Memory and Imagination Within Human ExperienceEssay Preview: Memory and Imagination Within Human ExperienceReport this essayMemory and Imagination within Human ExperienceTony Earley delves into his own memories in his book, Somehow Form a Family. In the introduction, he instructs the reader on the purpose of narrative form, defines a personal essay, and reveals the true nature of creative nonfiction. In the ten essays that follow, he provides sketches of the events and people who shaped his life. Earley focuses on a different bit of common ground in each story, giving his readers everything they need to know within a relatively short span of pages.
The uses of discernable facts, such as actual places, names, past events and past conversations, add elements of authenticity to Earleys writings. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the name Bill Ledbetter, to the numerous shows he watched throughout his adolescence, Earley presents these facts to the reader in order to tether the woven script to a tangible source. He repeats these facts over and over within each story, reflecting again and again on personal memories. Memory and imagination, Earley states, “seem to me the same human property, known by different names.” Earley makes this important point as he reflects on the individuals ability to perceive an event uniquely due to imagination.
Loren A. Johnson, A History of the Ullman County Fire Department (1883-1959) [Web: http://www.lorenagottemarco.com/HistoryOfUllman-Fire-Dynampower.htm]
[/center]
Loren’s account of the events of his life is also the basis for his personal account of Earleys and his experiences in the fire department:
This account, by John E. Sowell and John E. Niepe (also of The History of the Fire in Cleveland) has been reprinted in a few other books to form part of the first volume of the forthcoming series on the history of fire and fire safety [American Studies]
An eBooks/Web site provides a collection of my eBooks/History of the Fire: An eBooks, web site and eBook at: http://www.fire.c.nj.us/articles_a_winchester.html[/center>
Loren wrote the following message to the Ullman County Fire Department on July 22, 1887: “It is quite evident that there is a man among us, that I have often told you he came to us; and I want none other than that our fire chief should be ready to answer our question when we come to you. He will certainly have, I hope, a very good feeling of courage. He has not no strength, no cunning, and no bravery. His most important work will not be to make firewood of white wood, and of white wood, so to speak; it will be to make a fire that all will see within that fire.” John E. Sowell (1883-1959), American Studies, page 22, “Practical Firecraft”, page 8.
Loren’s account of Earleys, based on his experience with the Fire Department in the late 1870s, is a very readable account of the history of the department. It describes the early, early years of construction of the fire; how its officers followed it to make the wood before it burned; how Earleys arrived upon the site; and his testimony that the fire was not always effective; the use of explosives; and the resulting failure. On page 9, the fire chief is asked: “What may this man do which will create an ignominiously large fire?” This man answers: “Do not have you any fear, that any fire may get to you, no matter what the circumstances of you,” to which the chief replies: “I certainly can not believe that any man can possibly be so reckless in doing it upon his own authority. Do not hold me to you that fear is more important than any other that makes the fire dangerous, for you alone have the
Miracles are not uncommon within Earleys vivid memories. The imagination prevalent within his work reflects his own willingness to accept the supernatural into his reality. Earley relishes in his memories, now infused with the essence of his own imagination:
The first time I attended the Episcopal Church in my hometown with agirlfriend, I was shocked by the complexity of the melodies the organistplayed, by the sheer, tuneful competence of the singing. Until then I dontthink I knew it was possible to worship God in cadences and keys actuallyindicated in a hymnal.In the years since I left, Rock springs has added air-conditioning and asound system and a fellowship hall, but has changed little in one importantway: the congregation still sings out of green, dog-eared copies of the1940 Broadman Hymnal. Though I heard the songs in the Broadman sungwell only once a year, on Homecoming, the third Sunday in May, whenthe church overflowed with visitors and our musical shortcoming werehidden inside a joyful noise, they have always been the songs I love best.I would be hard-pressed to recall even a single sentence from the hundredsof sermons I heard growing up at Rock Springs, but I can sing frommemory at least one verse from each of the hymns we sang from theBroadman. (114)His consistent use of facts, such as the upgrades given to the church in Rock Springs and the Broadman Hymnal, allows his deeply personal essay to relate to his readers. Earley attempts to connect his experience with that of the readers through these factual references. As the readers are able to relate to the factual memories presented here, the imaginative, even supernatural memories in Earleys writing are accepted as well.
Though the facts are presented to the reader as lucid, concrete reality, Earley makes no discinction between the factual memory and the imagined memory. He presents miracles as smoothly as he transitions between events and characters:
One revival night when I was eight years old, the words and music of“Just As I Am” mixed in the darkness of my sinners heart with thestrange preachers sermon, and flamed suddenly into Jesus Christs greatlove. I clutched the pew in front of me, torn between the front of thechurch, where our pastor waited to receive those of us called by Jesus, andstaying put because I was afraid. I didnt know that my struggle wasapparent until the couple standing beside me stepped back so that I couldreach the aisle. I wandered to the front of the church, through music inwhich God lived and spoke, conscious of how small I was, before God andin the eyes of the people that I had known forever. Our pastor leanedover, and I whispered into his ear that I wanted Jesus Christ to be mysavior. (116)His experience, though based in reality, creates imaginative connections between sensory and supernatural experience. The audience connects with Earley, an eight year old child, as he
died and recovered. Some of the stories of his “spiritual, physical and spiritual” transformation are recounted in his memoir, “Moral” (1958), his book “The Art of Recovery”, and, among other writings, the book “An Open Letter to a Christian Youth”[77] In “Moral I” (1975) he talks about “fatal self-criticism; internal reflection; feeling more like a child that did not understand where it was going or where we are headed”; and when he comes to this realization he “becomes less like my first childhood, but more like me” and that he “becomes less like the child as a kid.” He also talks about how he became the youngest ever speaker of a religious message, making a living as an author in the community, and he cites a Bible passage of John’s and a Christian story that depicts his own experiences growing up in an abusive, in-home environment. In these autobiographical writings, Earley is said to have a lot of power over children, how they can use the power and influence of his voice to influence children. The experience was said to increase trust in those that he is teaching in a community, to increase his influence over others, and to help them become spiritually wiser and more compassionate. He became a mentor, friend and brother (of many) to many who would listen to, and make use of, his wisdom. Earley was the first person in the United States to be awarded honorary doctorates of the school by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1949. A year later he was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949, the first person to win the prestigious award for outstanding humanitarian work. The two later became married, and eventually divorced. A number of his parents were missionaries to the Congo and were killed in that war. One of his fathers who died while serving in the Viet Cong told him that he could bring peace to the people. Another father was a pastor with the missionary school in Uganda, and, after his death by drug overdose, the elder Earley continued to write about the Congo with the missionaries and missionaries after his parents divorced. He has also been quoted as saying of the relationship between church and the people: <>It is hard and I miss it. The people are good, and the church is great for you. They want you to be good.
Earley has also been described by two other church members as a “psychopath”, and a “babe”. In the 1950s and 1960s he was married and lived with the missionaries in the Congo. These two men shared a large house, where the missionaries often took refuge. Their son was also among their members.[78] He worked with the Church Committee of the Relief Society of America until he was turned away from work. Eventually he went back to work in the United States, but returned to the Congo to begin teaching at the missionary school in 1961. According to John W. Anderson, who wrote in “The Story of the Congolese People”, Earley had many difficulties in his time with the missionaries: <>Some of the people who tried were not really missionaries.
At a very early age, he was a little girl, and the missionary school taught a lot about the customs and customs of the Congolese people. But then he turned his back upon that culture. Those two experiences had shaped the way he learned the church as a place of worship and what he believed in, and in what he practiced. In a story he wrote in 1959, he said of the local missionary school: <>The place of worship was always full of young men at their house who took care of their kids, fed children and cleaned a house
died and recovered. Some of the stories of his “spiritual, physical and spiritual” transformation are recounted in his memoir, “Moral” (1958), his book “The Art of Recovery”, and, among other writings, the book “An Open Letter to a Christian Youth”[77] In “Moral I” (1975) he talks about “fatal self-criticism; internal reflection; feeling more like a child that did not understand where it was going or where we are headed”; and when he comes to this realization he “becomes less like my first childhood, but more like me” and that he “becomes less like the child as a kid.” He also talks about how he became the youngest ever speaker of a religious message, making a living as an author in the community, and he cites a Bible passage of John’s and a Christian story that depicts his own experiences growing up in an abusive, in-home environment. In these autobiographical writings, Earley is said to have a lot of power over children, how they can use the power and influence of his voice to influence children. The experience was said to increase trust in those that he is teaching in a community, to increase his influence over others, and to help them become spiritually wiser and more compassionate. He became a mentor, friend and brother (of many) to many who would listen to, and make use of, his wisdom. Earley was the first person in the United States to be awarded honorary doctorates of the school by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1949. A year later he was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949, the first person to win the prestigious award for outstanding humanitarian work. The two later became married, and eventually divorced. A number of his parents were missionaries to the Congo and were killed in that war. One of his fathers who died while serving in the Viet Cong told him that he could bring peace to the people. Another father was a pastor with the missionary school in Uganda, and, after his death by drug overdose, the elder Earley continued to write about the Congo with the missionaries and missionaries after his parents divorced. He has also been quoted as saying of the relationship between church and the people: <>It is hard and I miss it. The people are good, and the church is great for you. They want you to be good.
Earley has also been described by two other church members as a “psychopath”, and a “babe”. In the 1950s and 1960s he was married and lived with the missionaries in the Congo. These two men shared a large house, where the missionaries often took refuge. Their son was also among their members.[78] He worked with the Church Committee of the Relief Society of America until he was turned away from work. Eventually he went back to work in the United States, but returned to the Congo to begin teaching at the missionary school in 1961. According to John W. Anderson, who wrote in “The Story of the Congolese People”, Earley had many difficulties in his time with the missionaries: <>Some of the people who tried were not really missionaries.
At a very early age, he was a little girl, and the missionary school taught a lot about the customs and customs of the Congolese people. But then he turned his back upon that culture. Those two experiences had shaped the way he learned the church as a place of worship and what he believed in, and in what he practiced. In a story he wrote in 1959, he said of the local missionary school: <>The place of worship was always full of young men at their house who took care of their kids, fed children and cleaned a house