Their Eyes Were Watching God

A truly amazing book. It is not only the story itself that makes ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ so powerful and special. I have never before encountered such rich and vivid imagery, such elegant and evocative metaphors. One of the most beautifully written novels I have ever read.

The Klan Unmasked

“The Klan Unmasked” by Stetson Kennedy, first published in 1954, is a disturbing, revulsive book, and one that is very much worth your time. It is a story of a man who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan and other related terrorist organizations and hate groups for the purpose of exposing and destroying them. It turned out that all his efforts weren’t enough to put an end to their activities for good. Many of these organizations, including the KKK, are still operating, and their ideology up to this day finds many sympathizers. Kennedy did, however, manage to inflict substantial damage to their reputation, loosen their grip on the government and chip away at the legal foundation that sanctions the presence of such groups in our society.

I first learned about ‘The Klan Unmasked’ from ‘Freakonomics’. From there I also learned that Stetson’s narrative is a novelization of the events that actually took place. Most notably, he relates not only his own anti-Klan activities but also those of another man and renders them as his own. This departure from being a nonfiction account, however, doesn’t detract from the book’s overall power and educational value. It may well have served the purpose of providing for the most dramatic story possible thereby making the book a more potent weapon against the KKK.

Stetson Kennedy with the help of his informant was able to glean a lot of secret information and use it against the organizations he obtained it from. Most importantly, he outlined a ten-point program that can help combat hate groups. Interestingly enough, despite the claims that they serve a higher purpose of some sort, all of these terrorist organizations operate for financial gain and political clout. While most rank-and-file members don’t understand this, hate-mongering turns out to be a very lucrative business. This realization alone may suggest some constructive ways of containing and breaking up such groups.

Another thing that struck me while reading this book is how much of it is still relevant today. It’s not hard to draw parallels between the Klan’s past activities and present-day police brutality, inflammatory rhetoric of politicians and certain presidential candidates, oppression in all its forms and manifestations, modern display of the Confederate flag and so much more. The seeds that the KKK and other similar groups planted continue to give fruit up to this day. And it is our responsibility to recognize the roots of these disgusting things that find their way into our society and stand firm and united in our dedication to building a better world where everyone enjoys equal rights.

The Color Purple

The best story I've ever read so far!

Parting With Illusions

Vladimir Pozner is quite a unique man in many respects. His background and the story of his life are a mesmerizing maelstrom of unlikely events, a cauldron of conflicting ideas that molded him into the person that he is today.

‘Parting With Illusions’, published in 1990, documents his lifelong coming-of-age journey, covering the period that was of utmost significance not only to Pozner himself, but to the world at large. Through the prism of his extraordinary experience we get to relive some of the most important events in recent history. The decades-long standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union and the ideological divide that it created are among the central themes in his narrative.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Vladimir Pozner’s story has a special meaning to me. Being someone who, in a way, comes from two different and at times opposing worlds, I often question whether I belong to both of them or neither. He faced the same predicament, only he had much tougher choices to make.

Incidentally, I share a lot of Pozner’s views on various subjects, although I also disagree with him on some important issues. Regardless, Pozner’s unparalleled intelligence and insight are hard to deny. If you’re interested in reading about one man’s quest for truth, justice and home – that place where we feel we belong – then I highly recommend this book.

It's a Small World

As a follow-up to my previous post I wanted to share a story that pretty much made my day today.

So in case you don’t know, my friend Areg is a photographer. He mostly does candid photography, taking pictures of people, natural and urban scenery, and the like – in a word, anyone or anything that he finds interesting.

And he also makes his own post cards and sends them to his friends from all the different places he travels to. Let me use this opportunity to apologize for never returning the favor – I just don’t seem to have whatever it takes to use snail mail, unless of course it involves picking up the stuff I order on Amazon.

Areg went to UCLA as an exchange student during the fall quarter of 2014. And naturally he took quite a lot of pictures on campus. And he was kind enough to send several post cards from the U.S. to me. One of them featured a photo of a young woman. And this is the point where the story could have ended had it not been for the twist of fate that followed.

The following year I went to UCLA as part of the same program – one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life! Of course, I made a lot of friends and got to know a whole lot of people. Maybe you already see what I’m driving at, but hold on a second.

Fast forward half a year. Areg just completely redesigned his website and we want to make a concerted effort to promote it. I wrote down some of my thoughts on his work (my previous post) and I’m browsing for the best pictures that would go with the text. And I stumble upon that picture of the young woman I pretty much forgot about. And bam, I think I know her!

I attended a class called ‘Culture, Media, and Los Angeles’ at UCLA, a class I absolutely loved by the way. LJ attended it too. I had other classes before and after this one, so I never had an opportunity to linger in there to talk to anybody. But I happened to meet LJ on a few different occasions outside of class and get acquainted. The point is, it never occurred to me that she was the young woman in the picture.

So this morning I had an epiphany. Just think about it, my friend travels 6,000 miles away from Moscow, takes a picture of a stranger and sends it to me. A year later I go to the same place. UCLA is home to some 40,000 students, 30,000 of them are undergraduates. What are the chances that I end up in the same class with that person? And most importantly, it took me two quarters to figure out that I know the young woman in the picture! A small world!

Areg's Photography

I've known Areg for many years, I’m happy and privileged to call him my friend. What could have otherwise become a futile endeavor, an attempt on my part to provide an honest and impartial account of who he is professionally appears to be promising in this case, and I’m glad such an opportunity has so readily presented itself. It's the genuine love that Areg has for what he does, a flame in his heart that shines so brightly that I can step back and for a moment set aside so many other things I know and cherish about this man.

I'm sure many if not most of us who know him will agree that Areg sees the world differently. Be it the grey and mundane cityscape, replete with details no one cares to notice, the breath-taking scenery of those far corners of the world the rest of us never make it to, or, well, us – our faces and smiles, our eyes and the feelings they bespeak – all of these are entirely different things to him than they are to me and you. But this isn't even my point.

Areg knows exactly what to do to share his vision, to ensure the presence of the ordinarily unseen and unknown in his work. And this is where the magic happens – we get to see things the way he does, through his eyes. When I think about it, I invariably ask myself these questions. Isn’t this why we love Sherlock Holmes – for the opportunity to experience the world through the prism of his keen out-of-the-ordinary mind? Or Dali – for the chance to immerse in the impossible world sired by his idiosyncratic genius? Isn’t this why we read poetry, watch films and listen to music that transports us to the distant lands and times that dwell in our collective imagination?

I believe that this is why we love and appreciate art so much. It lends us a hand as we unmoor from the dock of past experience and set sail to wherever the winds of passion will take us. And Areg is a fearless seaman for that matter, one who, through the course of the journey, stays true to the original purpose of his craft. The nature of his medium and his loyalty to this cause result in art that is no longer an illusion but life itself. This is why I love 
Areg’s photography and have every reason to believe that you’ll fall in love with it too!

Website: www.areg.me
Facebook: areg.me photography
Instagram: www.instagram.com/areg.me

Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope

Some time ago I read ‘Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom’ by bell hooks, and it had quite a profound effect on me. ‘Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope’ expands and builds up on the ideas introduced in the first book. Being a conceptual extension of ‘Teaching to Transgress’, ‘Teaching Community’ may not be equally new and revelatory, but it serves to solidify one’s understanding of bell hook’s approach to teaching, learning and dismantling systems of oppression. I recommend it to anyone who is willing to be part of a big change that starts with education and has the potential of making the world a much better place.