Two Hundred Years

Two Hundred Years

I have swam beneath the ice for two hundred winters
watched two hundred summer suns
shine upon this turbulent sea
saw your kin upon the shore
stepping gently, leaving only footprints
first, then wooden paddle strokes
soon rumbles and streaks in the sky

I have seen your rise
rapid as the moonlight spread across
a tundra plain, and now watch
while the moon-set makes ready
remembering how two hundred years
you watched for my spout
saw hope in the mist
made my grandmother into corsets
carved my mother for a mangled
meal for the bottom crawlers with
war weapons, steel whales
with your men sealed
screaming inside

some of your kind believe we
wield the ability to hear those
thoughts in your head, your actions
are already gale force, only if you listened
long enough at the ocean's edge
everything would crystalize
clear, and two hundred years
you would see from sea




(Poem #1 for the National Poetry Month Challenge by Don Rearden. Here the imagined life of a bowhead whale, the subject of a new novel I'm working on tentatively titled Whale Road.)

Feeling Your Weight

Check out Portugal. The Man's new song for Earth Day #EndangeredSong

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling Your Weight

 

 

we hike through the hemlock

trunks thick as the two of us

combined, you riding in a pack

upon my back

the sharp rays of evening sun 

reaching into the forest

I wait for the towering trees

to inspire you

will it be another bear hunt?

a monster chasing us? 

perhaps bigfoot?

what will we play?

 

just shy of three

you are, it seems

always reading my mind

already finishing my sentences

always surprising me

and I'm waiting for our play 

to begin, but also thinking

about tomorrow 

I plod up the trail, feeling your weight

thirty plus pounds of questions

you point to one of the giant stumps

the trail winds around

what's that? you ask

I stop. A stump, I say

no, you inform me

no, that means the Once-ler was here

Are you the Once-ler? I ask.

 

Your answer?

 

No, Dad. I am the Lorax.

And like that, you tell me 

tomorrow will be okay

[Poem #22 --- National Poetry Month and Earth Day! In support of Earth Day please search for and share the Sumatran Tiger song and the hashtag #EndangeredSong by the amazingly talented Alaskan band Portugal. The Man. There are only 400 Sumatran Tigers left in the world. Share the song, spread the message. Thanks!]

A Writer Gives Thanks

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Quyana --- the Yup'ik word for "Thank you"

A Writer Gives Thanks

Often at this time of year we get too wrapped up in the trappings of the holidays to actually remember the point of the actual holiday. Turkey. Or is it football? No wait. Black Friday holiday shopping! Right? 

What happened to just being thankful?

For myself I wanted to take a few moments to actually give thanks as a writer. Writing is often a said to be a solitary and lonely occupation. I’m not sure who said that, and I’m not sure I agree. As I began thinking about composing a little note of thanks, I realized, maybe it isn’t so lonely.

 This has been an amazing year thus far for me in terms of my writing career, and I am simply beyond grateful and I owe so many people an Alaskan sized debt of gratitude for helping make my writing dreams a reality. I owe thanks to various countries, agents, publishers, critics, newspapers, reporters, bloggers, booksellers, book clubs, readers, writers, professors, secondary teachers, students, friends, family, and fans. 

Those acquainted with the long and convoluted route taken by my novel on the road to getting published in the United States, know I have much to be thankful for. Thanks to Adam Chromy, my agent here in the US for fighting for The Raven’s Gift every step of the way. Thanks to my foreign agents for getting my novel published in France this year, and thanks to that publisher Fleuve Noir and my French editor Ben

edicte Lombardo.

Thanks to Penguin Canada for continuing to believe in The Raven’s Gift and for getting the book into the United States with Pintail Book and Penguin USA. I am grateful to my Adrienne Kerr and Nicole Winstanley at Penguin for continuing to have faith in the novel. Thanks to Elena Hershey and the Pintail folks working tirelessly to help get the book into bookstores all over America.

I have worked tirelessly to share my novel with the world and at times it has felt an impossible task to get the book into the hands of readers or to get the attention of reviewers and critics, but the support of some awesome booksellers across Alaska and across the country continues to inspire me. I owe thanks to dedicated booksellers like Fireside Book’s David Cheezem and his staff, Nathan Dunbar in Chicago, Deb Bonito at Mosquito Books, and so many others. 

There are those who I also can’t begin to even express my thanks to --- critic Michael Dirda and The Washington Post. When other newspapers and critics refused to give a book like mine the time of day, a Pulitzer Prize winning critic steps up and writes the most powerful and beautiful review of the book I’ve had to date. His review in the Washington Post was do damn good I almost ran out and bought a copy of the book myself! In addition to Dirda’s killer review, countless amazing bloggers have blogged and promoted the book --- far too many to name here, but you know who you are, and now you know I am giving you thanks, too! 

I can’t thank The Washington Post without also thanking The Anchorage Daily News for their coverage of my book, so quyana to Mike Dunham and David Hulen, at ADN, and to the Alaska Dispatch and Megan Edge and others there. And while I’m thanking news folks, I would be totally remiss if I didn’t thank Steve Heimel at Alaska Public Media for inviting me on Talk of Alaska. That was definitely one of the highlights of the year, and quite an honor. When you’ve grown up in the bush, public radio is just a life essential and to get to chat with the actual voice of Alaska, well that was something I’ll never forget. So thanks to Steve and Lori Townsend, and everyone who made that incredibly fun hour possible. 

Now on to thanking the readers and writers in my life. You have made this year absolutely magical. Those readers who have invited me to into their homes to meet with bookclubs? Those were some discussions I’ll forever cherish. I had never thought about visiting bookclubs as an author, and this turns out to be one of my favorite kind of author event. What more can you ask for than to sit down with a group of dedicated readers, perhaps with good wine and even better food, and talk about your novel? The answer is nothing. That is as good as it gets. So thanks to all those bookclubs, including those I haven’t attended yet!

I also never expected my book to be required reading! So I owe special thanks to those professors and highschool teachers using my book in their courses and the students writing about the book and contacting me with their thoughts and questions. I can really think of no higher honor than to know that The Raven’s Gift is being used in English courses, and even graduate level Psychology courses --- unless I suppose the book gets banned! Perhaps that can be something I am grateful for next year?!  (Come on people! The book has sex, violence, cannibalism, and even bad words! It needs to be banned! Okay, I admit, I just want to be on the banned book list!)

Finally, I want to thank the readers and authors for all the support. Alaskans have been so amazing and helpful in spreading the word about my The Raven’s Gift. I couldn’t even begin to list off all of you. The support I have received here at home is overwhelming and completely awe inspiring. I am so lucky to call this place my home, so incredibly lucky. Authors have been overly generous through mentoring me, giving advice, and spreading the word about my book. Again the list is just too long, but I’d be remiss to not thank all the members of the 49 Writers, my buddies Seth Kantner and Kris Farmen, my coach Daniel and his wife Rennie, and my friend and go to warm heart and brilliant writing life advisor Jodi Picoult.  I’m so fortunate to have such talented and giving souls in my life, and I’m thankful to each and every one of you!

 And to those readers who continue to share the book, who email me with their kind words of appreciation, who post their reviews on Amazon and elsewhere --- I cannot thank you enough, but please know that I am endlessly grateful for your support, your encouragement, and the time and energy you’ve spent reading my work, sharing it, and thinking about the underlying messages contained within the story.

We could simply all be thankful the world hasn’t quite ended just yet, or we could pause for a moment in our busy lives, watch a raven or two, and take stock of what we have, where we’ve been, and those we love. And ---- if you’ve read this far, and weren’t mentioned yet, then for me, you must be one of those I love.

Thank you. Quyana.

Don Rearden

Bear Valley, Anchorage Alaska

11/27/13

A New Book Trailer for The Raven's Gift

The New Book Trailer for The Raven's Gift. Enjoy and share with friends!

I finally got around to cutting a new trailer for my novel. This one includes a few of the blurbs from The Raven's Gift and footage from where I grew up. Be sure to have your volume turned up!

Party, Booklaunch, & Now a Fundraiser for Galena!

John "Hannibal" Smith from the A-Team pretty much said it best with, "I love it when a plan comes together."  And the plan, my friends is shaping up nicely. Good fun will be had at Anchorage's Tap Root the June 27th launch of The Raven's Gift, but more importantly good will also be accomplished that evening.

As many of you know, this novel is about a horrific catastrophe striking rural Alaska --- and no one from the outside comes to help. Well --- we can't let that be the case in the real life tragedy that has struck the village of Galena, recently destroyed by an unprecedented flood.  The state and federal government's response has been slow, but outside organizations and surrounding villages are doing all they can to help. And now we can offer our help as well and have a good time for a good cause.

More info will be coming shortly about the fund-raising efforts, and the fun is already in place with great music acts by Bethel's Kevin Morgan, Homer's blue grass trio Burnt Down House, Steve Blanchett from Pamyua, and Anchorage's Jonathan Bower. Our MC for the evening will be the one and only Eskimo Bob.

The overly generous David Cheezem, owner of Fireside Books, will be donating a percent of the book sales from the launch to the fund for the people of Galena! So when you buy a copy at the launch you'll be helping Alaskans in need! 

This is a family event, so bring the kids and the grand parents. There will be plenty of door prizes, including some sweet swag from Raven's Brew Coffee!

Mark your calender -- June 27th, 6-9pm. Tap Root. Anchorage. If you can't make it, or live out of town, stay tuned. You may be able to join us streaming and/or help the folks in Galena with one of my giveaways and win some cool stuff online!

More info or RSVP here!  And if you're into it "Like" The Raven's Gift FB page while you're at it!

Thanks! 

Don
www.donrearden.com

Book Launch 101 --- A Kick Ass Planning Guide

I'm about to launch my debut novel The Raven's Gift in the US. It's a long story, that I'll tell somewhere else, but this will be my second time throwing a book party for the novel here in Alaska. Let's just say I was so happy when the novel came out in Canada a few years back that I threw a giant party to celebrate publication.  What I'm going to share with you here is what I did then, and what I am planning to do now, so that if you are so fortunate as to have a party of your own, you can hopefully get a few ideas and learn a little about what I did.

First let me tell you that the first party was successful.  What I mean by successful is this: when the party was over I'd sold all the books (over 100), people thanked me for the good time, and I had several press write-ups about the party within the week. I can't guarantee the same results for you if you follow the steps below, nor can I guarantee the same steps will work for me in a few weeks, but a little event planning and forethought will go a long ways; however, I can guarantee you one thing in today's publishing paradigm, the party is on you. Don't expect your publisher to foot the bill or plan your launch. Sure, if you name is Dan Brown or Grisham --- then maybe someone will do the work for you, but don't count on it.

Here's the plan:

1. Write out what your idea scenario for the launch will be. What are you expecting or hoping for? What will be a successful event? What do you think a launch will do for your book sales? 
2. Find a venue. Choose a place that fits your vision for a launch. Are you looking for a casual setting or something more raucous. Think outside the box. I held my first launch in a brewery pub that had a large theater. This killed two birds with one stone --- good beer and a performance area. This suited my vision for the launch. I was hoping for an eclectic mix of music and literary performances from my gifted Alaskan friends. (More on having gifted friends below.) Don't break the bank. Find a place that will benefit from your patronage. See if they'll donate space or give you a break on the usual rate. It doesn't hurt to ask. I didn't and later felt stupid for not doing so because I know the venue made a great deal of money from the bar, not to mention the appetizers I'd purchased for those in attendance. 
3. Set a Date. This seems obvious, but also should be something you've thought out. The date needs to fit with your book's publication date, but should also work for your venue and your friends, family, and fans. Check local event calenders so that you're not competing with other cool events. Think about work schedules and holidays. Then set the date and get the date posted on those same local calendars. Most of those are free and often lead to publication in local papers.
4. Talent. What is this? Talent? Yes. Ideally you are signing books. People want to see you and hear you, but they also want some face time with you. The best way to cover this is to have cool artists, remember those gifted friends I mentioned earlier? This is the time to call them and invite them to your event and ask if they'd sing a song or two, tell a joke, read a poem, or ride a unicycle around the stage. Seriously. The best thing I ever did for my launch was to make it enjoyable for the audience and for myself. I'm lucky that I do have talented friends. I had amazing poets read, like Joan Kane and Jeremy Pataky. I had a crazy gifted musicians play, guitarist and singer song-writer Kevin Morgan. I had the Blanchet brothers sing, both members of the world famous indigenous group Pamyua. And to tie it all together I had "Eskimo Bob" from Eskimo Bob Lives as the funny and at times painful roast-master MC the whole thing. While you don't need such a smorgasbord of talent, you should think of someone to at least MC besides yourself. The more time you can have others on stage, entertaining the more time you get to spend enjoying yourself, celebrating your special occasion really, and more importantly conversing with the people who will become a part of your marketing and publicity machine --- those friends, family, fans, journalists, and dignitaries you've invited. 
5. Invite list and press release. Make your party public and free. Use social media to invite everyone you can. Send a press release to local media outlets. Invite politicians and anyone related thematically to your book. You've written a book about zombies? Make a special effort to invite zombies and those who hunt them. 
6. Tie in or theme? Is there something clever and inexpensive you can do to make the party more memorable? For my first launch I purchased giant cans of fruit and a few cases of Spam as centerpieces on the tables. This fit with the survivalist theme of the novel and those cans served as hilarious and cheap door prizes. And let me tell you, people were damn excited to win a gallon can of pears! For my book launch in a few weeks I've managed to get some cool companies to sponsor the giveaways --- more on that in the coming days, but the tie-ins fit thematically with the novel and are killer.  Remember, people like free stuff and if you can do a few door prizes and offer some actual quality prizes to go with the fun or funny stuff more folks will leave happy and talking about your book. 
7. Leave them wanting more. Plan for a fun event. Research what others have done and what has worked and have fun. If you have fun, the people who attend probably will to. Oddly this party really isn't about you or for you, or at least it shouldn't be. This isn't really even about you selling all the books you bring. The book launch is to do just that --- launch your book into the world. No single person ever launched a rocket-ship successfully, right? It takes a team. So too does launching a book. You need the help of friends and family. You need your community. Celebrate those people you love and who love you and let them share in your publication. If you have a good party you'll leave them wanting more, and perhaps, if you're lucky, you'll be planning a second launch like I am!

[More to come on Launch planning, including what I have in store for the US debut of The Raven's Gift and what not to do and/or lessons learned.]

Honey Bucket Museum

The Honey Bucket Museum

the time had finally arrived

politicians stood with suited smiles

pumping hands and holding giant scissors

the red ribbon waved in the wind

the buckets weren't gone

but that didn't matter

the museum couldn't wait any longer

democracy had finally worked, mostly

just like it had for the Romans

thousands of years earlier,

flowing like their ancient waterworks

these were the men who plumbed Prudoe

no task too small, mostly

the buckets weren't gone

but that didn't matter

there were ribbons that needed cutting

[Final poem for my poem a day madness for National Poetry Month. #30 --- complete!  Thanks to all who read and shared my poems. You have no idea how much your responses fueled me and kept me writing and sharing this month!  Thanks! www.donrearden.com  ]

Weight of a Paper Warrior

A Spirit Warrior, drawn by one of the boys in Club Ki'l (Kuh-luh) afterschool clubs I've been guest presenting at here in Anchorage.

Weight of a Paper Warrior

I sit on the carpeted classroom floor
encircled
Tlingit, Haida, Aleut, Yup'ik, Inupiaq, Athabascan
city boys
I wear my Raven qaspeq
hand sewn with love by a Yup'ik friend

they close their eyes
the walls around us, and that separate
fall away
my words carry them back in time
to when they were warriors

when they fought for what they believed
to protect their families, their people
to survive

this warrior is still there, I say

in you

listen to him

these were his

a stone knife, an arrowhead, a rabbit bone charm
travel --- small hand to small hand around the circle
for some cool trinkets, for others
a weight to each I will never know

the circle breaks and they lie on sheets
of white butcher paper, draw Crayola silhouettes
then arm and illustrate 

one boy tells me:
my spirit warrior's knife 
was different and sharper
and
he said he will always 
be there when I am scared

another asks:
what did your spirit warrior
look like?

this little boy's question lingers and
I am suddenly naked



[Poem #29 for National Poetry month! www.donrearden.com  ]

Tundra Tapeworm

Know what river this is? If so. You're infected.

like a tapeworm
these rivers attach
themselves to your insides

when you can peer out
from your exit row
at 20,000 feet and know
one bend from the next

you are infected

these twists and turns
burned into your brain
the arteries and veins
of your life

there is no cure
for thismalady
no stick to wrap the worm
and twist it from your guts
a half turn a day forever





[Day 11 of my poem a day marathon for National Poetry month.]

Kim Jong-un: Too Much in the Sun

Kim Jong-un: Too Much in the Sun

his soldiers march in comical precision
punching the air like a million Mike Tysons

they parade giant missiles through town
on the nightly news we see maps
drawn with concentric circles
told not to worry

his nukes can only hit
Hawaii
or
Alaska

but when they call him crazy
I can't help but think of another son
who lost his father
and that mousetrap did not end well




[Day 8 of the poem-a-day marathon for April's National Poetry Month.]

For Dan Bigley

Two Ghosts of the Kenai

For Dan Bigley

in a flash
the world gone black

the culprit
a brown blur of brawn

the bear's eyes
the last your own
will ever see

all hope
would seem lost
in the darkness

and yet you
become the sun
and show us all
how to see

beyond our own
bears




[Day  7 of my poem a day marathon for National Poetry Month. Check out Dan Bigley's new book Beyond the Bear .]

Blue Berry Blue

Blue Berry Blue

a white Styrofoam™ cup
filled to the rim with tundra
blue berries
just picked, the skin
of each a light soft blue,
and just beneath the surface
a deeper blue, a darkness

not unlike the bruises
often found on the very
Alaskan women who pick
these sweet berries
their numbers, like the contents
in the cup, beyond count

and our leaders argue over the oil
focused only on filling the pipeline
with the darkness
needed to manufacture the cup
and they continue
to ignore the contents



[DAY 5 --- of my poem a day for National Poetry month.]

A Loving Unkindness

Building Materials (Photo by Don Rearden 2013)

A Loving Unkindness


last year I doubted your choice
for a home
a Seuss-like spruce
spindly and impossibly tall
unprotected from the williwaw winds
that whip and turn trees
in this valley
into toothpicks

the stickhouse endured, your loving unkindness
survived, narrowly
one of your coal black youth
flew like Davinci's craft
busted a leg, landing instead
at the avian hospital,
thanks to a human neighbor

now you are back. Rebuilding.
flight after flight, with just
the right branch of hemlock or birch
you work together throughout the day
day after day, crafting a home
built to survive hurricane gusts
you prepare for new lives
eggs, then hungry mouths
open toward the sky, waiting

and I will not doubt you again
as I chose this mountain valley
for my nest,
too.


[Day 3 --- of my National Poetry Month Madness. A poem a day for a month.]

Musk-Ox Stew and Mexican Beer

Ablaze along the Bering Sea Coast Photo by Seth Kantner

 Musk-Ox Stew, Mexican Beer


we made camp at the edge of the earth
amid the white bones of a whale
and the grey skeleton of an old skiff 

we collected driftwood, set ablaze with dried moss
and maybe a splash of dinosaur
wolfed down the fire warmed muskox stew
in gloved hands, sipped half slushed Tecate,
cut slices of lime with a Leatherman

the cold war sun slipped beneath the sea
a submarine bound for the gulags,

a frigid black sky followed
we gathered more sticks, more moss
hunched closer to the blaze
surrounded by waves, wind, and bears

We told stories, laughed, and spoke of nothing
and everything

as if this had always been
and would always be

then like gasoline on water,
the colors slid across the surface of the sky
ignited, and bathed the edge of the earth
in the icy light of Aurora's warmth



[This is Day 2 --- of my marathon Poem a Day for National Poetry Month.]

Prehistoric (and delicious) Meat

I've often wondered what I would do if I can upon a wooly mammoth frozen in the ground, its meat still red, perhaps just a dozen or so millennia of frost bite. I would, for the sake of both story and curiosity, probably cut off a little steak and cook it over a fire.
While those odds of eating mammoth are somewhat long, I am fortunate to have another prehistoric creature gracing me with its presence of late. A good friend was kind enough to share a hind quarter of a musk-ox with me.
There is nothing better than knowing where your food comes from, knowing it was handled with care and respect, and perhaps knowing it comes from a creature who has survived for eons.

Throwback Thursday --- Old School (Warning! Graphic Photo)

Learning how to skin a seal. Photo by one of my folks.

I don't really have the standard memories of elementary school. You know, eating paste and singing "Wheels on the bus." Sure, I might have consumed my fair share of paste, like everyone else, and when I lived in Montana road the bus about an hour each way (and had to walk to the bus stop a mile away -- all up hill of course), but thankfully I never had to sing that horrible song. My best school memories stem from the activities we did that weren't your typical school lessons. In 2nd grade in the village of Akiak, Alaska, my mom as principal and principal teacher, always had us doing cultural activities. Whether we were learning how to build survival fires with just one match (that's right, elementary kids learning how to build fires!) or learning how to butcher a seal, well that was school. And really, that is what school should be. Interesting. Informative. Enriching. Meaningful. Somewhere along the way we've lost that in our education system. We no longer learn things that are useful or meaningful to our lives. Instead we have children memorizing dates and formulas, taking tests, and practicing drills for active school shooters.
That fair skinned boy on the right is me. I'm in second grade in the photo, actively participating in the skinning and cutting of a seal. For some this may be too graphic, too horrible to imagine, but for me it was a special moment. A moment in my memory and my education that rises above the memorizing of times tables and trying to learn the difference between a verb and an adverb. To me this was real learning. This was biology and history and language and culture class all in one, not to mention culinary and art class, as every last fiber of this seal that shared its life with the people would find a purpose, if not a place within someone's stomach.

Throwback Thursday -- My 1st "Sno-Go"

Brother and sister on the Kuskokwim, near Akiak, AK

You know how every once and while you encounter a photo from when you were a child that brings back a rush of memories? Just tonight I found myself flipping mindlessly through a few old photos, looking for something to share with you and I found this. The year was 1983. I was in 2nd grade and lived in the village of Akiak. A small Yup'ik community on the Kuskokwim River. The shiny new Ski-Doo Elan was my dad's but I drove that "sno-go," as we called them then and still often do, everyday after school.  I loved that machine, a simple 250cc engine, with bogey wheels. I had free reign of the area, so long as I didn't venture too far away, but did take a trip on it to Bethel, the big city. The windchill that day had dipped to sub-fifty below and I begged him to take me. Round trip it's about fifty miles, but a slow fifty on a small single banger like the Elan, and on the return at night, my little feet were nearly frozen. I don't remember much of all that happened, but I do recall  having to stop and my dad warming my toes with his bare hands and sticking my feet down into the Sno-Go's cowling and placing them near the warm engine block.  I'm pretty sure I learned my lesson after that trip and when I asked to go along, on the rare occasion when he said I didn't couldn't go, I definitely didn't beg.
The days of the Elan have passed, but a few folks in Alaska still drive them. They are gas sippers compared to the 1000 cc monster engines of today, but those changes in horsepower don't compare to the bigger changes that have come to that area, with even bigger changes on the horizon in terms of  resource development racing that direction as fast as any sled.

The big statewide Iron Dog race form Anchorage to Nome and then back to Fairbanks starts this week and it will have men and machines barreling across Alaska on the fastest Sno-gos around. A couple thousand miles in just a few days. The brutal pace, with winning racers averaging 90mph is unimaginable to me. That's right. NINETY. Something else unimaginable to me is the sponsorship for the Iron Dog. For one, you are sponsoring it. Well the National Guard is, so really that is both of us right? The race is also sponsored by one of those resource development companies racing to mine for gold on the Kuskowkim River. The same river you see pictured here. If their permit goes through, and Alaska has yet to deny a permit to a mining company, Donlin Gold will be extracting a projected million ounces of gold each year from the region.  That's right. 1,000,000,000 OUNCES. A YEAR. For thirty years. That's enough to buy a whole lot of races. And minds.

Me? I skate ski now. I'm slower than the old sno-go, and I can't pull my sister behind me, like I was in this photo. Sadly, I also can't say I'm as carefree as I was back then, riding across the tundra without a worry or thought of what might would be down the trail. But now such thoughts fill my mind and I can't help but see an old photo from my past and reminisce on the golden memories and think about what the future holds for my old home on the Kuskokwim now that outsiders have discovered a different sort of gold.

A Note of Thanks to You and 2012

So I'm a bit late with the whole out with 2012 thing. Perhaps I was still mourning the failed end of world predictions, that or I didn't expect I'd be able to actually "log on" to anything other than throwing a log on my fire!Still, there it is never too late to reflect on a year gone by or to thank folks for their support. 2012 was by all measures an amazing year for this writer kid from the tundra.

Atticus finishing my latest novel for me.

 I probably couldn't even fully capture all the incredible events that single year of my life held. Just one photo of my son's smile would be enough, and really would encapsulate so much of all that I am already grateful for in my life, but then again, I was fortunate enough to have other things to be thankful for in 2012, especially when it comes to my literary career.

Early in 2012 I learned I was awarded an Innovate Award from the University of Alaska Anchorage for research on my next novel. (You can read more about that award and the new novel I'm working on here.)

Then in May I learned that The Raven's Gift received 1st in the Alaska Professional Communicators statewide writing contest.  (This win made it eligible for the National Federation of Press Women's contest, and in the fall the novel was awarded 2nd place in that national contest!

In June I had the incredible honor to be faculty at the prestigious Kachemak Bay Writers Conference in Homer, Alaska. The keynote speaker was none other than Barry Lopez, and I can not begin to say how fortunate I felt to get to hear him, and then spend some time chatting with him. He's an amazing and generous human-being, and getting to become friends with him was one of the ultimate highlights of the year.

Just as the June sun in Alaska barely sets, so too did the excitement barely stop. July hit and The Raven's Gift began to fly off shelves in Australia and New Zealand. Published by Text Publishing, the novel has received and continues to receive some great reviews. 

The summer grew more amazing, if not unbelievable, with news that The Raven's Gift would finally be published in the good old United States of America by Pintail, a new imprint of Penguin in 2013.

So yes, 2012 was quite an incredible year. I have many people to thank, from my amazing family, friends, mentors, colleagues, and readers like you. Thank you. I can only hope that in 2013 I will be able to entertain you, surprise you, make you laugh and cry and love this great planet we call home. May you find the energy to follow your own passions in 2013, and may you strive to be the best human being you can. May you read more. Write more. Learn more. And love more.

Here is to an exciting and enriching 2013.

All the best to you,

Don

My First Annual Alaskan Holiday Gift Guide

Someone once attributed the quote "with great power comes great responsibilty" to comic book legend Stan Lee, but that someone was incorrect and the real someone who supposedly said this, in French, was Voltaire. Of course, I only know this because I lack both power and responsibility, otherwise I have no way of explaining why I discovered the source of the quote from Wikipedia and not somewhere with a little more academic clout.

But alas, as my nephews recently decided I was famous after seeing my photo beside a column in a recent op-ed piece in the Anchorage Daily News I've decided to use this fame to share, albeit responsibly, with the general public my First Annual Alaskan Holiday Gift Guide! Or perhaps it would be better titled:

THE FAMOUS DON REARDEN 2012 ALASKAN HOLIDAY BOOK GIFT GUIDE

[ First a disclaimer to all, these are Alaskan books that can be given to non-Alaskan and Alaskans alike. I am not paid to put the authors or creators of these books on my guide; however, I will gladly accept payment. ]

FOR FICTION FANS
 Two must read Alaskan books from 2012. 

Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child

Simply put, this is an amazing novel. There is a spellbinding magic at work here, that makes The Snow Child an instant Alaskan classic. Eowyn kindly wrote that my novel earned a place beside Velma Wallis's Two Old Women and Seth Kantner's Ordinary Wolves (two other books to add to your list!), but if any book deserves to be amongst those two favorites of mine, it is The Snow Child.

Kris Farmen's Turn Again
 From my blurb on the back of the novel:
“Kris Farmen’s Turn Again is a spellbinding masterpiece. A powerful epic with unforgettable characters, rich Alaskan history and culture, and an authentic glimpse at a time when humanity was forsaken in the name of progress. Farmen has crafted a haunting tale of mythical transformation and lost love. There is much to be learned from this modern parable.”
    —Don Rearden, author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Raven’s Gift




 FOR NON-FICTION FANS




Crude Awakening by Amanda Coyne and Tony Hopfinger

If the Money and Mavericks don't get you, the Mayhem will. This is a must read about the dark and dirty days of Alaskan politics and greasy oil shenanigans. 







Heat: Adventures in The World's Fiery Places by Bill Streever.

This isn't out until Jan 15th, but you can pre-order to bring a little heat into your life! I was fortunate to read an early draft of Bill's book and if you liked Cold, then you'll love Heat. And if you haven't read Cold, well add that to your list too!






FOR THE POETRY FANS

Joan Kane's The Cormorant Hunter is out in a new edition from the University of Alaska Press.  I can't say enough about the talent of this Alaskan writer. I find myself returning again and again to the poems in Joan's collection. A power and life exists in this work that borders on some sort of shaman at work in the words.







30 Years of publishing America's top writers. For fiction, non-fiction, or poetry you can't go wrong with Alaska Quarterly Review. And seriously. You can't find a better deal. Subscribe for your favorite reader or yourself now.

After the Earthquake

From: http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cdmg11/id/7324/rec/44

Peering Down at What Could Be a Cold, Dark City.

From here on this crisp clear night in Bear Valley, far up on the mountain from the twinkling lights of Anchorage, I am trying not to imagine what I could be seeing --- nothing but dark, perhaps a few structure fires --- had the recent quake 5.9 quake been anything but a little hiccup compared to the devastation wrought by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake.
We would be sitting around a warm woodstove, our small living-room lit only by the flicker from the fire. The emergency radio would be on, though I wonder who or what would be transmitting if the powergrid sustained damage. It's already near zero outside, and it would be a long night of tending the fire to keep the pipes from freezing, if they weren't already broken. We would be concerned for our friends and family in town, who have only natural gas or electricity to heat their homes, and for the safety of those coastal residents. I would be calculating food stores and in all honestly probably preparing for an early morning, and completely illegal, moose hunt. But then as I write this, I realize that might not be true, as when this quake struck I was home alone with my 18 month old son, so I wouldn't leave to hunt, not because I couldn't take him hunting, but because we'd be stuck here, waiting and hoping Annette would return home. See that's the thing about Anchorage, our city is so spread out, so much of our infrastructure built on unstable ground. We could only hope she'd be able to walk the thirteen miles up the mountain to our house, as the roads would be too damaged to drive. 
It would no doubt be a long and scary night for my son and I, and for you too if you live here, and you know what is scarier? It wouldn't be just one night either. Anchorage is built upon a tidal mud flat, we have one road in and out of town, and an airport built right beside the ever interesting Earthquake Park. If the quake was as big as the one in '64, and scientists say we will have one again, you can count on the city's transportation infrastructure being crippled. Repairs from the last quake took months to years to fix, and just look at the poor folks still suffering from Sandy if you don't think we would be waiting more than a day or two.

What is my point?

Simple.

We Alaskans pride ourselves on how big stuff is here, big bears, big moose, big mountains, and this big earthquake. The thing is that Alaskans might brag about our history, but we don't seem to learn anything from it. I'm talking about myself here, too. We aren't ready for the big one. Individually or collectively. And I'm not just talking about Anchorage people here either, if you live in the bush or the interior and rely on Anchorage for your food and fuel, well, then I'm also talking to you, too. Individually we need to all have supplies and food stores, on hand, not to mention some sort of family plan (as the family cell phone plan probably won't be working) of how and where to meet up. Collectively we need to have plans at work and for our communities. It wouldn't hurt to run the occasional drill, but then follow-up with action plans and discussion.

We'll need warm shelters and food distribution centers.

We'll need leaders.

We'll need to figure out how to come together for warmth and comfort, just like they did in '64. In fact, there are many old timers still around; we could start by sitting down around the woodstove and listening to their stories, perhaps learn a lesson or two from them. It's going to take that and more.



[Curious where to start your preparations? I'll begin documenting and sharing my preparations here. But you could also get started really quickly with prepackaged kits like these.]   and an emergency food kit like this: