Simpático with Peace Through Fiction - more quotes from A Scream Goes Through the House by Arnold Weinstein (post #2)

More quotes below from the book simpático in spirit with Peace Through Fiction ~ A Scream Goes Through the House: What Literature Teaches Us About Life by Arnold Weinstein..."a book about the power of literature to heal and interact with our experiences."

"Counterintuitive though it may seem, literature and the arts afford us a royal way into the body, and this is a trip worth making because the acquaintanceship in question is, of course, with ourselves." (p74)

"We will never know how much of this Bronte intended—it is the first question my students ask (...)—and my only answer is: can we know what any author intends? what we ourselves intend? Novels are not subject to proof or disproof, like evidence in a courtroom..." (p90)

Arnold Weinstein links ~
Arnold L. Weinstein, Brown University Research

Arnold Weinstein, "Hurrah for Plain Old Modernism"

Arnold Weinstein, Brown University, Department of Comparative Literature

Book discussion ~
Join the discussion at Twitter Readers Bookclub

Casket shops in Dar Es Salaam

From Dar Es Salaam

Click on the photo to see larger image.

Bashir pointed out these casket shops in Dar Es Salaam, where craftsmen build, finish, and sell this essential item. Notice the craftsman at right inspecting a stack of unfinished caskets. Two men (left foreground) rest on a bench in the shade of a welcome tree. The impossibly blue Dar sky is over all.

City scene in Dar Es Salaam

From Dar Es Salaam

Click on the photo to see larger image.

...a pedestrian casually walks between two lorries..."MAJI" is Kiswahili for water...Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology building looms...sky like a painting

Kanga shopping at Kariakoo with Bashir and Mr. Iddi - photos and links

Left to right: Bashir - my translator, guide, and rafiki; wanaume wawili (two men) of the kanga shop at Kariakoo; and delighted mzungu (Caucasian) - me! Photo by Mr. Iddi, my taxi driver, guide, and rafiki.

Top photo: approaching the kanga shop.

"The Kanga is still evolving. Like the T-shirt, but incomparably more elegant and useful, it is a valuable medium for personal political, social and religious expression. As an art form as well as a beautiful, convenient garment, the kanga has become an integral part of East African culture. As the saying goes, "The kanga struts in style..." Wear it with a smile!" (from Kanga History at the excellent Swahili Language & Culture website)

Click here for Kanga History
Click here for Kanga Writings - 143 kanga writings in Kiswahilli with English translations.

Simpático with Peace Through Fiction - A Scream Goes Through the House by Arnold Weinstein (post #1)

The quotes below are from a book simpático in spirit with Peace Through Fiction ~ A Scream Goes Through the House: What Literature Teaches Us About Life by Arnold Weinstein..."a book about the power of literature to heal and interact with our experiences." I'll post more quotes here as I continue reading the book.

My gratitude to Skip Zilla for introducing me to Arnold Weinstein's work. Click here to follow Skip Zilla on Twitter.

Quotes from A Scream Goes Through the House: What Literature Teaches Us About Life by Arnold Weinstein ~

"When we are in pain, we feel we are alone...This book takes the premise that the opposite is true: human feeling connects us. Works of literature and art can be the bridge. A scream goes through the house. Pain, hurt, feeling, can be shared." (p4)

"In art we can find and tap into a reservoir of feeling, and this encounter not only breaks open our solitude but also makes audible and visible to us the emotional lines of force that bathe individual life, separate us, yet connect us to one another." (p5)

"...literature and art...constitute no less than a mirror and echo chamber, a universe in which our personal stories might be seen and aligned with or against those others on show." (p6)

"...art offers us a prodigious resource here—here in the realm of feeling, whether it be pain or pleasure—and it is a resource utterly unimagined and untapped by the scientific paradigm that governs Western thinking... "(p7)

"In making visible the revolutionary potency and range of feeling—feeling as collective rather than self-contained—art makes available to us...a new understanding of ‘connective tissue.’" (p7)

"I am claiming that art overwhelms us with its news of feelings and relationships, that it brothers and sisters us, binds us in some almost visceral way beyond our choosing." (p8)

"Our lives are so filled with days and years, with details and routines, that few of us possess that magic thread, that figure in the carpet, which would give us a distilled picture of who we really are, of what our life really means."

Arnold Weinstein links ~
Arnold L. Weinstein, Brown University Research

Arnold Weinstein, "Hurrah for Plain Old Modernism"

Arnold Weinstein, Brown University, Department of Comparative Literature

Book discussion ~
Join the discussion at Twitter Readers Bookclub

Scenes from Kariakoo in Dar Es Salaam - with Iddi and Bashir

Above are some pix from the day Iddi, Bashir, and I shared in the Kariakoo neighborhood of Dar Es Salaam.

From Wikipedia ~

Kariakoo is an area of the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in the Ilala district. In earlier centuries it was a small village that was frequently raided by slave traders. Thousands of people were kidnapped from Kariakoo and forced into slavery in the Americas.

The name Kariakoo is the corrupted translation of "Carrier Corps" as during the German rule, the carrier corps used to reside in that area. Carrier = Karia and Corps = koo

Kariakoo is mainly known for its extensive market that consumes numerous city blocks. Agricultural goods, housewares, and many other items can be found there, such as 'knock-off' apparel found in small shops peripheral to the market.

Bashir and Mr. Iddi at Kariakoo Market, Dar Es Salaam

Bashir Nkoma and Iddi Ndeke, who are brothers, helped me with all my translation and transportation needs during my time in Dar Es Salaam. They were such blessings to me, I know the hand of God brought us together.

In this photo, Bashir and Mr. Iddi stand inside the entrance to Kariakoo Market in Dar Es Salaam.

Bashir's mother died when he was 8 years old; his father was already gone. Iddi and the extended family raised him with great devotion and care. Because Bashir was so bright, the extended family pooled their money to send him to school. He completed secondary school with honors, and currently works in Reception at the marvelous Palm Beach Hotel in Dar Es Salaam.

How I discovered - then joined - Creative Commons Network

In Spring 2009, a friend turned me on to the works of Yochai Benkler and Lawrence Lessig. Through Benkler's The Wealth of Networks (video and print) and Lessig's Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy, I discovered Creative Commons.

Lessig's concept of remix, in particular, connects with Peace Through Fiction. Peace Through Fiction is a method anyone can use, anywhere, with any novel or story, as a way to increase personal and interpersonal peace. You can think of Peace Through Fiction as remix or mash-up -- but for books instead of music and video. It's a new addition to Read/Write (RW) culture and participant culture -- but you share in print and orally, not just digitally.

I licensed the Peace Through Fiction dialogue method under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

This license is ideal for how I want people to be able to share, remix, and experience Peace Through Fiction.



Click here for information about the six main licenses at Creative Commons.

Palm Beach Hotel in Dar Es Salaam

DAR ES SALAAM — I love the Palm Beach Hotel, and the people who work there -- my peaceful home away from home.

This photo captures the simple beauty of light and wood and linen in my room. Light at the center of rest and work. I returned here after my days at the University and explorations of the city, to meditate, reflect, and write. At my bedside, Ngugi's Wizard of the Crow; on my desk, journal and notebooks and pencils and post-its; out of view are my netbook and water. What more could a writer need?

My highest praises to the entire staff of the Palm Beach Hotel, most especially:

• Mr. Eric Buitendijk, the assistant general manager;
• Mr. Bashir Nkoma, trainee in Reception, who is bilingual in Kiswahili and English, and can assist you as an excellent translator;
• Mr. Iddi Tay, taxi driver appointed to the hotel, who knows everything and everywhere in Dar Es Salaam, and will get you there safely.

THE PEACE THROUGH FICTION DIALOGUE METHOD: please use it, circulate it, and send me your feedback

What is Peace Through Fiction?
I believe peace in the world begins with peace in each of us as individuals. So I developed Peace Through Fiction as a dialogue method you can use to increase peace in yourself, your students, and people in your community.

The Peace Through Fiction dialogue method uses novels and stories to guide you into thinking about your own life experiences. It helps you naturally create more peaceful ways of relating to yourself and other people.

Peace Through Fiction is portable – these directions fit on one piece of paper. You can use it with any novel or story, with any age group, and any level of literacy. It is easily translated into any language. It works well with both written fiction and oral stories.


How do I do Peace Through Fiction?
1) Read a novel or listen to a story.

2) Think about the Peace Through Fiction questions and answer them by yourself. You can write down your answers, or simply think about them for a while.

3) Optional: Share some of your answers in a dialogue with a small group, using the agreements shown below.


Peace Through Fiction questions:
POSITIVES: Which character did you like best and why? How does that character remind you of a person you like; of yourself; and of a person you dislike?

NEGATIVES: Which character did you dislike most and why? How does that character remind you of a person you dislike; of yourself; and of a person you like?

WORLD VIEWS: Which character reminds you of someone famous who interests you? In what subject is this real-life person involved? (For example, justice, politics, sports, music, education). On that subject, what could you personally do to increase peace in yourself, and between yourself and other people?


Peace Through Fiction dialogue agreements:
* Listening to other people’s answers with an open heart and mind.
* Respecting each other’s different choices, even if you don’t agree.
* Asking questions to find out more about each other, instead of arguing.
* Supporting and trusting each other.
* Having fun!


Peace Through Fiction uses the reading theory called "text connections." Text connections happen when the reader makes a personal connection between the story and something in their own life. You read deeper, and find more meaning, when you make real-world connection from the characters in a story to yourself in real life.

If you use Peace Through Fiction with books and stories, you'll find it starts to change the way you think about the real things in your life. It will change the way you react to other people, and the way you handle your life experiences. Along the way, you become more peaceful, and you bring more peace to the world.


Who can I contact to ask questions about Peace Through Fiction?
Please contact Nicole Hunter by e-mail at: nicole.hunter.books@gmail.com


Peace Through Fiction dialogue method by Nicole Hunter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.PeaceThroughFiction.com.