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Hi, rebeccanyc noted that "total members" was not showing any members except for myself. I checked the settings and all seems to be in order, so I don't know why that is. I suspect there may be a delay in updating the member list - perhaps it only updates once a day or something.

Any help appreciated: I wanted to add a nice global map image for this new group. I've added a couple of pictures in the past to other groups, but cannot see how to add any to this group as yet? Could there be something missing?

>2 Polaris-: No, nothing is wrong, it is set so only admins can post images. If you have a suggestion of an image, I'm willing to consider it, providing the image is not under copyright (I usually like to post the source of the group's image. For example, I've used the Blue Marble images from NASA).

I figured we'd eventually make regional sub-threads for the US and Canada, but I thought I'd see what people thought about this first (breakdowns by state or province really should be something done in groups dedicated to just those countries).

US: New England, Mid-Atlantic, The South, Mid-West, The West (?)

Canada: Maritime Provinces, Quebec, the Plains, the West, Northern Territories (?)

Any other suggestions? comments?

Suggestion re Canada : Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, BC, the Territories. (I suppose you could combine the prairies and BC and call it "the Western Provinces")

It is now showing members other than you, Lois (13, in fact).

>5 sqdancer: That sounds pretty good.
>6 rebeccanyc: Oh, good.

Ok. Here is the address for a nice global map that might be good:

http://ech.net/kayak/globe/map1.jpg

Okay, so I'm a little late to the party, but I'm super happy about this group!

I'm afraid I don't have much to add to the suggestions for devisions for Canada and the US, except to say that for the US there definitely needs to be a devision between the southern states and the northern ones. Other than that, my knowledge of the USA is sadly lacking when it comes to helping devide the states. (Where would you put Hawaii?)

But, on another note, I had the thought of maybe doing a group read? Either by picking a book we all read and discuss, or by mirroring the theme read of the primary Reading Globally but paying extra attention to where the writer is from (noting states for US writers, noting England/Wales/etc for UK, etc).

I would personally prefer the first option. To keep everyone happy we could go for books that have both setting and author nationality in common. For instance, the first book from Australian author Margaret Way's Koomera Crossing Sarah's Baby is set in Australia's outback. Or Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, which is set in Iowa and was written while Jane lived in Iowa (she lived there for 15 years, so I count that as 'native' enough).

If people are interested, we could discuss details like how long we'd go for each book (I'm thinking 2-3 months, giving everyone plenty of time). What do you all think of that idea?

From the US Census bureau, which would probably work pretty well for literature. I would just eliminate the divisions and separate out Hawaii, Alaska, and quite possibly New York City.

Region 1 (Northeast)
Division 1 (New England) Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
Division 2 (Mid-Atlantic) New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey
Region 2 (Midwest) (Prior to June 1984, the Midwest Region was designated as the North Central Region.)1
Division 3 (East North Central) Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio
Division 4 (West North Central) Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa
Region 3 (South)
Division 5 (South Atlantic) Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida
Division 6 (East South Central) Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama
Division 7 (West South Central) Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana
Region 4 (West)
Division 8 (Mountain) Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
Division 9 (Pacific) Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii



I'm from the US so I won't be joining the discussion, however it will be fun to read. I'm always interested in our viewpoints of the US and US-centered literature.

That's a great division, thanks!

Also, just out of curiosity, isn't the US big enough that you could join in discussion of regions other than your own? The regions seem to be pretty big and I imagine they would differ pretty substantially.

>11 Samantha_kathy: While the various states within regions might share a geography, certain aspects of culture, a similar history, and certain literary traditions, we are united more than we are separate. And certainly, the country is so vast and varied that we could read for the rest of our lives and never have leave its literary borders!

I think the general feeling is that we are here in Reading Globally to explore other countries outside our own. Besides, if all the Americans on RG joined in, the voices of people who are reading from another cultural perspective are apt to be drowned out.

I think a very few books are extremely regional (for example, Shadow Country and the early parts of the 20th century in the Florida Everglades), but even in that case the book addresses national issues of race and violence. So all in all I tend to agree with you, Lois, that it is much more interesting to learn how people not from the US react to our literature.

Avaland- regarding the US _ i believe there is a legitimate South Western Region which has particular characteristics that distinguishes it from the rest of the country and specifically the Mountain States.

This would include Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and parts of Southern California. Part of this is the region's special history with Mexico. These "border states" have created unique tales.

I might also include Oklahoma that shares borders with Texas and New Mexico.

There are several writers who represent this terriotory: Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy come immediately to mind.

>14 berthirsch: I would agree with that, but until the activity level in the group is much higher, I wouldn't suggest subdividing regions into even smaller regions/threads. The census divisions are not perfect by any means, but should work as a starting point, especially for readers from outside the US. We can adjust as the group develops.

Well - I think I am safe in this group - after growing up outside of the English world. :)

If anyone would like to take the organization of this group over, please let me know. I just don't have the extra time I used to these days. If you've been around the RG groups and LT for awhile, and would like to take a bit more active role in this group, leave me a note on my profile page.

For those who are interested, The University of Western Australia is offering a free course through Coursera.org in March 2015 on Australian Literature.

This course is a short introduction to the rich and distinctive world of Australian literature, a world of ancient and modern forms of writing about a vast and varied continent. Explore the work of writers who have responded imaginatively to the unique landscapes of Australia and to its remarkable human history.

Read more about it here.

>18 Samantha_kathy: Sounds very interesting! I'm not sure I'll have time to tune in to all of the lectures in the course - but the reading list looks excellent. Thanks for letting us know Samantha.

Pocket bio: Retired humanities teacher, residing in Tlaxcala, Mexico, with two dogs and six indoor cats. Passionate about literature, history, philosophy, classical music and opera, jazz, cinema, and similar subjects. Nostalgic guy. Politically centrist. BA in American Studies from Yale; MAs in English and Education from Boston University. Born in northern New Jersey. Have lived and worked in San Francisco, Chicago, northern Nevada, northeast Wisconsin, South Korea.