Bill Holm (1) (1943–2009)

"Un’isola non deve essere necessariamente molto lontana dalla riva o molto grande per realizzare la sua vera funzione: stringerci in un cerchio d’acqua e recidere per un po’ i legami che ci tengono avvinghiati alla nostra vita", con questa considerazione può riassumersi il significato di questo bellissimo testo, una riflessione antropologica e insieme geografica sull'insularità. Le isole sono da sempre luoghi dell'immaginario, mete sognate, ispiratrici di leggende e racconti mitologici, terre sospese tra realtà terrestre e fantasia.
Nel libro si racconta dell'isoletta dei Caraibi legata al culto della dea della fertilità, dell'Islanda culla di antiche saghe nordiche, della dimensione paradisiaca del Madagascar.
Una curiosità sul nome dell'autore di origine islandese scomparso nel 1999: nell'antico islandese Holm significa "isola".… (mehr)

Exuberant, persnickety, and literate, Bill Holm's essays are an exercise in loving contemplation of one's family, neighbors, and town. This is a book with a robust heart. I can see why no one reads it anymore: Holm is old-fashioned in his stubborn praise of the small. He finds wealth in his town's poverty and wisdom in its lack of education. He's a true curmudgeon, which I found refreshing. Sure, I've listened to Prairie Home Companion dozens of times, but unlike Garrison Keillor's stereotyped small-town, Bill Holm's Minneota makes me proud to be a Minnesotan.… (mehr)

This book is excellent for providing the reader with a peek into daily life for the average Chinese individual. The author keeps a journal of sorts of his travels as a "norseman" through rural and urban China. He tells of the lessons he learned from fellow teachers and his students, and the beauty that the locals still manage to find despite the difficulties they face on a daily basis. This book is amazing for learning about the Chinese culture and how we as Westerners traditionally view them. The chapters are easy to read in order or simply reading as they capture your fancy since they are not numbered in the traditional western sense. I read the book randomly and found it more liberating knowing I didn't have to follow the chapters in order. This might be another way of getting students interested in reading by giving them more freedom to choose what chapters they read and when.… (mehr)