Contributors to Rivers, Ridges, and Valleys: Essays on Rural Pennsylvania will read from the collection at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, in the lobby of Haas Gallery on the Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Ridges, Ridges, and Valleys is co-edited by CU English Professors Jerry Wemple and Anne Dyer Stuart. The book contains essays by 27 writers from around the vast interior of the Keystone State. While about two-thirds are native Pennsylvanians, others hail from places as wide-ranging as North Carolina, Utah, California, China and the Philippines. The focus of the essays varies as well. There are essays dealing with environmental issues, such as the aftermath of coal mining and the more recent hydraulic fracturing. Some essays celebrate the outdoors, whether it is backyard camping or fishing in an isolated trout stream. Others deal with family legacy and the history of people and places. The anthology was recently nominated for the Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia’s Book of the Year award. It is one of eight semifinalists. 

Among the event’s participants are others with CU connections: English Professor Claire Lawrence, Music Professor Charisse Baldoria, and Matt Perakovich, a Bloomsburg graduate and adjunct faculty member. Also reading are Grant Clauser, a Bloomsburg graduate, noted poet, and New York Times senior editor, poet and professor Michael Hardin of Danville, and poet and prose writer Abby Minor of Centre County.  

Copies of Rivers, Ridges, and Valleys will be on sale at the reading. It is also available at the CU-Bloomsburg University Store or from online retailers. The event is part of the Big Dog Reading Series, organized by the university’s Creative Writing program, which brings regional and nationally known poets and writers to campus to work with students and give public readings. 
 

HANOVER, Pa. (WHTM) — Local communities are voicing their concerns after photos were posted to Facebook of a Hanover Area Jaycees Halloween parade float that depicted Holocaust symbolism in Hanover Thursday night.

The float, entered by St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Hanover and towed by Metcalf Cleaning LLC, depicted a replica of an Auschwitz concentration camp gate with the phrase “Arbeit Macht Frei,” which is translated to “Work sets you free.”

The phrase is a prominent symbol of the Nazi concentration camps that killed over six million Jewish people during the Holocaust, according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum.

The Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior, Bishop of Harrisburg, said in a statement, “The inclusion of this image—one that represents the horrific suffering and murder of millions of innocent people, including six million Jews during the Holocaust—is profoundly offensive and unacceptable. While the original, approved design for this float did not contain this imagery, it does not change the fact that this highly recognizable symbol of hate was included.”

The York Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and the Jewish Federation of Harrisburg also released a joint statement in response to the incident:

“These acts, intentional or not, cause fear and pain for Jewish individuals and all who understand the weight of these symbols. We appreciate Bishop Senior’s acknowledgment of the harm caused and his apology on behalf of the Diocese. Recognizing the impact of such imagery is a vital step toward understanding, healing, and preventing similar incidents in the future.”

YORK JCC, JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA, AND JEWISH FEDERATION OF HARRISBURG

Galen S. Shelly, who identified himself as the creator of the float in the comment section of the original post, wrote a lengthy statement apologizing for the incident, saying, “In that I have erred and will gladly offer this apology for not realizing there were other ways to interpret a part, especially without knowledge of the whole.”

Metcalf Cleaning LLC also apologized for pulling the float that contained the Nazi imagery and slogan, saying, “At the time, we were unaware of its meaning and significance. We recognize that we should have taken a closer look at the float prior to the parade, and we are truly sorry for that oversight.”