her that Ron is self published and she informed me that it might be a little difficult to get the powers that be to buy from iUniverse, because they were pretty limited as to who they could buy from. Then she said, "If you really think it's important that we have the books, why don't you buy a copy and donate it". Sounded like a great idea to me, so I came home and ordered Common Sons. While I was waiting for Common Sons to arrive, I was browsing at our neighborhood dollar store and found a few copies of Jim Grimsley's "Winter Birds" for a dollar each. Since I'm very impressed with Grimsley's writing I bought them thinking I would also donate them to the library. When "Common Sons" arrived, I trudged on down to the library with my donations. I took them to my friend on the fourth floor and she explained to me that I had to go to the librarian on the third floor service desk since she was the only one who could make the decision whether to accept my donation or not. So, I headed down for the third floor. The lord high decision making lady in charge of what books are acceptable was talking on the telephone, so I waited patiently until she got off, overhearing little snippets of her conversation, something about a house falling on her dear sister and how she was going to get the little girl who stole her sisters ruby slippers and her little dog too. Eventually she turned to me and said, in a tone that would freeze antifreeze, "Yes?" I explained that I had some books I would like to donate to the library and handed them to her. She looked the books over and checked her computer catalog and found out that they had several other Grimsley books, and that his book was from a legitimate publisher, so she accepted "Winter Birds". Then she explained that "Common Sons" was a self published work (which I already knew) and that she would be happy to present it to her official readers to decide whether it was acceptable for inclusion. In case her readers did not find it acceptable it would be offered to other libraries. I explained that I did not buy the book for other libraries and I wanted to see it in this library. She said, "If you can provide me with a legitimate review of the book, I will accept it". (Legitimate seems to be a big word with her.) So, home I went and emailed Ron. Neither Ron or I knew what constitutes a "legitimate" review. I finally got really pissed off and headed back down to the library. I walked up to the third floor desk and explained to her that I was not about to take no for an answer, and that I intended to call the mayor, the county executive, several members of the county legislature and our state senator. She said, "Just let me check one more thing". She went to her computer and kept me waiting for about ten minutes. Then came back and told me that she had found a copy of "Common Sons" in the Rochester public library, so she could accept it and put it on the shelf. I asked her if she was guaranteeing that the book was accepted and she said yes. As I turned to leave, I stopped and said, "There are several other self published books I would like to see in the library. Am I going to have the same problems with all of them?" "You probably will," she said. "Okay", I smiled, "See you next month." |
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