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Here are two books by area authors: One describes
growing up on a farm near Carthage, 1930-1950; the other is the memoirs of
a World War II fighter pilot, compiled by his wife, who co-manages a
business in Peoria. Both are published by Vantage, an established subsidy
press.
About such presses: Everyone has a story worth
telling; many people have writings they wish to share. Yet to attempt
publication by a commercial press is daunting — one sends out the
work repeatedly, gathers rejections, and usually needs an agent. A
reputable subsidy press, however, prints your book for a fee. It gives
editorial help and choices of how to have your work presented, sends
notices and review copies to recipients on a list you help compile, and
handles marketing. It doesn’t demand that you be a polished author.
The result is a book that should satisfy the author, a work to share with
family, friends, and possibly a wider audience. It’s also easy and
relatively inexpensive to self-publish, even one copy at a time. There is
much information about this on the Internet. Marketing, and much else,
though, is left to you.
Ruth Ufkes’ book begins, “You don’t
own a cat; the cat owns you.” There follows story after story, filled
with animals and farm life. “Not all animals have names, just the
smart and special ones. We had a black and white cow who was called Three,
because she had only three working ‘milk faucets’ instead of
the usual four. She was the first cow I ever milked. . . . We had a runt
pig named Sniffles. . . . ” You’ll enjoy these low-key stories,
getting to know the young Ruth and growing up with her, in a setting of
family, friends, and pets. You’ll long to have experienced such a
life yourself.
Edwin Slagle, a World War II pilot and bomber, wrote
things down. The prose falters some. The chronology is uneven. Certain stories are told several
times, but each time there’s a new bit come at from a different
angle. We are perplexed by a pilot named Adamson; are there two, one Slagle
nearly died for and one not much of a friend? Despite the book’s
faults, Slagle employs vivid detail; on every page there is something
interesting, even startling. One gets a strong sense of what it was like to
be in the Pacific, to be on Guam, to do a job not trained for, to take
reckless chances, to lose one’s buddies, to pick the pockets of a
dead Japanese man and stare at the photo of his wife and child.
I recommend both books, not only because
they’re basically worth reading but also because they are examples of
what any of us can do, be we in war zones or on milking stools, behind
desks or wiping runny noses. And we can produce these memories in a form to
be shared. National Public Radio is collecting an archive of stories of
ordinary people. We don’t need to wait for the StoryCorps microphone
to come to town; we can do it ourselves — the sooner, the better.
Jacqueline Jackson, books and poetry editor of Illinois Times, is a professor emerita of English at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Jacqueline Jackson, books and poetry editor of Illinois Times, is a professor emerita of English at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
