annsepstein@att.net

What I’m (Belatedly) Reading: Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

My Amazon review of Midnight’s Children (Rated 3): Jewels Scattered in the Dung Heap – Given that Midnight’s Children (1980) won the “Booker of Bookers,” I should rate Salman Rushdie’s epic story of Indian independence 5 to the 5th stars. Coming to it belatedly, I anticipated both a remedial course in history and a novel of lyrical prose. Alas, I was disappointed on both fronts. Those already familiar with India’s creation may appreciate the inside references, but my enlightenment came from the companion reference books I had to consult, not the text itself. As for the writing, there are jewels, both fantastic and funny, scattered in the dung heap of words, but the reward of finding them was not worth the trek through verbose dreck. I’m glad to have finished this “should read” book, but the experience was more medicinal than magical.

In Need of Comic Relief? A Poli-Sci-Fi Whiff of Skulduggery

If you crave a light and literary escape from today’s divisive political scene, check out “A Poli-Sci-Fi Whiff of Skulduggery,” my review of Joe Ponepinto’s satiric novel Mr. Neutron (7.13 Books, release date March 2018) in the online journal Wilderness House Literary Review https://www.whlreview.com/no-12.4/review/AnnSEpstein.pdf. Ponepinto has a Dickensian deftness for naming characters and an olfactory imagination that will keep you sniffing until the end, which beats sniffling over the state of disunion. Read Mr. Neutron and permit yourself to revel in a guilt-free romp.

A BRAIN. A HEART. THE NERVE. Publication Date: August 14, 2018

The publication date for A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press) is August 14, 2018. A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. is a fictional biography of Meinhardt Raabe, a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. Meinhardt wants the respect given normal people, yet his disability makes him mistrust even those who see past it. The narrative moves from Nazi Berlin through decades of social change in the U.S. to a return pilgrimage to Germany, where Meinhardt chooses between isolation and opening his heart. The book cries for justice in the face of discrimination. Meinhardt’s journey fortifies readers with the intelligence, love, and courage to follow the yellow brick road to the safe home we all deserve. // For more information about the book, see NOVELS. Pre-orders available May 2018. Check this website and the publisher’s https://alternativebookpress.com/ for updates about the book’s release, print and e-book orders, and related events.

Wilderness House Literary Review to Publish “Space Cat”

Wilderness House Literary Review will publish my flash fiction piece “Space Cat” in its Spring 2018 issue (link to follow when the story goes online). Here’s the log line: “‘Space Cat,’” based on the true but unheralded story of Félicette, the first (and last) cat in space, is a cri de coeur for recognizing the important role of felines, and females, in science.” Please bestow belated honors upon the brave Félicette, 51 years after her sacrifice on behalf of humankind.

Tazia and Gemma: Announcing My New Novel

My next novel Tazia and Gemma will be published by Vine Leaves Press on May 29, 2018. I’m delighted to share the cover and book jacket description:

Spanning 1911 to 1961, Tazia and Gemma is told from the perspective of an unwed mother, whose tale moves forward in time, and her daughter, whose search for her father moves backward. Tazia, a pregnant seventeen-year-old Italian immigrant and survivor of the Triangle Waist Company fire, flees New York, leaving her married lover to think she miscarried the baby he urged her to abort. To support herself and her daughter Gemma, Tazia takes low-wage jobs as she migrates westward. Gemma, now fifty, embarks on an eastward journey to find her father, eventually tracing her roots to Italy. In the end, Tazia no longer needs to escape her history while Gemma finds that her identity leads back to her mother. The narrative illuminates the tension between assimilation versus honoring one’s heritage, and confronts the struggle for self respect in the face of discrimination and demeaning work conditions, issues both timely and timeless.

To learn more about the book, see NOVELS and REVIEWS. Here is the link to the publisher’s webpage: http://www.vineleavespress.com/tazia-and-gemma-by-ann-s-epstein.html. Please check back to find out when print and e-book versions will be available for preorder.

“Free Their Inner Child” Online at The Artist Unleashed

My article “Free Their Inner Child” is online at The Artist Unleashed as of February 14, 2018. Artists and writers are told to “free your inner child.” At the same time, we fret that the circuitry of screens has replaced the inner wonder of children today. As parents, teachers, and mentors of tomorrow’s creative class, how do we guarantee that the next generation enjoys a full aesthetic life? Learn strategies to give young children meaningful experiences across the arts (visual, music, movement and dance, dramatic, literary, plus art appreciation) and see how play can recapture and nurture the inner child in adult artists and writers as well. Read the article at http://www.theartistunleashed.com/blog/free-your-inner-child-by-ann-s-epstein. To see more of my publications on young children and the arts, visit my Amazon Author Page at http://www.amazon.com/author/asewovenwords.

Learn History Through Fiction: The Changing Role of Women in the U.S. Military

For a contemporary story I’m writing about a civilian father whose wife is deployed in Afghanistan, I researched the changing role of women in the U.S. Armed Force. Women have played a role in military conflicts since the American Revolution, but World War II was the first time they served in an official capacity. Beginning in December 1941, 350,000 women were active in four branches established exclusively for them: Army WACS, Air Force WASPS, Navy WAVES, and Marine and Coast Guard SPARS. About 70% held traditionally “female” jobs as typists, clerks, and mail sorters. Only those working in the Army and Navy medical corps made it close to the front lines. Today, by contrast, women account for one-sixth of active-duty personnel (up from one-tenth in 1970), with the largest number serving in the Air Force and Navy. Since 2001, over 200,000 female soldiers have served in Afghanistan and/or Iraq, including more than 100,000 mothers.

Historical Novel Society Publishes Laudatory Review of ON THE SHORE

The Historical Novel Society published a laudatory review my World War One era book On the Shore (see NOVELS) in the February 2018 issue of its magazine (Historical Novel Review, issue 83, page 44). Here’s an excerpt: “In alternating chapters, Epstein gives us a rare glimpse into a multi-generational immigrant community rarely written about—and does it with grace, sensitivity and lyricism. Her characters are recognizable and vividly drawn. … What Epstein has done in this beautiful novel is to capture a time and place, and a community undergoing revolutionary change. This is a must read for anyone interested in the American Jewish experience and an absolute necessity for people who want to understand immigrant communities.” Read the entire review at https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/on-the-shore/

Learn History Through Fiction: The Taj Mahal of the Bronx

Do you find the modern-day multiplex too sterile for your taste? Picture yourself at the Loew’s Paradise, considered the Taj Mahal of movie and stage show theaters, when it opened in the Bronx in 1929 at a cost of $4 million (equivalent to $57.7 million today). The 4,000 patrons entered this veritable palace under a Seth Thomas mechanical clock, where St. George slew a fire-breathing dragon each time the hour chimed. The lobby looked like an Italian palazzo with marble pillars, a goldfish pool, a marble fountain with the figure of a child on a dolphin, tapestries, and three domes with murals depicting Sound, Story, and Film. At the base of the carpeted staircase, one passed beneath an oil painting of Marie Antoinette as the Patron of the Arts. Inside the auditorium the aura was a 16th century Italian Baroque garden bathed in Mediterranean moonlight with stars twinkling in the ceiling as clouds passed by, hanging vines, cypress trees, stuffed birds, and classical statues. The theater opened with a screening of The Mysterious Dr. Fu-Manchu, accompanied by live music played on a Robert Morton “Wonder Organ.” Loew’s theater features prominently in my WWII-era story-in-progress, “Orphan Camp” (see STORIES and my blog post on 01/29/18). Now hush. The velvet curtain, a Venetian garden scene, is going up.

Learn History Through Fiction: WWII Orphan Camp in the Bronx

Inspiration for “Orphan Camp,” a story-in-progress (see STORIES): In 1946, a “summer camp” opened in an abandoned YMCA building in the Bronx (not far from where I grew up) for European World War Two orphans. While other displaced persons needed individual sponsors to enter the U.S., a December 1945 directive from President Truman allowed charitable organizations to sponsor children, provided they paid for their visas and tickets, and guaranteed the children would not depend on public welfare. Obtaining visas was difficult since most children lacked birth certificates. Some were too young to know their identities, so the staff gave them names. Because the children spoke many different languages, communication depended on gesture, facial expression, action, and posture. Playing the universal string game, Jacob’s Ladder, was the initial means of building trust among the children and their caregivers. Over a two-and-a-half-year period, nearly 1,400 children, ages one to 18 years, were brought to the U.S.