Etruscan Evenings, the sequel to Cairo Diary, follows the life of Justine Jenner after she is expelled from Egypt in the wake of discovering the controversial diary of the Virgin Mary. In Italy, the anthropologist confronts 
Cairo Diary: An Egyptian Fable is a tale of two women 2000 years apart: the Virgin Mary, living with her family in Old Cairo; and Dr. Justine Jenner, an anthropologist. During a violent earthquake, Justine becomes trapped in the crypt under St. Sergius Church, the cave that served as the Egyptian home to the Holy Family. When the shaking stops, the diary of the Virgin Mary lies at her feet. When Linda visited this ancient crypt, she was inspired to write Cairo Diary: An Egyptian Fable, her first historical novel.
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Literature and Leadership—do they still relate?
Human beings think, perceive, imagine and make moral choices
According to narrative structures.
Theodore Sarbin, Narrative Psychology, as quoted by Joanne Cooper in The Constructivist Leader
When I began to write fiction, I altered my web site from a singular focus on Leadership to “Literature and Leadership.” Since then, my posts have most often focused on one or the other—and, sometimes a blend of the two. Mary Gardner and I (with the assistance of our friend Maxine Greene) realized some time ago that “imagination” provokes and deepens compassion and empathy. Our imagination expresses itself in so many ways, especially through art and literature, creativity and innovation (see this lengthy discussion in our Women’s Ways of Leading). Clearly—without question—imagination is a nearly magical connection between leadership and literature. And, compassion and empathy ought to be our political litmus test.
A second critical bridge that links literature and leadership is the nature of narrative. By “narrative,” I mean here a written account of connected events—a story. Joanne Cooper has reminded us that stories express and remind us of who we are—they give meaning to our lives and contain the meanings of our histories. Yet stories are fluid, open to reinterpretation as we mature. Stories contain our metaphors of self. No group of peoples understand this better than Native Americans. Fortunately, Joanne and Mary will be contributing to the third edition of The Constructivist Leader.
Imagination and narrative—at this moment these two concepts stand out as essential links between literature and leadership. What do you think?
Linda
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