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by Marionne Gapuz Near the beginning of the new millennium came images of giants collapsing and human bodies leaping flashed on the television, as the public watched, unsettled and almost disbelieving. The country’s next move became imperative. Carolina Quarterly‘s 2001 Winter Issue arrived in mailboxes in the wake of national trauma, and many pieces in this issue reveal what a burden the search for hope could be and explore the extent to which hope is attainable. by Scott Davis Vibrant natural images and arresting, original character explorations fill the Spring 2000 Issue of the Carolina Quarterly. Even over a wide breadth of topics—from poems actually about nature to essays about competive eating—this edition manifests the refreshing bloom Spring brings into our lives from cover to cover.  photograph by James R. Peters
Wilmer Mills: No problem. Thank you for wanting to interview me. ZV: Since we have not yet decided on the poems that will be published in the next issue of Carolina Quarterly, most of my questions today have more to do with your biography as well as your general philosophies on life, literature, and (my favorite topic) agriculture. First, I’d like to just get down some basic facts. You were born in Baton Rouge in 1969, but then moved to Brazil when you were two. What exactly was your family doing in Brazil? WM: My parents were missionaries for the Presbyterian Church, but they were specifically agricultural missionaries. They were sponsored by the Presbyterian Church as well as two other organizations, Land for the Landless and World Vision International. ZV: Were they teaching the people of Brazil new agricultural techniques? A response to some comments and emails I received following the publication of a review I wrote for the blog Art Talk Chicago This review I wrote that you dislike so much: I had the best of intentions when I set to writing it, I really did. I did not mean to come off like a prig, or an ass, or a twit. Any of those things. I meant to position the painter within a construct that I had recently identified as a clever means of framing the artist while serving my own writerly agenda. It was a glorious idea. I assure you of its glory. I would make a name for myself with my cleverness and wit. I did not mean to cause such a fuss (yes I did). I had to get up at 6 AM this morning. Quite a bit earlier than I usually get up on a Friday, to ensure I met a deadline for a piece I was writing for a company that pays me a nice wage to put words together in sentences that build meaningful paragraphs. It’s unusual that I have to do that—get up 3 hours before deadline to finish something—because I am a professional and I know my work is going to be better if I have a little time to consider my options and get a little separation from the piece. Maybe even do a quick edit. I take this seriously because it is a contract in which I think I am compensated equitably. I should have done the piece earlier but I was having a hard time working because I was obsessively checking for your new comments on the blog. If I am fired from my only form of gainful employ I will blame you. They say, “God loves a working man.” God may punish you. Essay by Graham Webster If there is one thing you can count on in contemporary China, it’s change. The movement of hundreds of millions of people from the countryside to urban environments over the past three decades has been called the largest migration event in human history. Skylines have been built from scratch, and ancient cities have gained new layers of buildings, roadways and information technology. The economic base of the People’s Republic has shifted dramatically from agriculture and heavy industry to precision manufacturing and a booming service sector. In just over a decade, a few thousand Chinese internet users grew to almost half a billion. For one section of society, a kind of stability is setting in. This segment has been called a new middle class or a bourgeoisie, and it is growing. Relatively wealthy, but not fabulously rich, a cohort of mostly young urbanites with globally-inflected consumer tastes have joined the traditional categories of farmer, worker, government official and intellectual, to both witness and fuel the transformation of Chinese society. As this new group comes into its own, a proliferation of subcultures – represented by niche magazines, recreational activities and entire shopping districts – have emerged. The simple accoutrements of middle-class life in developed countries are still luxuries for many, but they are increasingly accessible. |
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