From: BackOffice at aol.com <BackOffice>
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 13:23:33 -0400 (EDT)

Hi, My name is Clint Stowe (in case it doesn't show up in the heading) and I'm a student of JoAnne Portalupi's at the University of Birmingham. Next Wednesday night, however, I will become Colonel Oliver Brattle.

I am a "born and bred" Southerner and I did not get the sense that the title Bull Run was a Northern title. More importantly, I don't think young readers will make that connection either. I think the best thing about Bull Run and Seedfolks is the format. When I read them they gave me a real sense of the individuals involved. Bull Run, in particular, gave me the feeling of the way war affects individual people. Reading about the Civil War in a textbook does not make it seem real, reading about how the people involved fe lt does.

JoAnne mentioned that she had some shadowy feelings of cynicism about the possibility of people getting together to create the garden. I didn't get that feeling. The gradual development of the garden from the seed planted by Kim helped to make it believable to me. I think the old Polish lady's remark to Amir shows how it could be very possible. It's on page 64 and, to me,
 it's the most significant line in the book. "Back then, I didn't know it was you...."

Thanks for letting me join the group. Clint
Received on Sun 25 May 1997 12:23:33 PM CDT