Finalized Table of Contents for Upstream 2 Which Hopefully Will Go to the Printers Tomorrow

Table of Contents

Note from the Editor. 5

“He Was an Artist, You Know.” Donna Reston writes about her discovery of a primitive artist in Schoharie County. 8

Clarissa Putman – Fact Rather than Fiction. Peter Betz, Fulton County Historian. 13

Not Either/Or. An essay by Mary Clemens. 22

The Broken Heart of Amsterdam. Bert Nepaulsingh, PhD. 25

Montgomery County‘s Okwari Park Fiasco. Daniel T. Weaver. 34

Observing the Passing of Summer 2011 in Upstate New York. L. D. Davidson.. 38

From Fundamentalism to Feminism A Journey. Part Two. Ruth Peterson. 42

The Pharmacist’s Daughter. An Interview with former Lt. Governor, Mary Anne Krupsak. Linda C. Wisniewski. 45

From Polish Immigrant to American Citizen: The Life and letters of John C. Mazur. Daniel T. Weaver. 54

A Man’s Courage? John Guzlowski, PhD. 62

Epitaph on a Literary Genre: Socialist Realism and Joseph Vogel’s Man’s Courage. L. D. Davidson. 69

An Excerpt from Literary Visions of Ethnic History in Upstate New York. John M. Reilly, PhD. 74

My Vow: I Will Never be an Immigrant. Danusha Goska, PhD. 79

To The Seventh Generation. Stephen Lewandowski. 87

 Poetry. Stephen Lewandowski. 90

Poetry. Charles “Chip” Schramm. 95

Poetry. Danusha Goska. 98

Book Review. Acorn’s Card by Stephen Poleskie. Linda C. Wisniewski. 101

Review Essay. Bieganski by Danusha Goska. Daniel T. Weaver. 103

Books of Note. O Lucky One by Stephen Lewandowski, Off Kilter by Linda Wisniewski and Diary of a Replacement Soldier by George Tralka. Daniel T. Weaver. 109

Update on Upstream 2

I have not posted any news here in a long time; however, I have been busy working on Upstream Two. More than two-thirds of it has been put together, and I am still on target for publishing it in late February.

Meanwhile, I have started a new project, an online newspaper, which you can view at www.mohawkvalleyindependent.com. If you would like to contribute to it, feel free. It is a non-traditional newspaper, in that I am willing to publish poetry, fiction and personal essays. Some of the people writing columns for the Mohawk Valley Independent are very good writers, and I hope you will explore their work.

Unlike Upstream, I am unable to pay writers who write for the Mohawk Valley Independent. Currently, the Mohawk Valley Independent is running in the red. The first issue of Upstream meanwhile has finally broken even, which means I can feel free to continue publishing it and paying people for their work.

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to Upstream this year and those who encouraged me to keep going with it.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Write On!

Tentative Table of Contents for Upstream 2

Deadline for submissions-December 15, 2011

Publication date-End of February, 2012

Table of Contents

Claude L. Mann: “He was an Artist, You Know!” Donna L. Reston.

Reston writes about her discovery of Schoharie County folk artist, Claude L. Mann.

Clarissa Putman – Life Versus Legend. Peter Betz, Fulton County Historian.

The definitive account to date of the life of Sir John Johnson’s common law wife.

Montgomery County’s Okwari Park Boondoggle. Daniel T. Weaver.

An account of the seven year itch (1966-1973) that Montgomery County had for a large all season recreational park and what erupted when they scratched it.

From Bigler’s Cafe to the Camelot: The History of a Building. Jay Towne.

The history of a building on the corner of Guy Park Avenue and Wall Street in Amsterdam and the story of some of its occupants, including a murderer and his victim.

Lost in Translation: The King James Bible turns 400. Charles H. Roberts, D. Min.

On its 400th birthday, Roberts writes about one of the most influential books and translations in Western culture.

From Fundamentalism to Feminism. Part Two. Ruth Peterson.

The second and final part of a personal essay by Niskayuna resident, Ruth Peterson.

Epitaph of a Twentieth Century Literary Genre: Socialist Realism in Joseph Vogel’s Man’s Courage. L. D. Davidson.

Davidson argues that historical events led to the sidelining of socialist realist works such as Utica native Joseph Vogel’s most important novel, Man’s Courage.

(Title?). Essay on Joseph Vogel’s Man’s Courage. John Guzlowski, Ph.D.

(Title?). Interview with former NYS Lt. Governor, Mary Anne Krupsak. Linda Wisniewski.

From Immigrant to American Citizen: The Life and Letters of John C. Mazur. Daniel T. Weaver.

Born in Manchuria when under Russian rule, Mazur emigrated to America from Lithuania when he was three years old. Twenty-five years later, after serving in the U.S. Army in Panama, working in Civilian Conservation Corps camps out west and in Margaretville, NY and fighting in World War 2, Mazur became a naturalized citizen. Mazur lived the rest of his life in Glenville.
Weaver writes a brief biographical essay of Mazur’s life, his status as an immigrant and an American and his identity as a Polish-American. Included are photographs and several full length letters from Mazur to his family while he was fighting forest fires for the CCC and fighting the Japanese in World War 2 in India, Burma and China.

My Vow: Never Be an Immigrant. Danusha Goska, Ph.D.

A poignant essay by author and teacher, Danusha Goska, on her last trip to Poland.

To the Seventh Generation. Stephen Lewandowski.

An essay on decision making based on a traditional Iroquois method.

Poetry

Danusha Goska

Stephen Lewandowski

Charles “Chip” Schramm

Book Reviews

Stories from the Mohawk Valley by Bob Cudmore.

Bieganski by Danusha Goska.

O Lucky One by Stephen Lewandowski.

A Thorough Avoidance by Jay Towne.

Off Kilter: A Woman’s Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, and Her Polish Heritage by Linda C. Wisniewski.

Possible other articles

The following writers have expressed interest in writing on these topics for Upstream 2, but their inclusion has not been finalized.

From Black Radical to Gospel Preacher. Clyde Clymer.

Amsterdam resident Clyde Clymer relates his experiences as a Black radical on the campus of SUNY Cobleskill, his arrest and defense by civil rights attorney, William Kunstler, and his conversion to Christianity.

(Title?)Essay on Joseph Vogel. Frank Bergmann, Ph.D.

An essay based on Utica college professor Frank Bergmann’s correspondence with Joseph Vogel.

Upstate New York and the War on Terror. Daniel T. Weaver.

More feedback on the first issue of Upstream

Here is some recent feedback I received via email and facebook.

“Just finished reading the journal yesterday. I think it is an excellent collection of entires. I especially like the article about the Indian Children. Looking forward to more additions.”

“The first issue is a more-than-creditable job. You have an eye for interesting writing, and have done a good job of scaring up writers.
There are only two pieces I would not have published, but my objection to them applies also a third. They are Kunstler’s, Davidson’s and Goings pieces. The first two are controversial, and I admit I don’t like them, but the reason I don’t think you should have published them is that they aren’t fresh.
Freshness is the single most important criterion for a magazine editor, and I think it is always a mistake to allow it to be trumped by other considerations, such as the belief that “people need to hear this.” Better to wait until you can find somebody to address the issue in a fresher way. Kunstler’s piece is stale in the chronological sense, but both of them are stale in that the same arguments have been made over and over by other people. Anyone interested has read it all before.
Goings’ piece, by contrast, is fresh enough in conception, but unless I am greatly mistaken, if based on an original diary at all it has been heavily re-written. The freshness of the original diary (if one exists) would have made it far more interesting than the literary production you published.

Linda Wisniewski’s piece is good, quirky, and too short, but I was struck that she never uses the “P” word. Can you get her to write more?
The cover is excellent, and typographically the journal is respectable enough, barely, but if you can involve somebody with professional expertise in the interior design, I think it would be worthwhile. Not necessarily to design each issue, but to establish a template. It’s not a frill; it subtly affects how the text is read.”

Reviews of Upstream on Amazon

There are now two reviews of the first issue of Upstream on Amazon. One of the reviews was written by me–a fact I disclose in the review. Check the reviews out here and please feel free to add your own and/or comment on the reviews that have already been written.

Thank you!!

Dan Weaver & Jay Towne to read at the Book Hound on September 22

The poetry reading on Thursday, September 22, at the Book Hound has been expanded to include readings by Dan Weaver from the first issue of Upstream. He will also read a few excerpts from submissions that have been accepted for Upstream 2. Dan will also discuss Upstream, its beginnings, its mission, what is being sought in the way of submissions and its future.

Furthermore, all* books in the store will be discounted by 10%.

Dan will talk and read from 7:00-7:15 or so. A short Q & A time will follow. Jay Towne will then read from his two newly published books, A Thorough Avoidance and One Man Typing for about 20 minutes after which he will be available to sign books.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments provided.

The Book Hound will be open from Noon-9:00pm on Thursday, September 22.

For more information call (518) 842-7504.

*A few books are excluded from the sale including Bob Cudmore’s new book and a few books on consignment.

Contributor Focus — Linda C. Wisniewski

Editor’s Note: This is the second installment in our Contributor Focus series, in which contributors to Upstream introduce themselves. Linda contributed a wonderful essay, “Hollywood Beds,” to the first issue of Upstream and will be contributing to the second issue as well.

I was born and raised in Amsterdam in the years after The War, and will always regret not taking my parents’ stories more seriously. When I was growing up on Crane and Catherine Streets, all I cared about was riding my bike at breakneck speed down the Lenox Avenue Hill, buying penny candy at “Sitting Bull’s” at the corner of Reid Street and giggling with my girlfriends over the song lyrics on pink newsprint we bought at Krupczak’s Pharmacy. Now that I’ve signed up for Medicare, I realize how recent The War and The Depression were for my parents, how young and earnest and hopeful they and their neighbors were. I’m drawn to record what I remember, and to teach others to write their own family stories.

My memoir, Off Kilter: A Woman’s Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother and Her Polish Heritage, was published in 2008 by Pearlsong Press.Using my spinal curvature as a metaphor for the twists and turns and constant adjustments of life, I wrote about growing up in Amsterdam during the Fifties and Sixties. I left Amsterdam after college and have lived in Bucks County, PA, just outside of Philadelphia, ever since. I write feature stories for the Bucks County Herald, a weekly newspaper with a focus on the many creative events and people here. My editor likes to assign me the “peace and justice” stories, and I’m proud of my recent articles on a visit from Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson and a forum on Muslim American relations post 9/11.

My byline is also on a column for the Bucks County Womens Journal called “Pages.” I interview local women authors and sometimes write about my own creative process, hoping to inspire others to pick up a pen and paper and express what is in their hearts. “Write what you know” is old advice; “write what you love” is my motto. I’m lucky to have the time and opportunity, in my later years, to do what I love: write and teach. Along with that goes meeting other writers. I’ve been an active member of two wonderful organizations: the International Womens Writing Guild and Story Circle Network. Both have national conferences where I met my mentors and found support for my work, and the IWWG has many members in the Capital District of New York, keeping me in touch with my old stomping grounds.

In my blog Off Kilter, at www.lindawisniewski.blogspot.com, I try to call attention to the quirky aspects of life. Working alone is a requirement for writers, but I need real face time, too, so my journal group for girls, and my memoir classes for older adults let me have the best of both worlds: writing and sharing with others.This saying by an unknown (to me) author sums it up: “I was put on this earth to accomplish certain things. At the rate I’m going, I may have to live forever.”

Bucks County has been home for forty-two years, but when you are born and raised in Amsterdam, your roots run long and deep and the sight of a river always makes me feel I’m back where I belong.