Thinking About Rhizomes, Beginnings and Endings

The Middle of Something (M.A. Reilly, October 2012)

I.

I made the image above early in the morning--the same morning I was thinking about rhizomes.



II.

It's early morning also when I come in from making images and notice a tweet Gloria Jacobs sent last night--well at least last night via my time zone.

Two things catch my attention: 

• this idea of coming into the middle and
• the rather provocative use of the term, curation. 

I am wondering about the way we situate ourselves and how that placement establishes beginnings and ends. I also wonder about the practice of curation.  Curation suggests the preservation/restoration of some type of artifact by act and location. Whether we are speaking of museum curation, digital curation, sheer curation, healing--something is preserved and perhaps restored.  

III.

Curation is the juxtaposition of things; a hybrid that rises out of things placed alongside things. Gloria has me stretching this definition to now include people alongside people. 

Curation is an act of bring another into an ongoing conversation--into a specified context.


IV.

Later in the morning I read this by Bruno Latour (2009) and again am thinking about rhizomes and Gloria's tweet:

Action is not done under the full control of consciousness; action should rather be felt as a node, a knot, and a conglomerate of many surprising sets of agencies that have to be slowly disentangled" (p. 44).

It is the idea of action as a node and how it is a "conglomerate of many surprising sets of agencies" that halts me, even as other ideas swirl around me.  


V.

I am standing in a stream, becoming aware of my position as the coldness of the water swirls around my ankles and calves even as I know that such awareness is fiction.


VI.

Are we not always in the middle? Is that not what makes death so pronounced and beginnings of life so contested? Do we mark beginnings and endings when we (re)frame action, separating a contextualized frame from the stream?  I wonder about this in light of teaching and learning and wonder how differently we might name these acts if we de-emphasized beginnings and endings, and focused more keenly on the middle of things.

VII.


Edward Said (1975) wrote that “a beginning is accepted as a beginning after we are long past beginning and after our apprenticeship is over” (p.76). Said explains “that we make and accept it [such beginnings] at the same time that we realize that we are ‘wrong’” ( p. 78).

Work Cited:
Latour, Bruno (2007-09-06). Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory (Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies) (p. 44). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition. 

Said, Edward. (1975). Beginnings: Intention and Method. New York: Columbia University Press.

K-2 Nonfiction Books

If I was building classroom libraries across the K-2 span and wanted to include recently published, high quality nonfiction read aloud texts, these books would be among the first I would order.

Aruego, Jose. (2002). Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom. Illustrated by Ariane Dewey. San Diego, CA: Harcourt.

Alarcon, Francisco X. (2008). Animal Poems of the Iguazú. Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.

Argueta, Jorge. (2010). Arroz con leche / Rice Pudding. Illustrated by Fernando Vilela. Toronto: Groundwood Books.

Bang, Molly & Penny Chislholm. (2009). Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life. New York: The Blue Sky Press.

Barasch, Lynne. (2007). Hiromi’s Hands. New York: Lee & Low.

Berne, Jennifer. (2008). Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau. Illustrated by Eric Puybaret. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Bial, Raymond. (2000). A Handful of Dirt. New York: Walker.

Brown, Monica. (2007). My Name Is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel García Márquez. Illustrated by Raul Colon.  Flagstaff, AZ: Rising Moon.

Brown, Monica. (2008). Pelé: King of Soccer / Pelé El rey del fútbol. New York: Rayo.

Cassio, Mark.  (2009). The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Christian, Peggy. (2008). If You Find a Rock. Photographs by Barbara Hirsch Lember. New York: Sandpiper.

Cobb, Vicki.  (2008). Your Body Battles a Skinned Knee. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner.
Cohn, Diana. (2005). ¡Si, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A. Illustrated by Francisco Delgado. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.
Crandell, Rachel. (2002). Hands of the Maya: Villagers at Work and Play. New York: Henry Holt.
Crandell, Rachel. (2009). Hands of the Rainforest: The Emberá People of Panama. New York: Henry Holt.
Dotlich Rebecca Kai. (2006). What Is Science? Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa.  New York: Henry Holt.

Fitzgerald, Dawn. (2009). Vinnie and Abraham. Illustrated by Catherine Stock.  Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishers.

Floca, Brian. (2007). Lightship. New York: Athenuem.

Fox, Karen C. (2010). Older Than the Stars. Illustrated by Nancy Davis. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

Franco, Betsey. (2009). Zero is the Leaves on the Tree. Illustrated by Shino Arihara. San Francisco, CA: Tricycle Press. 
Gerber, Carole. (2006). Leaf Jumpers. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.

Gerber, Carole. (2009). Winter Trees. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.

Goldberg, Dana (ed.). (2012). On My Block: Stories and Paintings by Fifteen Artists. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press. 

Grimes, Nikki. (2012). Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Little Brown. 

Hale, Christy. (2012). Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building. New York: Lee & Low.

from Dreaming Up:  Celebration of Building

Hill, Laban Carrick. (2010). Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Little Brown.

Hopkinson, Deborah. (2012). Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building. Illustrated by James E. Ransome. New York: Dragonfly.

Hopkinson, Deborah. (2008). Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale. Illustrated by John Hendrix. New York: Schwartz & Wade.
Hopkinson, Deborah. (2012). Annie and Helen. Illustrated by Raul Colon. New York: Schwartz & Wade.

Jenkins, Steve. (2009). Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Jenkins, Steve. (2011). Just a Second. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. (2012). I Have a Dream. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York: Schwartz and Wade.

from I Have a Dream. Paining by Kadir Nelson.

Kirby, Pamela. (2009). What Bluebirds Do. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.

Kirk, Connie Ann. (2004). Sky Dancers. Illustrated by Christy Hale. New York: Lee & Low.

Krull, Kathleen. (2008). Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Take Flight. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Landowne, Youme. (2010). Mali Under the Night Sky: A Lao Story of Home. El PAso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.

Llewellyn, Claire. (2002). Earthworms. Illustrated by Barrie Watts. New York: Franklin Watts. 

Lewin, Ted. (2008). How Much? Visiting Markets Around the World. New York: Harper Collins.

Lewin, Ted & Betsy Lewin. (2008). Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Low, William. (2012). Machines Go To Work in the City. New York: Henry Holt.
Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. (2010). The Chiru of High Tibet: A True Story. Illustrated by Linda Winegerter. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

McCarthy, Meghan. (2010). Pop! The Accidental Invention of Bubble Gum. New York: Simon & Schuster.

McCully, Emily Arnold. (2006). Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Messner, Kate. (2011). Over and Under the Snow. Illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Mora, Pat. (2009). Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day / Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros. Illustrated by Rafael Lopez. New York: Rayo.
Nivola, Claire. (2008). Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Nivola, Claire. (2012). Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

from Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle.

Page, Robin & Steve Jenkins. (2010). How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships. Illustrated by Steve Jenkins. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Parker, Robert Andrew. (2008). Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum. New York: Schwartz & Wade.

Pfeffer, Wendy. (2007). A Log's Life. Illustrations by Robin Brickman. New York: Aladdin.
Reynolds, Jan. (2007). Mongolia (Vanishing Cultures). New York: Lee & Low Books.

Roth, Susan & Cindy Trumbore. (2011). The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families. Illustrated by Susan L. Roth. New York: Lee & Low.

Rumford, James. (2012). From the Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed the World. New York: Flash Point.
Sayre, April Pulley. (2005). Stars Beneath Your Feet: The Surprising Story of Dust. Illustrated by Ann Jonas. New York Greenwillow.

Sayre, April Pulley. (2007). Vulture View. Illustrated by Steve Jenkins. New York: Henry Holt.

Sayre, April Pulley. (2010). Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! Illustrated by Annie Paterson. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.

Schaefer, Lola M. (2006). An Island Grows. Illustrated by Cathie Felstead. New York: Greenwillow.

Sheldon, David (2009). Into the Deep: The Life of Naturalist and Explorer William Beebe. Watertown, MA Charlesbridge.

Standbridge, Joanne. (2012). The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives: The True Story of a Famous Composer. Boston, MA: Houghton MIfflin 
Stewart, Melissa. (2009). Under the Snow. Illustrated By Constance R. Bergum. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.

from  Up, Up, and Away. 

Wadsworth, Ginger. (2009). Up, Up, and Away. Illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

Warren, Sarah. (2012). Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers. Illustrated by Robert Casilla.  Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.

Watson, Renee.  (2012). Harlem's Little Blackbird. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. New York: Random House. 
Wells, Robert E. (2010.) What’s So Special about Planet Earth? Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company,

Winter, Jeanette. (2007). Tale of Pale Male: A True Story. New York: Harcourt.

Winter, Jeanette. (2008). Wangari’s Trees of Peace. New York: Harcourt Children’s Books.
Winter, Jeanette. (2011).  The Watcher: Jane Goodal’s Life with Chimps. New York: Schwartz & Wade.

Winter, Jonah. (2009). Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx / La juez que creció en el Bronx.  New York: Atheneum.

Yezerski, Thomas F. (2011). Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Young, Ed. (2005). Beyond the Great Mountain: A Visual Poem about China. San Francisco, CA: Tricycle Press.