Circle of One: Book club seeking the natural while reading

By Mary Garrigan, Journal Staff Writer | Friday, February 03, 2006

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

RAPID CITY -- Like any book club, the Circle of One Book Forum asks people to read the same book and then get together to talk about it.

But unlike most other book clubs, the organizers of this one are taking a family-oriented, seasonal approach to reading authors whose lives all have close ties to South Dakota. The book forum, at least in its debut year, focuses on books by American Indian authors that span generations and bridge differences in communities and cultures.

“The purpose of the Circle of One Book Forum is simple: to gather together in families, churches, schools and community settings to talk respectfully about ideas, themes, feelings and history presented to us by reading one book together,” Ruth Yellowhawk of the Indigenous Issues Forum said.

Yellowhawk and Lily Mendoza-Ducheneaux, bookstore manager at Prairie Edge, are both book lovers who hope their idea for a new kind of book club will encourage families and other small groups to read and discuss books by homegrown South Dakota authors and to pay more attention to the rhythms of the natural world when they do.

Like nature, the Circle of One Book Forum will have four seasons, Yellowhawk said.

“Part of our interest in taking a seasonal approach to reading is to remember or even to discover what it feels like to be purposeful in our efforts,” Yellowhawk wrote in the forum’s guidebook. In a world where many people are on “electronic overload,” Circle of One suggests readers “try a natural rhythm for a while and see how it suits you.”

Four books — all by Indian authors — have been selected for this inaugural year.

For winter — a time when reflection and reading seem natural — the forum chose “The Lakota Way” by Joseph Marshall, a Sicangu. It sets just the right tone for the season, Yellowhawk said, full of stories and lessons from Lakota life that serve as living illustrations of Lakota values.

The other books, by season, are:

n “I Remember the Fallen Trees,” a book of poetry by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, an author better known for her political writing than her poetry. Spring, say the organizers, is a great time of the year to explore new ideas.

n “Shota and the Star Quilt,” a children’s book written in English and Lakota by an assortment of Indian women. It showcases the blossoming creativity of the summer season.

n “Custer Died for Your Sins,” by Vine DeLoria Jr. This selection for fall is a memorial tribute to the late Lakota author. The book was chosen for its ability to help readers harvest ideas into action.

“We wanted to choose books that would adapt to a diverse range of ages and interests,” Yellowhawk said. They intentionally chose to begin the forum with four Indian authors.

“Many of us grew up with an understanding of native worldviews translated by non-native authors. Our selections here allow for other understandings,” she said.

Local author Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve said she writes books to reveal another perspective, another point of view, and she was glad to see this book club will do the same. “I recognize the need for a book club like this,” Driving Hawk Sneve said at its launch Jan. 21.

After individual families and groups read the seasonal selection, the larger community may hold discussion forums. A discussion of “The Lakota Way” will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at Prairie Edge Bookstore.

Mendoza-Ducheneaux said the book club provides the incentive she needs to sit down with her children and read local authors.

“There are so many authors who are part of our community that we have access to,” she said. “That’s unusual and we need to take advantage of that while we can.”

The forum’s organizers, IIF, Prairie Edge and the Mennonite Central Committee, have made available facilitator guides on how to run a talking circle in which all viewpoints are respected and encouraged.

If you go

-- What: Circle of One Book Forum on “The Lakota Way,” by Joseph Marshall.

-- When: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18

-- Where: Prairie Edge bookstore in downtown Rapid City.

-- For discussion guides and suggested questions for the individual books, contact Ruth Yellowhawk at 574-2165 or by email at kfyellowhk@aol.com or Mendoza-Ducheneaux at 341-7534 or by e-mail at bookstore@rushmore.com

Mary Garrigan can be reached at 394-8410 or mary.garrigan@rapidcityjournal.com