Letters to the Editor
Your Bay Books Missed My Favorites
Dear Bay Weekly:
I read your story Sit and Read a Spell [Bay Weekly’s Summer Guide to Maryland Reading: Vol. XI, No 30: July 24], with interest. I enjoy some of the authors mentioned, but why did you include Nora Roberts but not John Barth? A significant omission was Marion Warren’s Bringing Back the Bay. And why Lucille Clifton, a former poet laureate, but not Linda Pastan? I realize that Pastan has not written specifically about the Chesapeake Bay, and I believe she lives in Rockville, but she is one of my favorite poets and I champion her at every opportunity. I’m just curious about how you made your selections, and especially why the Warren book was not included.
— P.A. Licodo, Frederick, Maryland
Editor’s note: Good questions. You’ll notice that the article you read is by Bay Weekly staff. The result is a bit like the Bay: a big entity fed by lots of singular tributaries. So the simple answer is that Barth and Pastan are not included because none of our editors or writers chose them this go-round. Barth we’ve written about before, and he was mentioned in this year’s 101 Ways to Have Fun: An Indispensable Guide to Summer on the Bay.To Pastan, you’ll have to introduce us.
Marion Warren is a Bay Weekly hero and frequent subject. He was indeed mentioned in the story you read, as one of three authors and the photographer in an about-to-be published book, Waterviews. Why is Bringing Back the Bay omitted? Marion is famed as a photographer, not a storyteller — despite the fact that in this book he and his daughter Mame have collaborated in a story of Bay failures and aspirations.
Miami Reads Bay Weekly
Dear Bay Weekly:
Greetings from Miami. I was browsing BW on-line and enjoyed the archaeology story [Digging Eastport: Vol. XI, No 30: July 24] among other things. Thanks for the pleasure!
— Dennis Cory, Miami
Anonymous Letter Targets Author
Dear Bay Weekly:
As you noted in last week’s feature story Bay Weekly’s Summer Guide to Maryland Reading, my most recent book for children is Quiet Please — Eaglets Growing (Tidewater Publishers). The story is about a fifth-grade boy who loves eagles and does what he can to protect them. The book was inspired by the Safeway debate in Deale, where I live. The purpose of writing it was to encourage people who care to speak out.
A couple of weeks before your article appeared, the book became the target of a disgruntled person’s unhappiness. A person who may be a neighbor, maybe not, expressed his or her thoughts in a very disagreeable letter to me. No signature or return address, so I cannot reply.
I find it perplexing someone would write an angry letter to me, author of children’s books, and a proud grandmother of seven.
I’m in favor of open discussion about what should happen in our communities. My own is a paradox. Some of its partisans want change. Some do not. Some wanted a Safeway, some didn’t. Places of business come and go, often at great speed. Nothing in Deale seems to move through the transition called change without fury and angst. Yet I can’t imagine living anywhere else. That’s in part because none seem to be indifferent about what is best for our community.
Sometimes a little drama is a good thing. I found that disagreement is an excellent way to get to know my neighbors. At least then we’re speaking! But my wish is that those who care will kindly identify themselves. Angry anonymous letters aren’t helpful.
— Carolyn Stearns, Deale
We welcome your letters and opinions. We will edit when necessary. Include your name, address and phone number for verification. Mail them to Bay Weekly, P.O. Box 358, Deale, MD 20751 • E-mail them to us at [email protected].
