Friday, January 15, 2021
Weekend
photography food entertainment gardening history puzzles animals GROW STRAWBERRIES! Page 10
A new haven for art Black Box Live offers platform for creatives
pg 07
02 | The Tribune | Weekend
photography
A Rose-Coloured Lens A boating paradise
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eauty is all around us in the Bahamas, on land and in the sea. But many of us are too busy with everyday life to pause and really see and enjoy the astonishing sights that surround us. Veteran photographer ROLAND ROSE captures both the ordinary and extraordinary, and puts it in frame for us so we can see our environment in a new light.
The earth is draped in a blanket of gray Stone-cold and dull In the pale shadows that dawn conveys And then A streak of soft orange light A rich golden glow Brings the whole world to life.
Helen Jeff
Friday, January 15, 2021
The Tribune | Weekend | 03
Friday, January 15, 2021
Weekend Inside
Interview 4 – 5
Zemi Stewart helps marriageminded women find their way
dining at new restaurant
American literature
Gardening 10
Animals 15
Puzzles 6
Berries galore! Even in the Bahamas
Entertainment 7
Forgotten Facts 11
Pharmacist, life-long learner
Art 16
Remembering when snow fell on the islands
Food 8 – 9
Literary Lives 12 – 14 A giant of realism in
Mimi Roberts
The power of love, plus Pet of the Week
Black Box Live offers a new platform for creatives to connect Jimmy Buffett meets high-end
My perfect Bahamian weekend
New gallery aims to put Bahamian art on a global stage
Cover | Thinq Studios
Q Q
: What will you be binge-watching? “I will be binge-watching ‘Peaky Blinders’.”
: What is on your weekend menu? “Quiche - all things quiche - sourdough bread or French bread toasted with butter and cheeses.”
Q Q
: What are your weekend plans? “A birthday grill and maybe some salt life action”
08+09 A UNIQUE WELCOME By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net In addition to creating another stream of income for her family, Ashnell Adderley is grateful to have also found a creative and relaxing outlet in her new business venture during these trying times. The idea for her “The Crafty
Chic”company came about after Ashnell created a personalised doormat for home before getting married in 2018. “One night while lying in bed I went on the internet and researched the items I needed as well as how to make my own doormat. I showed it to my husband. He thought it was a good idea. A few weeks later I purchased everything that I needed and made my first mat, which I loved. I made a few more and people began inquiring about them. At that point I decided to use my gift as a blessing to others; thus The Crafty Chic was created,” she said. The home-based business specialises in custom doormats as well as glass gift sets for both men and women
: If you had to quarantine with a celebrity who would it be and why? “Dave Chappelle; he’s conscious, intellectual, real and funny as hell.”
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: “If you could spend a COVID-free weekend anywhere in the world where it be?” “Exuma, Bahamas or Milos, or one of the Greek islands.”
that are fully customisable. The 29-year-old also offers an etching service. For those not aware, she said, etching is the art of creating designs on a metal plate or glass. “Every piece is handmade and created with love. My customers tell me what they want and I bring their vision to life. Each piece is unique,” she said. One of Ashnell’s favourite designs is the doormat featuring the biblical quote from Joshua 24:15: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” “There is a meme going around saying, ‘If 2020 didn’t bring the hustle out of you, it isn’t in you.’ And last year brought the hustle out of me. With the Bahamas being one of the
most expensive countries in the world in which to live and minimum wage being so low, there’s no way we can survive off of just one income, not comfortably. Entrepreneurship has enabled me to set an example for my daughter, giving her a better life by creating a business and brand that I can build and leave for her,” she said. Ashnell is looking forward to being able to provide a customised piece for every occasion and holiday; whether it’s a birthday, a wedding or an anniversary. Those interested, can follow Ashnell and her crafty endeavours on Instagram @thecraftychic242.
04 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, January 15, 2021
interview
Zemi Stewart
As a self-proclaimed “social media missionary”, Zemi seeks to create a unique community for marriage-minded Bahamian women. She tells Cara Hunt how her own relationship inspired her to look beyond the wedding day to a happy ever after.
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hen Zemi Stewart got married to her husband Ian two years ago, she knew that naturally there would be a period of transition as she moved from being a single to
being a wife. Her desire to have a healthy and happy marriage led her to create a social media space where she and other women, both married and unmarried, could gather to share information on how to achieve and maintain meaningful relationships. “I got married in April of 2018 and on December 5 I formed Wife HER!. The ‘HER’ stands for Healed, Empowered and Restored. We are a community of marriage- minded, single women, wives and wives-to-be, who are committed to self-work and personal development. Wife HER! exists to prepare women for one of the greatest transitions and experiences of their lives and to support them throughout the process,” she explained. “So I guess I am a social media missionary.” Zemi says while the preparation for the actual wedding day is a special time, it is only the beginning of a life-long journey. Her own beautiful wedding took place on the beach of her native Eleuthera and has been featured both in Tribune Weekend and in several International publications and on websites. But she says she now wants the focus to be more on the strong marriage she and her husband have built following the event. “Even though my husband and I had some thorough preparation prior to our wedding, such as counselling sessions, we were not adequately prepared for marriage. I don’t think that you can actually
ever be fully prepared for marriage until you enter it. Marriage will change you,” she said. “However, I do think that there are qualities and traits that you can learn and acquire long before you even get married that will certainly help you in your marriage. Those are things such as conflict resolution, patience and compromise. The wedding day is only one day of the rest of your life.” One of the biggest lessons she has had to learn in her own marriage is how to remain true to herself while honouring the man her husband is. “I am very transparent and so I am willing to share and be open, but my husband is a very private person and I had to learn how to go about establishing a marriage ministry while still keeping my own marriage as private as my husband would want,” she added. Zemi said when she initially started the ministry there was some apprehension from people around her who thought that as a newlywed she was not equipped for the task. “There was some initial reaction of ‘Who is she?’ but I think that people came to realise that I was doing this from my heart and this ministry has now become a great journey for me and hopefully others.” In the past two years, the Wife HER! ministry has grown. “We have women who are newlyweds, women who have been married for ten plus years, women who have never been married or who are divorced but who may wish to get married again,” she said. The community spans several social media pages and channels resources designed to empower members. Each month there is a topic for the group to focus on. For example, the focus this month is entrepreneurship. Members are encouraged to take a professional headshot, update their bio and plan with God and their husbands five business goals for 2021.
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Friday, January 15, 2021
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ther themes planned for this year include personal finances, soul ties, mental health and self-care, and home ownership Additionally, there are live YouTube sessions and social events. For example, a “Galentine” event is being planned for Valentine’s Day next month. “We also have monthly prayer meetings and it has grown into a great ministry of over 400 persons on Facebook and more than 1,000 followers on Instagram,” she said.
Creating the content for the ministry is something that Zemi truly enjoys. “I do a lot of content creating and I really enjoy it. My nine-to-five job is not creative and so I need this as an outlet. It is something that I have always done and enjoyed and it has only been recently have I realised that it is a gift and something that comes naturally to me.” Social ministry has helped many Bahamians get through the past year in a number of ways, she said. “ I think a lot of people have handled the past year in a different way. I think that many people
had to confront areas of their lives that they may have previously run away from. There was a silence last year that made people have no choice but to reflect on things and deal with those,” she said. “For other people, 2020 bought issues to the surfaces such as marital affairs that may have been revealed and so people had no choice but to confront issues that they may have not even known existed. But I think that people have left 2020 and want to enter 2021 feeling refreshed and we want to equip them with the tools that they will need to achieve that.”
26 Stray later, disorderly it’s no lie-in (5,5) 27 The editor has to pay attention (4)
06 | The Tribune | Weekend
3 Workman;are 23 Most arguments 4 Deceitfulness; about celebrity (4)
Pu E ut n i l Q
Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday
● The Target uses words in the main body of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (1999 edition)
HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? in making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. no plurals or verb forms ending in “s”. TODAY’S TARGET Good 15; very good 22; excellent 30 (or more). Solution tomorrow
Yesterday’s call 0907 181 2585 Sudoku for Answer today’s target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.
BATTLESHIPS CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 One growing up in a cave (10) 6 Means of transport sometimes sprung (4) 10 Extra capital (5) 11 Give up on French return (9) 12 Biblical swine are eager and wild (8) 13 Kill a doctor and confess (5) 15 We can do with it (7) 17 They may lift or bring down (7) 19 Great at organised water sports (7) 21 I earn it from a sort of selling (7) 22 What is left of a fire at the end of three months (5) 24 Teach one to give orders (8) 27 Flying - up and down the touchline? (2,3,4) 28 Animal arrived then left (5) 29 Can take on a girl’s name (4) 30 Two containers make a musical instrument (10)
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Yesterday’s Easy Solution
Down 1 Thus duplicated it’s Across: 1 Towards, 5 Means, mediocre (2-2) 8 Put on airs, 9 Sue, 10 Zoom, 2 Attractive method of 12 Decadent, 14 Rustic, 15 Design, 17 Peaceful, 18 Myth, preventing 21 Sag, 22 Willpower, 24 Entry, injustice? (9) 25 Cursory. 3 Big vessel in Down: 1 Topaz, 2 Wit, 3 Rank, sea or tank (5) 4 Sliver, 5 Mistaken, 6 Austerity, 4 Control may rest in the 7 Sweeten, 11 Onslaught, wrong position (7) 13 Give-away, 14 Riposte, 5 Torture people in 16 Public, 19 Hardy, 20 Spur, 23 Woo. the wrong (7) 7 Took a ride round the Wild West show (5) 8 Perhaps a party ends a school occasion (7,3) Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution 9 A problem of pain (8) 14 Accomplished Across: 1 Studded, 5 Rifts, boxers are unhappy 8 Fantastic, 9 Cut, 10 Rapt, if they have to 12 Previous, 14 Plover, 15 Brainy, be (7,3) 17 One-sided, 18 Used, 16 He’s denied freedom to 21 Art, 22 In retreat, 24 Curry, express his political views 25 Waiters. (8) Down: 1 So far, 2 Urn, 3 Dean, 4 Dotard, 5 Recovery, 6 Factories, 18 He turns up after all (9) 7 Satisfy, 11 Protector, 13 Felicity, 20 Is a back number being 14 Prosaic, 16 Hebrew, 19 Dates, stupid (7) 20 Etui, 23 Eye. 21 Visible discernment? (7) 23 Carry on playing for the club (5) 25 A fringe gathering of lacemakers (5) 26 Shellfish a hundred pound a thousand (4) Down Across 1 Potentially 1 Instance (4) complex problem 6 7 8 2 Severe pain along (3,2,5) nerve (9) 6 A failure (4) 9 3 Boxing match (5) 10 Overcharged (5) 4 Weigh heavily on 11 Eternal (9) 12 All the gods of a (7) religion (8) 5 Seafarer (7) 13 Desert watering 13 7 Name of 18 place (5) French kings (5) 15 Female wild cat 8 Having nothing in (7) 18 17 Gather in (5,2) common (5,5) 19 Tableland (7) 9 Determined (8) 21 An English 14 Arrest a long cheese (7) decline (4,3,3) 22 Place much 16 Strenuous effort frequented (5) (8) 24 A binding 25 agreement (8) 18 Amount 27 Make a copy of subtracted (9) 26 (9) 20 Boorish (7) 28 Originate (5) 28 21 Be about (7) 29 A limited period 23 Superior (5) (4) 30 Something 25 Kingdom (5) remarkable (10) 26 To incline (4)
EASY PUZZLE
FIND where the fleet of ships shown is hidden in the grid. The numbers to the right of and below the grid indicate how many of the squares in that row are filled in with ships or parts of ships. The ships do not touch each other, even diagonally. Some squares have been filled in to start you off. Solution tomorrow 1
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THE ALPHABEAT
TARGET Best described as a number crossword, the task in Kakuro is to fill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the number on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Kakuro increases from Monday to Sunday.
E D D B T N N R R B E D T O A B U R K Z G A R E I O R H M E X B A L L A R G M S I L V
Friday, January 15, E O 2021 L A B K
6 Operate; 7 Fatness; 8 Fitful; 13 Bashful; 14 Unchain; 15 Tragic ; 16 Nibbler; 17 Solicit.
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targEt thE alphapu cAn you crack the Alphabeater? Each grid number represents a letter – or black square. fortuNatE across: Bachelor, Unlo afore fare faro fate fatten As in after Alphapuzzle, every letterWraith, of theRequest, alphabetLaden faunBut fearyou feathave fern to fetacomplete Jot, End, Fern too! (clue), S isfatter used. the grid font fore fort forte FORTUNATE Average, Dazzle, Skive use thefount given letters and blackdown: squares below Aor fortune four fret front Landmass, the toraft start. futongrid often tofuthe tufagrid tuft is ‘rotationally Extinct, Gush, Replete, turf Puls* symmetrical’ – in other words,Enslave, it looksRosebud, the Database. same if you turn the page upside down. Solution tomorrow A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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The Tribune | Weekend | 07
Friday, January 15, 2021
entertainment
A new haven for creatives
By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net
F
OR many Bahamian entertainers, finding a platform to showcase their talents has been one of the major challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In pre-coronavirus times, they relied heavily on performing at concerts and events happening in the country and even throughout region as a major source of income. But with the pandemic still waging, social distancing protocols still in place and a ban on large events and social gatherings, artists and creative professionals have had to take a more unorthodox approach to their art form. In times like these, entertainers are finding strength in banding together and creating opportunities for one another to not only survive, but actually thrive in the new climate we find ourselves in. It is on this premise that Black Box Live was founded: to offer help to those still looking for platforms to engage their audiences through music, poetry, spoken word and art. “Black Box Live is here to help,” said Travis Edgecombe, public relations coordinator. Black Box Live is a non-profit organisation that exists to provide a platform for creatives to gain insightful information about their focus areas and develop meaningful connections. Through BBL, creatives can gain exposure as they showcase their talents featuring seasoned and new acts. BBL will achieve this mission through planned and strategic events. The objective of these series of events is to provide networking opportunities. One such event is dubbed “Connect and Create”, he explained. In the coming weeks events will be launched virtually to cater to the people’s demand for new art, music and culture. BBL also encourages Bahamian pride and will feature various genres of music. “Viewers should expect a variety of talent coming out of the islands of the Bahamas that is bar none,” said Mr Edgecombe said. All of the shows will be streamed live from the Dundas Centre of Performing Arts. The shows will be hosted by Bahamian artist Sacha The Duchess. The first installment of events will feature Charisa Smith, Antonio Thompson, Nevandria Lyric, Joel Sweeting and a few other entertainers. BBL hopes it mission of connecting creative with one another and their respective audiences will be achieved. “While some entertainers have not worked since the pandemic, the goal of the show is to provide a platform for artists to share their stories as well as to rally support for their music or talent, to inform listeners of the inspiration behind the music/talent so as to heighten
BLACK Box Live artists
HOST Sacha The Duchess
appreciation for our artist efforts, and to familiarise viewership with the music or talent of our Bahamian artists, past, present and upcoming,” he said. BBL also aims to provide a space for the proponents of Orange Economy to network with like-minded individuals twice a month and share the stage with one another. One of the organisation’s long-term goals is to raise funds for a young creative to study at the University of Bahamas in the area of arts. Submissions are now open for poets, rappers, artisans, visual artists, and musicians and singers to participate in future events at BBL by visiting the Facebook page “Black Box Live”.
10 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, January 15, 2021
gardening
Berry nice Can we grow berries in the Bahamas? Yes, we can! To be concise, the botanical definition of a berry differs from the culinary definition of a berry. In botany, a berry is a fleshy fruit without a stone produced from a single flower containing one ovary. This includes grape, currant, and tomato, as well as cucumber, eggplant, and banana, but exclude certain fruits that meet the culinary definition of berries, such as strawberry and raspberry. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries can be successfully grown here (especially in the northern islands), although blueberries and currants will typically not succeed as they prefer the cooler weather of the (further) north. Strawberry plants are low-growing herbs that spread into clumps via runners. Blackberry and raspberry are shrubby, vining plants, and both typically have thorny stems, although I am growing a thornless cultivar of blackberry, as they are much more user friendly. All of these “berries” have been bred over the decades to tolerate the higher temperatures of our region, and all can do quite well, if the correct cultivars are selected. Strawberries are my focus for today, as they have a shorter season than blackberries and raspberries, which both grow happily year-round so there is lots of time to revisit them here. The availability of strawberry plants is about to go away for this season (if you are interested in finding some, now is the time to get looking as they will not be around for long, there is a slight possibility of a late crop in a few weeks’ time, but the last batch of them will be gone within a week or two, so if you find some, grab them!). Strawberry plants grow
well and are most productive in full sun during our winter and they “may” be possible to grow through the year (no fruiting in the warmer months) with some shade in the summer, although many find it easier to replace the plants each season as they tend to not do so well over the summer months and can be a bit of a challenge to keep them going, unless of course, one has a cooled greenhouse. I have been experimenting with different growing medias and I have had some successes and some failures. I have found them to dislike sitting wet, they seem to prefer a fast-draining planting media, and to get somewhat dry between watering. A friend of mine in New Providence is doing well with them in his hydroponic system (aerated water), and another friend in Andros is doing a wonderful job growing them in troughs and in the field. It is recommended to provide liquid nutrients although I personally find liquids to be more labour intensive and hence I prefer to provide granular nutrients that seems to do fine. It has been working for me. As I have said before and will say again, gardening is equal parts science and art. We will all find slight differences in the ways that we successfully grow plants that feed (all plants feed something). Grow bags are a viable option for strawberry growing, whether plastic grow bags filled with coconut coir, or fabric grow bags filled with fast draining potting or planting media, to each their own and no gardening rule is written in stone. So, if you want strawberry plants for your garden, be quick!
Companion plants recommended for strawberry (from Kellogg Garden Products): Asparagus, bush beans, borage, carraway, catnip, chives, yarrow, onions, spinach, and thyme. Plants to avoid interplanting with strawberry: strawberry plants are prone to a disease called verticillium. Plants like tomato, eggplant, potato, melons, peppers, roses, mint, and okra may contribute to this deadly disease in strawberry plants. It is essential to note that strawberries should not even be planted in beds that have recently housed those plants on this list. They are also not compatible with any of the cabbage family as they inhibit the growth of the cruciferous family of plants. Common cabbage groupings include broccoli, collard greens, kale, cauliflower, kohlrabi, bok choy or pak choi, and brussel sprouts. I wish you luck in growing berries. You can do it! I have had fun watching them grow and I have had pleasure in eating sweet, plump, juicy strawberries this season. They are a treat, and they also cost a bundle in the grocery store, so go find some plants and get them in before their season ends in a couple months’ time. They are fast growing and will show results within a couple of weeks from planting. As always, happy gardening! • Please feel free to contact me at gardening242@gmail.com with any questions or topics that you would like to see discussed here or visit me at Fox Hill Nursery on Bernard Road (if you can catch me…. like strawberry plants, I move fast!).
The Tribune | Weekend | 11
Friday, January 15, 2021
history
The day snow fell from Bahamian skies I By Paul C Aranha | Forgotten Facts t’s a Tuesday morning and you are ready for your daily jog. It’s chilly - your friends would consider it cold - but you are young and fit and you enjoyed yesterday morning’s run, despite how cold it was. Today, you open your front door and head out into the windy chill. You see tiny white flakes falling from the Bahamian sky, but they disappear before they touch the still-green grass. Could that be snow? In the Bahamas? Well, the impossible happened on January 19, 1977, though not in Nassau. Grand Bahama reported snow in both West End and Freeport, while Abaco saw snow in Walker Cay, Treasure Cay and Marsh Harbour. The files of the Weather Department contain no record of our having
experienced such a thing before, but the Met Office was established after World War II and it is said that it had snowed in 1789. What do you think? In Palm Beach, Florida there was snow on the ground and, very quickly, one could not find things like blankets and sweaters in the state of Florida. The Bahamians working on Ocean Cay, 20 miles south of Bimini, were so cold that their aragonite employers had to fly in a planeload of electric room heaters all the way from Chicago. “SNOW IN THE BAHAMAS” was frontpage news, both here and abroad, but the real damage was the winds and waves of the sea. It was a cold front to remember. In Nassau’s harbour, several boats were sunk. Others, including three Out Island mailboats, broke their
moorings and drifted away, slamming into other boats and causing chaos on the waterfront. The Air Swift and Miss Beverly drifted up the harbour and sank near Fort Montagu. Under the watchful directions of the Port Director Leon Flowers, who was on the deck of the tugboat Mako I helping those in need, the Port Department spearheaded the rescue work, and BASRA rescued 20 people from boats in distress. At that time, my wife Kim was living in Rome and tired of being cold. She bragged constantly to her colleagues about Bahamian winters – until her boss walked in and showed her the morning headlines. • For questions and comments, send an e-mail to islandairman@ gmail.com
12 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, January 15, 2021
literary lives - William Faulkner (1897-1962) Sir Christopher Ondaatje studies the American writer and Nobel Prize Laureate from Oxford, Mississippi who wrote about Lafayette County in Mississippi, where he spent most of his life. “Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world ... would do this, it would change the earth.” - William Faulkner William Faulkner was born William Cuthbert Falkner in New Albany, Mississippi. He was the eldest of four sons. His father Murry worked as the treasurer of the Gulf & Chicago Railroad Company, which the family owned. However, his grandfather had little faith in Murry’s ability to run a railroad and he sold it for $75,000. The family then moved to Oxford, Mississippi where Faulkner lived on and off for the rest of his life.
A giant of realism in American literature
His mother, grandmother and Caroline “Callie” Barr, their African-American nanny who raised him from infancy, influenced Faulkner’s artistic imagination. Both his mother and his grandmother were avid readers and photographers. His lifelong education by “Callie” Barr is central to Faulkner’s preoccupations with the politics of sexuality and race. The patch of ground near Oxford, Mississippi would be the rich territory for all his major fiction. “(Young Faulkner) was precocious and showed early gifts in drawing, painting and poetry. From his tenth year onwards he devoured classic fiction. Balzac was a particular favourite and he would adopt the French writer’s multi-volume sequence format in his own writing. In his adolescence he saw poetry as his main form. He also began on
what would be a lifelong career in alcoholism in his teenage years. - John Sutherland The Lives of the Novelists (2011) He was a paltry five-foot-five inches in a family of six-footers, listening to stories by his elders of the Civil War, slavery, and the Falkner family. When he was 17 he met Phil Stone, four years his senior, who became an important influence on his writing. Stone, a graduate of Yale and the University of Mississippi, was impressed by the young Faulkner’s poems and short stories and sent them on to publishers – but they were uniformly rejected. He enrolled in the University of Mississippi in 1918 and some of his poems were published in campus publications. His surname mysteriously went from “Falkner” to Faulkner. A careless typesetter made the error and when the misprint appeared he supposedly replied, “Either way suits me.” He dropped out of university after three semesters, applying to the US Army Aviation Corps, but was turned down because of inferior height and weight requirements. Instead, he enrolled in the British Royal Flying Corps (soon to become the RAF) in New York and supposedly reported for training in a base near Toronto in Canada. Sadly, none of this dramatic wartime escapade is verified historically, but he did send descriptions of his exploits in letters to his amazed family, including an account of a perilous air crash. His biographer Joseph Blotner questions Faulkner’s claims. He never flew at all and it seems that he was merely honing his inventive fictional literary skills. Faulkner returned home to Oxford, Mississippi. “After the war Faulkner drifted aimlessly. He drank heavily, visited brothels, and had a series of jobs, the longest lasting must have been as one of the least efficient employees in the history of the U.S. mail. He jacked that job in with the jaundiced comment: ‘I reckon I’ll be at the beck and call of folks with money all my life, but thank God I won’t ever have to be at the back and call of every son of a bitch who’s got two cents to buy a stamp.’” - John Sutherland Lives of the Novelists (2011)
The Tribune | Weekend | 13
Friday, January 15, 2021
Faulkner wrote mainly poetry in the years between 1918 and 1925 when in the course of a few weeks he wrote his first novel. He was helped by his friend and patron, the American novelist and short story writer Sherwood Anderson, who was instrumental in getting it into print with Boni & Liveright. Mayday (later retitled Soldiers’ Pay) covers the three-month period April to May 1919 and is a description of three resentful discharged veterans returning home from war by train. “Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.” - William Faulkner Faulkner’s writing comes to life as Soldiers’ Pay progresses. One can see the emergence of the schizoid quality of the author. His brief experience in the war gave him the excuse to expand on a reality that might have been. “To have been him ... Just to be him. Let him take this sound body of mine! Let him take it. To have got wings on my breast, to have wings; and to have got his scar, too. I would take death tomorrow. - William Faulkner Soldiers’ Pay
BORN William Cuthbert Falkner, the _u_ was later added to his surname in a typesetting mistake “I’m bad and I’m going to hell, and I don’t care. I’d rather be in hell than anywhere where you are.” - William Faulkner
Boni & Liveright also published Faulkner’s second novel, Mosquitoes. The tiny publishing house at 624 Pirate’s Alley in New Orleans is now the site of Faulkner House Books, and is the headquarters of the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society.
Faulkner achieved his literary output despite his heavy lifelong drinking problem. He tended not to drink at all while he was writing, choosing instead to binge after he completed a project. He began writing As I Lay Dying in 1929 as he worked night shifts at the University of Mississippi Power House. It was published in 1930. He worked hard and sent his short stories out to several national magazines. Several were published and he managed to accumulate enough money to buy a house named Rowan Oak for his family. He also made money with his 1931 novel Sanctuary which got a great deal of attention, sold well and was reviewed widely but criticised for his criticism of the South.
During the summer of 1927 Faulkner wrote his first novel set in his fictional Yoknapatawpha Country titled Flags in the Dust drawing heavily on the traditions and history of the South. However, it was rejected by Boni &Liveright, who only agreed to publish it after his agent Ben Wasson significantly edited the text. It was eventually published in 1929 as Sartoris, but not under its original title until 1973. The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner’s next book, began as three short stories about a group of children with the Compson last name. He changed his mind, decided instead on a full-length novel and laying aside the disappointment of his publisher’s rejection of Flags in the Dust, wrote his it in a much more experimental style.
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” - William Faulkner
“One day I seemed to shut the door between me and all the publisher’s addresses and book lists. I said to myself, ‘Now I can write!’” When The Sound and the Fury was completed, Faulkner refused to let his agent Ben Wasson arrange for any editing or additional punctuation. It marked the beginning of the Faulkner writing style. In 1929, Faulkner married Estelle Oldham, a former girlfriend, who brought with her two children from her previous marriage. Faulkner later had a daughter Jill with Estelle in 1933.
CADET Faulkner in Toronto, 1918
By 1932 Faulkner was in desperate need of funds. He tried to sell the serialisation of his next novel Light in August through his agent Ben Wasson to a national magazine – but failed. They weren’t interested. However, MGM studios offered him work as a screenwriter in Hollywood. He was in dire need of money and had no idea how to get it. Then Hollywood fell into his lap. He didn’t know much about the movie business and was not much of a movie-goer. Authors like Faulkner were not hired in those days for their writing ability, but more to enhance the prestige of the writers who hired them. He arrived in May 1932 and found life difficult, but he buckled down and endured the demeaning work so as to earn a consistent salary to support his family and his growing overheads back home in Mississippi. His letters reveal a miserable portrait of a literary
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artist imprisoned in a jaded cultural Babylon. Several other authors before Faulkner had battled with the same predicament and unhappiness. But he stuck it out for over 18 years and developed a friendship with the director Howard Hawks. They both enjoyed drinking and hunting. Hawks’ brother William became Faulkner’s Hollywood agent, and he remained a screenwriter until well into the 1950s. “Pouring out liquor is like burning books.” - William Faulkner Faulkner had several extramarital affairs, one of which was with Howard Hawks’ secretary and script reader, Meta Carpenter, later better known as Meta Wilde, who wrote about her Faulkner affair in her novel A Loving Gentleman. He also had an affair with a young writer, Joan Williams, who chronicled her relationship with Faulkner in her 1971 novel The Wintering. “Perhaps they were right putting love into books. Perhaps it could not be anywhere else.” - William Faulkner When Faulkner went to Stockholm in December 1950 to receive the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature he met Else Jonsson, the widow of Swedish journalist Thorsten Jonsson (1910-1950) who was the reporter for Dagens Nyheter in New York from 1943-1946. He interviewed Faulkner in 1946 and was responsible for introducing his work to Swedish readers. Faulkner had an affair with Else Jonsson which lasted until the end of 1953. At the banquet where they met a Swedish publisher Tor Bonnier introduced Else Jonsson to Faulkner as the widow of the man responsible for Faulkner winning the prize. Faulkner published 13 novels and a great many short stories from the early 1920s to 1939 and the outbreak of World War II. He was 52 when he won the Novel Prize. His massive output created his reputation and earned him the prize. His most celebrated novels included The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), Light in August (1932), and Absalom, Absalom (1936). His short story collections These 13 (1931) included his most acclaimed stories including: “A Rose for Emily”, “Red Leaves”, “That Evening Sun”, and “Dry September” - all set in Yoknapatawpha County based on Lafayette County. Three more of his novels: The Hamlet (1940), The Town (1957), and The Mansion (1959), known as the Snopes Trilogy, document the town of Jefferson. Once Faulkner had shed the constraints of accepted literature that publishers demanded, he expanded his experimental style with meticulous attention to diction and cadence. His writing became emotional and complex, with a wide array of characters including slaves, descendants of slaves, poor white and working-class Southerners, as well as Southern aristocrats. In a 1956 interview with Paris Review Faulkner remarked:
FAULKNER’s Underwood Universal Portable typewriter in his office at Rowan Oak, which is now maintained by the University of Mississippi in Oxfor “Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no way to get the writing done, no shortcut ... Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity.” Faulkner suffered a serious injury in a fall from his horse on June 17, 1962, which led to thrombosis. He suffered a fatal heart attack a month later. He was 64. He is buried with his family in St Peter’s Cemetery in Oxford alongside the grave of an unidentified family friend whose gravestone is marked only with the initials E.T. After Faulkner’s death, Estelle and their daughter Jill lived at Rowan Oak until Estelle’s death in 1972. That same year the property was sold to the University of Mississippi, and the house and furnishings are maintained much as they were during Faulkner’s life. NEXT WEEK: A singer, musician, dancer, actor, comedian and activist who was known as the greatest entertainer ever to appear on the American stage. • Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; William Faulkner, His Life and Work (1980) by David L Minter; Faulkner: A Biography (1984) by Joseph Blotner; William Faulkner and Southern History (1993) by Joel Williamson; William Faulkner (2007) by Carolyn Porter; and Lives of the Novelists (2011) by John Sutherland.
FAULKNER and his wife Estelle in Rowan Oaks, Mississippi
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animals
Love works both ways
were clearly happy to have him back and he was wagging his tail in greeting as each one came in to the kitchen. At the beginning he wore a harness with a handle and we had to help him up and hold the harness handle as he went out, coax him up and down the steps in to the garden. He would stand there, his nose twitching, making sure that all the smells had remained the same since he was cradled in towels and whisked off to the vet whimpering in pain. He was rewarded with the reassuring smells that we mere humans can’t discern. Yes, all was good, nothing changed during his 11-day absence.
By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters
I
have spoken about love before and different kinds of love, with a special focus on the extraordinary love and bond between humans and animals. In many of my articles I have highlighted the tremendous support and help the love of a pet can be to a human, the endorphins, the power of non-judgmental love, the joy an animal who loves you shows when you come home… I have not actually looked at the other half of the relationship; what love from their human can do for a pet. Since Chiefie had his dreadful incident, which ended up with having a leg amputated, he has obviously been very dependent on humans. First, in the hospital where they gave him love and affection, sat and talked to him and repeated frequently, at my request, “Mummy loves you”, because I am convinced he knows what that means. The day he came home he had a welcoming committee at the airport and again at home. We had prepared his bed where it would be most useful, his favourite food, beef, was awaiting him for dinner, treats, toys, beds, pillows, cuddles, no shortage of love was showered on this marvel. At almost 15 years old he had faced a horrible incident, pain, an emergency airlift, and was back home being feted as a hero. Since his return to Nassau his progress has been amazing. When he got home on the evening of December 30 we were impressed that he was able to stand up in the cage at the airport, though he was a bit rocky. Nikko sat in the back of the truck in the cold to keep him company on the ride home, to reassure and love him. In the house we were careful to settle him on his bed, and allowed the other dogs to come in and greet him one at a time. I didn’t want them
WITH lots of love and support, Chief is improving with every day
getting rough with my boy. I was very proud of my pack, which sometimes behaves like a bull in a china shop. They were respectful to him; they touched noses and licked him. They
The first major problem was that my beloved Chiefie boy always came up the stairs besides me every night and settled on my bed, frequently leaving me no space at all, but I always thought it was reassuring to feel that very solid mass of fur watching over my safety every night for close to 15 years. What to do? He clearly can’t make it up the stairs, and I know my boy, there was no way he was going to sleep downstairs without me. You know what? The guest bed is quite comfortable! I am hoping with time and help that the bedroom stairs will not be an insurmountable challenge. The first few nights were a bit difficult and he would wake up barking,
needing my reassurance, but that is behind us now, he sleeps peacefully through the night. Chief has been a super star; stronger every day. He now practically runs down the corridor and his smile is very apparent. People exclaim that he is a super dog with such determination and drive. He most certainly is, but why? He’s improving quickly and showing so much determination simply, because he is loved and he knows it. He likes to have his people near, he likes it that we come when he calls (one very sharp bark), he likes us watching over him as he gets stronger and is able to explore the garden on his own (always under the watchful of a human who loves him). Love works both ways, and though we tend to focus on the love they give us, it must never be forgotten that the love we give them makes them try a little harder, guard a little better and snuggle with more determination. Next week Chiefie has to face flying to Florida for the day to have his chemo. The towels in his dog cage will be mine, he is being met by friends all the way along and will be back in the afternoon. And, of course, everybody has been asked to remind him that “Mummy loves you!”
pet of the week
BEWITCHING HAZEL
need love. Are you the right loving person, ready to adopt me? If so, please give the BHS a call at 323-5138 to find out more information. I’m looking forward to meeting you, though don’t be surprised if I don’t get too close to you at first. Patience is a virtue!”
By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY
“H
i, there! My name’s Hazel, and I’m a dog who’s up for adoption at the Bahamas Humane Society. I’ve been here for a very long time in dog years, more than half of my year and a half years of life. I would really like to find a home with a large spacious yard, and a human or two who would be willing to put in the time to make me more trusting. I want to be your friend, really, I do, but I’m shy and need gentleness and lots of love. I wouldn’t mind having another dog around or even a cat, but mostly, I
Photo/Linda Gill-Aranha
• Pennies, pennies, pennies! They ceased being legal currency on December 31, 2020. What better way to shift them out of your house than to donate them to the BHS. There are several drop-off points around town (BHS, Fox Hill Nursery, Captain’s Table, Sandyport Medical Centre, to name a few). Got buckets worth? Call 323-5138 to arrange a pick up!
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art
‘Terning’ a new leaf
Gallery aims to place Bahamian art on global stage By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net
A
newly created gallery is aiming to ensure Bahamian and Caribbean art reaches a global audience. Named after a seabird that has one of the longest migrations of all birds (an average round trip of over 20,000 miles each year), the TERN Gallery was founded by Amanda Coulson and Lauren Perez. As the name suggests, TERN encompasses a sense of “local belonging with global access”. TERN was officially launched in December with the gallery’s inaugural show, “Inherited Values”, curated by Jodi Minnis, the gallery’s manager and curator. The exhibition centers on two Bahamian artists – Kendra Frorup and ceramicist Anina Major – whose practices draw on memory and cultural tradition to conjure a contemporary vision of economic possibility and ecological sustainability. Looking to the straw industry and Mortimer’s Candy Kitchen — a Nassau landmark beloved for its confections and community impact alike — Frorup and Major propose a space of potential where local commerce, creatively framed, can guide the way towards a prosperous future for island nations’ micro-economies. “We wanted a contemporary name that presented itself within the international art market; one that would set the stage and tone for our talented Bahamian and Caribbean artist lineup,” Ms Perez said. As a contemporary art gallery, its core mission is cultural exchange and international dialogue. To fulfill this, TERN plans to engage and to service audiences beyond the Bahamas. TERN strives to provide greater exposure for significant art within the region and to engage in conceptual narratives and relevant conversations in contemporary art. One of the main things on the gallery’s agenda for 2021 is “innovation through partnering with the best minds and platforms in the industry to bring our artists to the global platform and conversations. “ “We aim to have a strong presence in US-based art fairs this year and continue to extend recognition into the US and European markets as we grow,” said Ms Perez.
(l-r)Lauren Perez, Amanda Coulson and Jodi Minnis TERN is also committed to programming a dynamic calendar of local events to continue supporting and encouraging our creative minds within the region. “We will adapt to the current COVID climate and ever changing industry with a strong online presence. We aim to launch our website at the end of January 2021, which will be an important tool in connecting to the global art industry and extending our reach with digital art platform partnerships. The website will also feature an online shop for direct purchasing,” said Ms Perez. TERN’s next exhibition will be a solo show by Rodell Warner, a Trinidadian artist working primarily in new media and photography. The show will present new video works by the artist and will open in early March 2021 after “Inherited Values” closes on February 8. The TERN team promises many more intriguing and engaging activities for the future and they encourage all Bahamians are to keep their eye and ears open. “The core mandate of the gallery is to collaborate with the best minds and taste-makers in the industry and in doing so, encourage the development of the local art market,” said Ms Perez. “Our vision is to be an incubator for dynamic artists and curators by encouraging and establishing their creative voices, exploring a broad range of exhibition possibilities with a slate of programs of both national and international significance, while maintaining a world-class facility that supports and stimulates the art market in the region.”