Sense of place as the notion of collective identity is an important undertone in much Appalachian literature, and the story “Controlled Burn” by Charles Dodd White represents this in subtle yet powerful ways. Dodd White conveys this through inner dialogue and shared events. Dodd White has a distinct way of portraying group place with a tight sentence structure that conveys attitude (disgust, anger, concern) as well as emotion (fear, hatred, longing.)

The story centers on a situation where a collection of weapons and ammunition have been found in the mountains of western North Carolina near the former home now hunting cabin of Dayton and son, Tommy. Even though no one lives on the land anymore, Dodd White uses dialogue and particular diction to explain the importance of place:

• I need your help, is all. There’s a controlled burn being laid down up on Parson’s Den. If we don’t do something, your Grandaddy’s cabin won’t make it.

(Dodd White 24)

Dayton is saying that a piece of his family and heritage is in danger of not surviving into the future and that his son has an inherent obligation to go with him to protect it. The tone is that they are guarding not just a house on a mountain, but an innocent member of the family who can’t care for themselves any longer. Additionally, he speaks in the ‘native tongue’ when he says “being laid down” to explain what is going to occur but by employing the unique word choice, the special relationship of family and land are imparted.

Dodd White criticizes the lack of respect for the land by some men while communicating the character’s bond to place when the controlled burn is in full bloom on the mountain, and he has no recourse to stop it:

• I stared at the burn, wondering how a man could put a spark on all that, how we had let it happen. I don’t know exactly why I kept watching, why I didn’t let Tommy take me home. But I wanted to drive the pain of it through my eyes and into my brain. Bury it there like a hot needle. (Dodd White 31)

Dayton proceeds to lament events in his life (death of his wife, lack of grandchildren, estrangement from his son) mentioned earlier in the piece as the reason this was happening so close to home.

• Looking at Tommy I could see it, as plain as plyboard: a space between the two of us had grown up that no matter of talking or sitting would ever change.

(Dodd White 29)

Not caring about your own often leads to poor awareness of others as this passage indicates. The language is distinct and regional with words such as ‘plyboard’ and ‘no matter of talking’ capitalizing on the shared history of dialect to explain the breach between him and his son. If there had been more vigilance, would the danger have been averted and this threat non-existent?

Dayton gives the fire the capability of doing more than its usual destruction. He assigns it the role of creating a painful, permanent memory making it one he won’t forget soon. The reader is left to wonder if it serves as a call to action or is a symbolism of defeat for Dayton. The image of the hot needle in the brain is severe and lasting. With “Controlled Burn,” Dodd White is declaring that everyone has a responsibility to care for and preserve land for future generations. The burn so close to the place of family origin is also symbolic of letting go of something from one’s past that is non-essential.

In her book Between the Lines, Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing, Jessica Page Morrell mentions the potent impact of incorporating “man-made geography” into a story:

• Use the influences of humankind on geography to lend authenticity to stories set in a real or famous locale. (Morrell 153)

Dodd White employs this tool about a man-made event having an influence on an actual place in western North Carolina where the mountains can be safe yet wild at the same time.

JH

Works Cited

Dodd White, Charles. “Controlled Burn.” Sinners of Sanction County: Stories. Huron, OH: Bottom Dog, 2011. 7-18

Morrell, Jessica Page. Between the Lines, Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 2006.

I first read “Ship Fever” six years ago. The current pandemic caused the short story to bubble up to the surface of my brain as there are tragic similarities between the typhus outbreak onboard a ship and the global trauma we are enduring today.

Andrea Barrett is a masterful storyteller and a beautiful wordsmith, but be aware that her tales, while worth the read, have the power to stay in the brain and the heart whether you want them to or not. A trait I appreciate…most of the time.

Barrett, Andrea. “Ship Fever.” Ship Fever. New York: Norton, 1996. 159-254. Print.

The setting in “Ship Fever” by Andrea Barrett is just as much a character in the story as Dr. Lauchlin Grant who follows his wish to bring meaning and purpose to his career by volunteering as a physician on the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec in the spring of 1847. It is after the Irish famine that thousands of immigrants journey to America for a better life. Many end up contracting “ship fever” or typhus en route aboard ships without proper food, shelter, or hygiene resulting in the death of hundreds and a lifelong struggle by survivors who sacrificed their own health and lost loved ones to the deadly epidemic.

The place and period might be analyzed as characters unto themselves with the power they yield over communication and current medical knowledge. However, as I examine “Ship Fever’s” locale in relation to the trials and emotions of Lauchlin, I notice a mirroring effect as if what he experiences is a reflection of the setting he finds himself within at any given time. It is as if Barrett wrote him into particular places at particular times experiencing specific events to enhance the emotional impact of Lauchlin’s life choices.

We meet Lauchlin as he is living a dismal, lonely life and an unfulfilling professional path against the backdrop of a rundown house. Previous events beyond his control prohibit him from marrying the woman he deems his true love, but current circumstances permit him to visit her often. This makes the love-lost situation worse for him. His career as a doctor is bleak since returning from study in Paris, France with the latest procedures and thoughts at his fingertips, but the environment in 1847 Quebec is behind the times and doesn’t appreciate his skills.

He is frustrated in love and miserable as a research scientist and physician. His depression is reflected by the lack of energy in Quebec to seek new answers and take chances toward new discoveries. Disease prevention and public health are new fields as noted in the story (Barrett 171) but it is exactly where Lauchlin feels his training and expertise are most valuable. He leaves the smothering atmosphere of Quebec to land on an island, the quintessential metaphor for getting away from your troubles.

On the isolated quarantine station, Lauchlin is surrounded by a mammoth challenge to his desires to make a difference in the world of medicine. Thousands of people lay dying of typhoid fever everywhere he turns. It is as if he wished for an opportunity to show what he could do, and the setting provided him with more than any person might handle alone. In the safe, quiet upper class of Quebec, he believed that the surroundings kept him from realizing his true worth. His pouting and petulance landed him in a deeper dilemma. Lauchlin has two choices: stay or go home.

• It was too much, it was impossible. He would go home at one, on the next steamer out, and when Susannah chided him he would tell that this was not what he had bargained for: this was madness, he could be of no help. (Barrett 181)

Then Lauchlin saves the life of the young immigrant, Nora, and the madness throughout the island becomes somewhat tolerable, and he notices a sense of hope developing in himself. As Lauchlin’s mental state slowly improves, so does the state of the medical surroundings. Lauchlin accepts the circumstances and sees the research potential of the situation. Fewer and fewer ships arrive, and the epidemic becomes somewhat manageable.

As things improve slightly, a sense of empowerment results, and he attempts to participate in the politics overshadowing the circumstances by returning to Quebec to appeal for aid and supplies. Things are clean, organized, and the same in the town where the quarantine island is exactly the opposite.

He meets with failure on political and personal fronts then returns to the quarantine station with renewed vigor because he has finally developed empathy for the survivors and their dreams. This is due in part to his relationship with Nora who tells him about her people and their reasons for leaving Ireland.
The words of writer Jessica Page Morrell support the idea of engaging the elements of setting to do more than offer a site to a story:

• But setting is more than a mere backdrop for action; it is an interactive aspect of your fictional world that saturates the story with mood, meaning, and thematic connotations. (Morrell 151)

In “Ship Fever,” Andrea Barrett portrays the realities of human suffering as a journey made up of choices by placing the main character in a number of settings that reflect his emotions. Even with his interior self mirrored in front of him, he struggles to see his purpose and value.

~JEH

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Every yoga pose is a profound teacher. After years of practicing and teaching yoga and meditation, it’s a daunting chore to pick one favorite pose because I am keenly aware of the subtleties and micro-practices inherent in each asana. However, with its many challenges, effects on perspective, and demands on concentration, headstand is my favorite yoga pose.

The first reason headstand finds its way into my practice is the respect it demands from me. Core strength, breath awareness, spinal alignment, and laser mental focus combine for a successful headstand. Of all the balance poses, headstand requires wholistic stamina and physical control and rewards me with a new understanding of what equity means in my corporal and spiritual senses.

The lesson in humility is the second reason I like headstand. Because of how it changes my perspective, headstand insists that I appreciate a different view of myself, the world, and others. The pose teaches me perspective through attention to detail then laughs when my mind wanders. My body follows my wayward focus, and gravity pulls me into its palm. And I fold like an ocean wave finally reaching the sand.

Lastly, I like headstand because of the determination it encourages. Every headstand offers me the opportunity to approach the edge of my comfort zone then accepts my decision to either step over the boundary or back away from the question. I take this education from my mat into the world where I set healthy boundaries with self-love and courage.

Online Workshops in November

“Learning from the Masters” looks at the journals of published authors, explores how they used them to support their creative process, and how you might emulate their practices.

HOST: Contemporary Romance Writers of America

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“Mindset, Motivation, and Well-being A to Z” looks at a wide range of ideas for improving your overall inspiration and health.

HOST: Aged to Perfection Romance Writers of America

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All good things!

Joy

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