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Read to Roam Book for November: "How to Say Babylon" by Safiya Sinclair
Babylon was not some abstract Biblical idea in Safiya Sinclair’s childhood. It was a burning breathing wilderness of wickedness constantly evoked by her devout and disciplinarian father.
Djani Sinclair preached the gospel of Rastafarian–not the relaxed pot-smoking reggae-playing Jamaican Rasta that many Americans have encountered.
But the fundamentalist, fire-breathing creed that makes men supreme, women unclean and impure and keeps the white culture at bay.
Safiya writes in the prologue: “The more of this world I had discovered, the more I rejected the cage my father had built for me.”
Escaping that cage and the violence that accompanied it, meant pursuing her gift for poetry; Sinclair's poems were first published in an esteemed literary magazine when she was still in her teens. And her prose is luminous and vivid. She writes beautifully of the lush splendors of Jamaica--the trees and birds and mist-wreathed mountains.
But the memoir is also raw and deeply moving. I read the last half of the book on a plane and wept through almost all of it.
Pilgrimage to Patchett's Parnassus Bookstore
What could be better than building a Chicks-only destination weekend adventure around a fantastic bookstore?
Ann Patchett has invited us to Parnassus, her palace of books outside of Nashville. Fall, 2024.
Details coming! If you're interested in coming along, email me at: SirenSojourns@gmail.com.
Farm to Table in the Languid Lagoons of Kerala
On the seventh & eighth day of our "Covenant of Water" adventure, an exploration guided by Abraham Verghese's bestselling novel, we'll immerse ourselves in the remarkable cuisine produced by Kerala's farmers. Here's a taste!
Luxuriate in our beautiful surroundings on this lovely morning as we gather for breakfast and then we’ll head for the interior of Kerala. We’ll learn about spice farming, which is passed on through generations, and the culinary traditions that have emerged from these agricultural settlements. Our midday meal will be a traditional farm-to-table experience.
“Naturally, when spices fetched the price of precious jewels in Europe, the Arab sailors who brought them from India kept their source a secret for centuries.” The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.
It is also an opportunity to learn more about the religious traditions that date back to St. Thomas’s missionary work here. Nasrani or St Thomas Christians have built communities here that are focused on church attendance and religious festivals. We’ll meet a family who live and work in the tradition of those early Christians.
“Those first converts–Saint Thomas Christians–stayed true to the faith and did not marry outside their community. Over time they grew, knitted together by their customs and their churches.” The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.
Space on both adventures is limited. To see the full itinerary, follow this link! https://www.sirensojourns.com/upcoming-retreats
Need Yet More Books for your TBR list??
Here's a treasure trove of books NPR loved from 2022 as they prepare their mind-blowing Book Concierge for 2023. I love a good bookie backlist, don't you??
Ever Thought About Those Roads You're Trippin' On?
I never expected to find a book about road ecology so fascinating but Ben Goldfarb's "Crossings" is revelatory and empowering. Here's a sample of what we talked about when I interviewed him recently:
In the desert north of Tucson, Arizona, a wildlife bridge that’s seeded with native plants and overseen by cameras spans Oracle Road…a byway that bisects the Sonoran desert.
Bighorn sheep, mountain lions, javelinas and mule deer all use the bridge…and a nearby underpass… These wildlife crossings are what Goldfarb calls “road ecology” –an exercise in perceiving the world through “nonhuman eyes.”
Goldfarb writes in his new book: “To us, roads are so mundane they’re practically invisible; to wildlife, they’re utterly alien.”
I loved the way Goldfarb’s book takes us around the world where scientists are experimenting with new ways to diminish the disruption of roads and highways, including here in the Midwest where drivers were crushing turtles at a startling rate.
The book is full of clever solutions dreamed up by imaginative scientists. I promise you'll never see roadkill the same way again!