Pink Clouds

At dusk, here in Galveston, pink clouds accumulate over the Gulf of Mexico turning the sky violet for an amazing twenty minutes or so. I love being in my sister's back yard sharing a cocktail and stories of the day when that happens. We stare straight ahead, our heads tilted upward, blessed with the regular sight of a flock of pelicans flying over as they retire from a day of fishing and head back to their nests for the night. We laugh and tell stories though we are both thinking of our sons and their deaths - hers six months ago, mine two months ago next Wednesday, September 26, Teddy's birthday and the occasion of the full harvest moon. Though he died on July 29, I will forever consider the full moon to be the true anniversary of his departure. My sister and I can't speak about how sad we are because there are no words that can measure up.

Bound galleys of Simon Says arrived this week, reminding me that life and work are moving forward in spite of the snail's pace of my daily life. Next Friday I fly to Denver to sign galleys at the Mountains and Plains Booksellers event.

Cover copy also arrived in my email box this week for A Sacred Feast, my second book, forthcoming from University of Nebraska Press in March 2008. They make fine books and did a great job describing the project. Here's what they said:

A Sacred Feast
Reflections on Sacred Harp Singing and Dinner on the Ground
By Kathryn Eastburn

Some have called Sacred Harp singing America’s earliest music. This powerful nondenominational religious singing, part of a deeply held southern culture, has spread throughout the nation over the past two centuries. In A Sacred Feast, Kathryn Eastburn journeys into the community of Sacred Harp singers across the country and introduces readers to the curious glories of a tradition that is practiced today just as it was two hundred years ago.
    Each of the book’s chapters visits a different region and features recipes from the accompanying culinary tradition—dinner on the ground, a hearty noontime feast. From oven-cooked pulled pork barbeque to Dollar Store cornbread dressing to red velvet cake, these recipes tell a story of nourishing the body, the soul, and the voice. The Sacred Harp’s deeply moving sound and spirit resonate through these pages, captured at conventions in Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, Colorado, and Washington, conveyed in portraits of singers, and celebrated in the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of all-day singing and dinner on the ground as it echoes through generations and centuries.
Kathryn Eastburn, a journalist and freelance writer, is the founding editor of the Colorado Springs Independent. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including the Denver Post, Texas Highways, and the Santa Fe Reporter.

“Filled with harmony, heartache, and home cooking, A Sacred Feast is at once the best-ever culinary travelogue about singing and a soul-searching look at the heart of America.”—Tim Eriksen, singer, songwriter, ethnomusicologist, Sacred Harp teacher and enthusiast

“An affectionate, even loving, portrayal of a tradition of song and community by a journalist who came to take a quick look—and ended up staying, to feed her ‘heart's hunger.’”—Buell Cobb, author of The Sacred Harp: A Tradition and Its Music

“Kathryn Eastburn has done us all a great service with this wonderful book about Sacred Harp Singing. With curiosity and humanity, she tells the story of a community of people held together by the most powerful of bonds—tradition, song, and food. She writes in elegant, crystal-clear prose, and it is a pleasure to be transported by her all across America to gathering after gathering, learning and celebrating as we go.”—Richard Goodman, author of French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France

“A wonderful, well-written description of twenty-first-century Sacred Harp singing from coast to coast through the eyes of a first-generation Sacred Harp Singer. Marvelous recipes!”—Amanda Denson Brady, recording secretary, Sacred Harp Publishing Company

******

It's still hurricane season in Galveston but the weather is mild. I hung a bird feeder in the tree below my apartment and hoards of sparrows and white-wing doves have found it, ravaging and emptying it every day. I've discovered I can ride my bike endlessly on the flat roads here, including the seawall, and sweat is my constant companion. I've decide to join the local group that works to protect and restore the wetlands of the island. The bubble of grief continues to insulate me but there are moments when I feel part of the world.

Soft pink clouds pile up in the evening over the Gulf, softening the sky, but I know they can quickly change to thunder heads. 

Comments

[Daniel Vasey]

Kathryn,

Greetings from the mystical land of Santa Fe! Reading your postings, filled with metaphysical wonder and mournful awe, reminded me of the excitement I felt reading, "Domestic Bliss," in the CSIndy.

From my bed in this semi-arid desert, your words trasnport me to your humid paradise and allow me to see what you see, hear what you hear, smell what you smell, feel the sunshine on my face as it reflects off the vast body of water that surrounds you.

Most importantly, your words allow the hearts of those who love you to reach across the vastness of this land to where you are. We walk with you in this time.

Thank you for being willing to be the tremendous gift you are!

With Love & Hope,
Daniel

[Eva]

The lavender clouds of the Texas sunsets were some of the first things I ever wrote about, and one of the few things I miss.
Texas is interesting, though, isn't it? It challenges you to find its beauty, not as obvious as that of the showy Rockies.
As the mom of a 22 year old who is having his own hard times in the Navy, I relate to your pain - but cannot imagine it. But I admire you, so much, for having the courage to write about it.

[Flavia Lobo]

Dear Kathryn, I remember fondly our time at Eureka Springs and now especially the evening when you read us a chapter of A Sacred Feast. I remember clearly your voice and the perception and poetry of the piece. In your company things were always delightful and interesting, as you gave life and light to everything. The piece I have just read here is from a writer and person I admire, from the friend I miss and to whom I feel so close.
Much love
Flavia

[Bobbi Buchanan]

Dear Kathryn,
I'll be looking at the harvest moon Wednesday, thinking of Teddy, you, your family, praying for your hearts to find peace. May the sky be alight with love... I'm in awe of you, and I'm looking forward to holding your books in my arms.
love,
Bobbi

[Jim Greer]

Kathryn,
Sunday a week ago I woke and was greeted with a copy of your book, "A Sacred Feast", that my wife had somehow arranged to have signed by you. Thanks! A little later we traveled down to Oxford, MS to a singing. Sacred Harp is not a familiar experience to me but I find myself drawn to it, and your work puts into words many of the thoughts and feelings I've had when singing. As for the recipes - well that's just gravy!

Kind regards,
Jim Greer