 |
 |
Re-imagining
the American Dream through the Works of Jack London |
|||
Additional
Links:
|
 Cary Walker on the campus of Sonoma State University in California. |
||
I participated in the weeklong Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop as one of 40 teachers from various disciplines and states throughout the country who received a grant from NEH to attend. Held at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, the workshop featured leading Jack London scholars, including published authors. During the week, we explored many of Jack London's fifty published books, as well as his essays, and newspaper articles. The Sonoma State University Library has one of the best collections of Jack London's original letters, books, magazine and newspaper articles, movie memorabilia, as well as photographs and artifacts. |
|||
A highlight of the week was our visit to Jack and Charmian London's Beauty Ranch, now a State Park, in nearby Glen Ellen. There we explored the 1,400-acre ranch with park ranger Gregory Hayes and professors of cultural anthropology Mary and Adrian Praetzellis. Currently I am researching London’s achievements as a progressive rancher/farmer of his day and how he used his experiences in his various “southland” stories and novels. Using several resources gained at the workshop, as well as the Furman University library, I am completing three additional hours of graduate study under the guidance of noted Jack London scholar and author Clarice Stasz of Sonoma State University. I am also creating a curricular unit of study to share with my seventh-grade students at CCES. At the outset of the school year my students will review Jason’s Gold, a work of historical fiction that tells the story of the Klondike gold rush of 1897 through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old, Jason Hawthorn. Along the way he meets a young man, Jack London, who helps him reach Dawson City to join his older brothers. Jack turns out to be a wonderful storyteller and a generous friend to Jason, and he shares information about his life growing up near San Francisco, California. In the course of reviewing the novel, I will be sharing additional biographical materials with my students, including many authentic photographs of Jack London, his family, his travels, and his life on Beauty Ranch.
London was among the most famous and best-paid writers of his day. Although he died at the age of forty, he wrote fifty novels, numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and thousands of letters. For seventeen years of his life he maintained the discipline of writing 1,000 pages a day. By giving students this background I hope to inspire them to explore London's other works. He not only wrote about his travels in the Yukon, but also his travels in the South Seas. In addition, he wrote numerous books and short stories using his home state of California as a setting. Later this school year, I will weave Jack London's writing into our writing lessons. His descriptive writing is full of sensory details that will provide excellent examples for students to emulate. His numerous letters provide wonderful examples of voice and will help students understand the concept of writing for a specific audience.
The National Endowment for the Humanities workshops provides teachers across the nation with an opportunity to refresh and renew their love of learning. Teachers write grant proposals in February and are notified in April of their acceptance. The size of the grants varies and covers most of the cost of travel, room and board, and materials. Energizing and rewarding, the workshop, “Jack London, Beauty Ranch, and Re-imagining the American Dream” helped me to better appreciate the depth of London’s writing and the beautiful northern California landscape that inspired him. London says it best: “I ride over my beautiful ranch….The air is wine….Across Sonoma Mountain, wisps of sea fog are stealing. The afternoon sun smolders in the drowsy sky. I have everything to make me glad I am alive.”
|
 |
 |