-Judy Vandergrift, Santa Cruz

I have read and loved Linda Lambert’s CAIRO DIARY and find it uniquely enjoyable that Lambert carried many of the interesting characters from her earlier novel into this second one. I had been sorry to let them go when she moved her central character, Justine, to Italy for another adventure in discovering ancient times and artifacts. Lambert’s novels are more interesting to me than Dan Brown’s because they are more sensual and her characters are so fully realized that we keep them with us long after the plot has played itself out. While her novels are real page-turners, they also satisfy me on an intellectual level with what I learn and explore via her characters and locations. Because Lambert’s characters often refer to wonderful other books, I have followed the bread-crumb trail and been introduced to other worthy books. I’m looking forward to the third novel in her trilogy. It’s fun for me to find an author whose writing reliably fulfills.

-Beverly Mays Raymond, San Diego

A good novel should be entertaining as well as instructive and Etruscan Evenings meets both tests. The characters are vivid and, if you have already read Cairo Diary, feel like family. If you have not read Cairo Diary, it is a good stand-alone piece in its own right.  It is obvious that the author has done a substantial amount of research, which she has cleverly woven into the story. Part of the reason I began reading Cairo Diary was because I knew a little bit about that great city and liked it. I found myself liking the book characters more. Part of the reason I began reading Etruscan Evenings was because I knew a little bit about Tuscany and liked it. I found myself liking the book characters more. Next stop, Taos.

-Seymour Collins, Medford, Oregon

Yet, on December 20, friend, artist and writer, Giovanna Paponetti, inspired me to action with the announcement that the Pope has approved the cannonization of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indian saint. Taos resident Giovanna is the author of  “Kateri Tekakwitha, Native American Saint: The Life and Miracles of Kateri Tekakwitha,” the book that provoked the Vatican to act 30 years after Kateri was beautified (the last step before Sainthood). And, more than 400 years since Kateri had died.  They awaited the confirmation of a third miracle, which came in the form of a young Indian boy.

Both Giovanna and Kateri are characters in my Taos novel, so of course, I find their adventures are fascinating. I would urge you to order Giovanna’s book and discover for yourself the mysteries of Kateri and talents of Giovanna.

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

In 2002, The Constructivist Leader, 2^nd edition, was published smack in the early years of “No Child Left Behind.”  As predicted, NCLB ushered in a sad decade predicated on testing in which our children became less educated, less inspired, less thoughtful.

Now, we have been asked to write a third edition.  This edition promises to set straight the challenges to schooling, bringing constructivist learning and leading back into the limelight and into the schools.  Once again we can resume our mission to create achieving and sustainable schools inhabited by children and adults who are critical and creative thinkers, problem-solvers, and responsible citizens.

Co-authors Deborah Walker, Diane Zimmerman, Joanne Cooper, Mary e Gardner and Morgan Lambert will be joined by remarkable educators Elizabeth Reilly, Linda Henke, Julie Biddle and Jan Huls-Nuno.  If any of you have been pursuing this work in constructivist leadership, we would like to hear from you. E-mail me at Linlambert@aol.com.  We’ll keep you informed as we move forward.

Next: Home again—what I’ve learned about literature and leadership.  Linda

1. What will anthropologist Justine Jenner, now entering the third novel in the Cairo Trilogy, find out about DH Lawrence that will inform her own sense of identity?
2. How will conversations among key Taos characters, including Lawrence, Mabel Dodge Luhan, Frieda Lawrence, Carl Jung and Lady Dorothy Brett, set in the ‘20’s and ‘40’s, tell us about today’s realities?
3. Can the case of the long-lost Lawrence will be revived in New Mexico—only if he had signed the deed for the Ranch that Mabel gave to his wife, Frieda? Did he?
4. When Justine assumes her new job with the NM Office of Archaeological Studies, can she and her new boss find out: “How do we see Community?” And what does this have to say about the diverse Taos community and the thousand-year-old Pueblo?
5. Did the peoples of the Four Corners, including Mesa Verde, migrate to the massive and long-abandoned Hupobi Pueblo?
6. How will the Taos Pueblo Indians—the Red Willow peoples—influence Justine’s emerging spirituality?
7. What struggles with the environment will challenge Justine’s strength and confidence in the shadow of personal tragedy?
8. When a troubled Indian girl whom Justine has mentored nearly dies, can she be saved by the first Indian saint, Kateri Tekakwitha (who is yet to be canonized)?
9. Will Amir El Shabry, Justine’s lover from Etruscan Evenings, survive the Egyptian revolution?  And what does Egypt have to do with Taos anyway?
10. How will the contextual issues of the history of Taos, drought, competition for water, suffering economy and the suffering art community inform this novel?

And much more….

Next: The Constructivist Leader redux, Linda

Once there, archaeologist Paulo, Carmen, Hannah and I met four teachers and 50 seventh graders from Santa Fe who were nearly gleeful to forge a river on foot. I was less than enthusiastic, but soon became preoccupied with the mountain of loose rocks that lay between us and the giant plateau pueblo—larger than Chaco Canyon! My concerns about crossing the river gave way to my trepidation about that perilous mountain.  I find it personally amazing what one can do when l) there is no choice, and 2) I had a walking stick. The kids scrambled through the icy water, yelping as they went.  They were inspiring!  This was an adventure to be had,  mysteries to be encountered—yet perhaps never to be solved.

As we topped the mesa, the most glorious site lay before us: the layout of a massive pueblo protruding through the soil like muscles rising through a wet tee shirt. A yawning indentation of a massive kiva. Just beyond, over the ledge of the once-village, the Rio Ojo Caliente snaked through the luxurious valley below. The kids swarmed over the land picking up chards of pottery, black on white (making sure to replace them carefully). On a higher hill still, the stone frames for dry farming punctuated the land (why didn’t they plant near the river? Security concerns?) .

On the south ledge of the plateau, multiple petroglyphs covered huge stones. Unlike anything I’d seen before: stars in all sizes and shapes. A few years ago, a woman archaeologist camped out here and discovered that the site aims directly at Venus, perhaps the inspiration for the designs. Most things make sense if we look hard enough…right?

Of course the most compelling questions for any abandoned pueblo, city, or land are: where did the inhabitants come from and why did they leave? Apparently, these industrious peoples came in the late 1100’s and left around 1500, probably when disease ravished the tribe (multiple burials during a certain period are excessive). Paulo believes that they came from the four corners: Mesa Verde and Chaco.  If so—and if this could be more nearly proven—it could resolve one of the most mystifying issues of archaeology. The timing, pottery, location and dry farming could suggest as much.  How to find out?

A glorious day!

Next: emerging themes in the Taos research….Linda

Formal authority is derived from position or role, usually delegated by a ruling group, tradition, inheritance, policy or law.  Formal authority is not necessarily wielded by one with competence or expertise.  Pueblos and other Indian communities assign formal authority to men or women, usually one or the other. The Taos Pueblo is strongly patrilineal, although there are a remarkable number of powerful women there.

Informal authority, on the other hand, is derived from expertise/competence, credentials, force of persona through individual power, extraordinary performance (or act of bravery or unique leadership), and inventiveness.  Informal authority is related to effective leadership, often obtained by women, especially when they are not part of the formal authority structure. Men and women who possess both forms of authority are usually thought to be leaders.

The dynamic between formal and informal authority creates the strength and effectiveness of community leadership.  This dynamic may involve mutual or reciprocal support, problem solving, pressure, conflict resolution, shared expertise and mutual respect.  When individuals possess both forms of authority, they might be thought of as “charismatic leaders.”  If such a leader has the foresight to build leadership capacity (broad based, skillful participation in the work of leadership) among its members, this community can become powerful, innovative, effective and sustainable.  If an individual uses directive, authoritarian tactics, communities often shrivel and die when that leader dies or falls from grace.

How might we “see” such communities? What “proxies” for communities exist?

• continuity, longevity, sustainability (still in existence);

• structures with particular durability indicating unique inventive construction;

• products (e.g. pottery) and tools that involve multiple steps (three or more);

• products from multiple traditions indicating assimilation (e.g. similar pottery or farming practices);

• burial practices that involve a return to the community over multiple generations.

Other ideas…?

Next: A journey to the abandoned Hupobi Pueblo near Ojo Caliente—larger than Chaco!

Lawrence Ranch

After the glories of the Hawk Ranch I had a chance to spend time alone at the official D.H. Lawrence Ranch, now closed to visitors. Sitting on Lawrence’s front porch, I watched the giant ponderosa pine come alive in concert with the wind singing through the trees.  As though being conducted by an orchestra leader, the wind whistled with soft violins, dramatic swells, blasting trumpets. Sun-cast branches danced fiercely, casting slender shadows across the sparse, pine needle-covered yard.  Georgia O’Keeffe laid on her back and painted “Lawrence’s Tree.” An eerie display of nature, howling like a dog for its master—one long dead.  To my left, an old storm cellar hovered under blackberry bushes, reminding me of the one behind our home in Kansas where I hid from tornadoes as a child. What function did it serve now?

How did Lawrence sit under this gigantic pine and write so fluently, so quickly? He must have nestled his slender body into the narrow spaces between the swollen roots, leaning his back against the tree he loved so well.  Did he face east toward the rising sun, or south into the Taos Valley and rising ranges beyond?  Did his notepaper ruffle in the relentless breeze?  Here he wrote “The Woman Who Road Away,” “St. Mawr,” “The Princess,” poems such as “Mountain Lion” and finished the “Plumed Serpent,” cast in the Mexico where he sought warmth.

I was startled when the caretaker came around the corner of the cabin and asked if he could unlock the door.  “Thank you,” I said, “I would love to sit inside for awhile. Resting on Lawrence’s bed, I faced the eastern window trimmed in turquoise, and studied the whitewashed walls and gray plank floor.  The rough rafters were but two by fours rather than the elegant vigas of many near-by homes.  The primitive fireplace is now covered with an old card table. On the hearth I spied a perfect cutout one x two-foot cement triangle, with four grooves evenly distributed.  Is this where he left the manuscripts that he besieged Lady Dorothy Brett to find?

Next:  An archeologist views ancient leadership…Linda

On Wednesday, Bill, the Friends of D.H. Lawrence president, arranged for a walk to the abandoned Hawk Ranch where the Lawrences spent the winters of ’22 and ’23.  Hiking up the mountain, across a vast open meadow of ruby-colored ice plant and cactus and a dry man-made reservoir, we came to the forest that led to the blood red cliffs and Lobo canyon beyond. Golden aspens flowed down the mountain sides like honey; caps of snow sat on the Picuris peaks in the distance.  Warned of mountain lions and bears, the only lion we encountered was in Lawrence’s poem which Bill brought along to read at the base of the cliffs.

Lawrence sorrowfully encountered a golden mountain lion in a trap—already dead—and turned his attention outward:

“Instead, I look out.
 And out to the dim of the desert,

like a dream, never real;

To the snow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains,

the ice of the mountains of Picoris,

And near across at the opposite steep of snow,

green trees motionless standing in snow, like a Christmas toy.” (excerpt from “Mountain Lion” by Lawrence)

There was room for both of them in this world, he sadly noted.

Next: the official Lawrence Ranch further up the mountain

This fall, BBC are here again, this time to create a radio show on “Lawrence in Taos” to be aired November 4.  On Saturday, October 1, five Laurentians (including myself) met at the home of scholar and Moby Dickens bookstore owner, Art Bachrach, for a conversation that lasted more than two hours.  The most intriguing aspects of the conversation grew out of three prime questions:  1) “What did Lawrence find in Taos that he found nowhere else?” 2) “Why is his spirit still alive here?” and 3) “Why does it matter?”  On the following Wednesday, Morgan and I joined the BBC producer, author Geoff Dyer, and Bill Haller, president of the Friends of DH Lawrence at the Lawrence ranch for a few more hours of recording.  The broadcast will only be 50 minutes long—quite an editing feat!

Next: Exploring the Lawrence Ranch, Hawk Ranch, and Lobo Canyon