The history channeler
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sarah Vowell takes a long pause when asked what fascinates her about history. About 10 seconds or so. The question seems to baffle her, as evidenced by the "I'm just thinking" she mutters.
"I don't really question my interests too deeply," she finally says. "I don't understand how it wouldn't be interesting, really. I mean, the question is so kind of foreign to me."
Much as the brainy, sharp-witted, animated gal Daria Morgendorffer of MTV was once referred to as "The Misery Chick," Vowell could be called "The History Chick." The Oklahoma-born, Montana-bred, New York-based Vowell is known for the chirpy-voiced contributions she made to the public-radio program "This American Life" (which led to her voicing shy-teen-turned-invisible-superhero Violet Parr in Disney/Pixar's 2004 hit "The Incredibles"). She has always been, shall we say, gaga for U.S. history.
"I don't really question my interests too deeply," she finally says. "I don't understand how it wouldn't be interesting, really. I mean, the question is so kind of foreign to me."
Much as the brainy, sharp-witted, animated gal Daria Morgendorffer of MTV was once referred to as "The Misery Chick," Vowell could be called "The History Chick." The Oklahoma-born, Montana-bred, New York-based Vowell is known for the chirpy-voiced contributions she made to the public-radio program "This American Life" (which led to her voicing shy-teen-turned-invisible-superhero Violet Parr in Disney/Pixar's 2004 hit "The Incredibles"). She has always been, shall we say, gaga for U.S. history.
Abraham Lincoln is practically her idol. Her idea of a vacation getaway is taking historical tours and visiting landmarks. Vowell has written quite extensively on the subject, turning out "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" in 2002, "Assassination Vacation" in 2005 and last year's "The Wordy Shipmates."
The former music critic chronicles historical moments ("I basically write about history as a journalist, maybe a slightly smart-alecky journalist," she admits), and riffs on how history has affected her as a patriotic American.
"The thing about, especially American history, I mean, there are just so many good stories," she says. "And it's so dramatic, and there are all these people who just stick out. Everything we love about popular entertainment - greed and sex and death and violence and war and humor and irony - like, that's all there too. So [she takes another pause], I've never not been interested in it. So I honestly can't really identify with someone who isn't."
Vowell, 39, found all those exciting things when she spent three years writing "Shipmates," which comes out in paperback today. She'll be signing copies of it at Quail Ridge Books & Music on Thursday night.
It's the story of the Puritans who hopped on a boat and started the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Although the story is not as regularly told as the story of the Plymouth Pilgrims, Vowell found this saga to be more exciting than your average daytime soap opera.
Vowell says she loved writing about people like John Winthrop, the gentleman farmer who delivered the "A Model of Christian Charity" sermon (which included the "city on a hill" sound bite that Ronald Reagan used throughout his presidency) to the future colonists as they sailed to a new world. Once he became governor of the colony, Winthrop ruled with an iron fist and kicked to the curb anyone who disagreed or made waves. That included good friend and Calvinist minister Roger Williams, who he told privately to flee to another land (he would later create Rhode Island) or else he would be shipped back to England.
For Vowell, it's all about debunking the myth of the good ol' days, when times were simpler and people were virtuous. To her, that's just balderdash. "The people of the past always seem so immediate and knowable to me," she says. "Because they were just as lusty and greedy and messed up and idealistic or hopeful as anyone now."
She's out to show that history is usually determined by man, not by fate. She says, "Part of what I'm doing, I think, by focusing on individuals and their actions, is making the case that -- you know, it's a simple case, but really -- these decisions were made by people, and nothing was inevitable."
Vowell gets a kick out of delving into the past to prove that history repeats itself. "There are certain ways that, you know, historical moments speak to present ones, and I definitely dwell on those in my writings." She is reminded of how, while she was writing about the Spanish-American War in her dead-presidents travelogue "Vacation," the Iraq war was just starting. "The Iraq war did seem to be almost a repeat of that... . It was all about pre-emption, and there were all these instances of torture. Those wars spoke to each other."
As she continues to write books about who and what shaped this nation, Vowell hopes, as always, that people will be inclined to learn more about history (perhaps by reading the primary sources she lists at the end of "Shipmates," for example) after reading one of her tomes.
"I meet a lot of people who say 'I'm not interested in history and politics, but I like reading what you [write] about history and politics,'" she says. "I would like it to be a starting point if it makes them search out other things. I would love it if someone read my book and thought, 'Oh well, I should read one of those things, too.'"
The former music critic chronicles historical moments ("I basically write about history as a journalist, maybe a slightly smart-alecky journalist," she admits), and riffs on how history has affected her as a patriotic American.
"The thing about, especially American history, I mean, there are just so many good stories," she says. "And it's so dramatic, and there are all these people who just stick out. Everything we love about popular entertainment - greed and sex and death and violence and war and humor and irony - like, that's all there too. So [she takes another pause], I've never not been interested in it. So I honestly can't really identify with someone who isn't."
Vowell, 39, found all those exciting things when she spent three years writing "Shipmates," which comes out in paperback today. She'll be signing copies of it at Quail Ridge Books & Music on Thursday night.
It's the story of the Puritans who hopped on a boat and started the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Although the story is not as regularly told as the story of the Plymouth Pilgrims, Vowell found this saga to be more exciting than your average daytime soap opera.
Vowell says she loved writing about people like John Winthrop, the gentleman farmer who delivered the "A Model of Christian Charity" sermon (which included the "city on a hill" sound bite that Ronald Reagan used throughout his presidency) to the future colonists as they sailed to a new world. Once he became governor of the colony, Winthrop ruled with an iron fist and kicked to the curb anyone who disagreed or made waves. That included good friend and Calvinist minister Roger Williams, who he told privately to flee to another land (he would later create Rhode Island) or else he would be shipped back to England.
For Vowell, it's all about debunking the myth of the good ol' days, when times were simpler and people were virtuous. To her, that's just balderdash. "The people of the past always seem so immediate and knowable to me," she says. "Because they were just as lusty and greedy and messed up and idealistic or hopeful as anyone now."
She's out to show that history is usually determined by man, not by fate. She says, "Part of what I'm doing, I think, by focusing on individuals and their actions, is making the case that -- you know, it's a simple case, but really -- these decisions were made by people, and nothing was inevitable."
Vowell gets a kick out of delving into the past to prove that history repeats itself. "There are certain ways that, you know, historical moments speak to present ones, and I definitely dwell on those in my writings." She is reminded of how, while she was writing about the Spanish-American War in her dead-presidents travelogue "Vacation," the Iraq war was just starting. "The Iraq war did seem to be almost a repeat of that... . It was all about pre-emption, and there were all these instances of torture. Those wars spoke to each other."
As she continues to write books about who and what shaped this nation, Vowell hopes, as always, that people will be inclined to learn more about history (perhaps by reading the primary sources she lists at the end of "Shipmates," for example) after reading one of her tomes.
"I meet a lot of people who say 'I'm not interested in history and politics, but I like reading what you [write] about history and politics,'" she says. "I would like it to be a starting point if it makes them search out other things. I would love it if someone read my book and thought, 'Oh well, I should read one of those things, too.'"
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