This is an older post, but one that I love to revisit as a way to memorialize my father Emile's life and the journey he took to arrive in the United States as a Jewish teenager fleeing Nazi-occupied France. In this time of trial in our nation, where politicians seek to use their positions to […]
Mythic Moments: The Arrival of the SS Excambion at New York Harbor, January, 1941 Read More »
Balafon performance in the streets of Conakry, Guinea. ©1963 Emile Snyder Among the unique documents that have floated my way over the years was a manilla folder full of gorgeous black and white photographs my father took in the Ivory Coast, which was developed there, and some of them might have also been
Putting Together My Father’s Research With The Photos: West Africa 1963-64 Read More »
I am a bit late in posting this, but I want to acknowledge my father's participation in WWII, which was considerable. My Jewish father was 16 when he fled Nazi-Occupied France and arrived in the US. At 17, he enlisted in the Navy and served in almost every major Naval battlefield, including Normandy, where
Emile as a Young Sailor Read More »
This post is for my cousin François, who has been visiting the blog to see what photos of our families are appearing — and happily identifying those I don't know. I love these three photos for how the people are grouped, smiling, and staring back at the photographer. I am not sure who everyone is,
The Mystery of Family Photos Read More »
I am continuing with my notes on reading Walter Ong's Orality and Literacy, with some sidesteps to look at authors, whose work Ong references: Milman Parry and Albert Lord whose Singer of Tales is a fascinating study not only of the structure of Homer's Illiad and The Odyssey but also the important use of mnemonic devices in works
Orality and The Singer of Tales. Read More »
In addition to writing sublime poetry, Emily Dickinson was also an excellent cook and baker. She often baked sweets and cakes for her neighbors and the neighborhood children. But poetry was never far from her mind and she combined her cooking arts with her literary skills. On the back of her recipe for this coconut
Emily Dickinson: Poetry on the Back of a Coconut Cake Read More »
In 1963 my parents simultaneously received Fulbright Awards to study abroad for the year. My mother went to India (and traveled through Nepal, Bhutan, and a forbidden sliver of Tibet on the border.) My father traveled to West Africa, where he made his way down the coast through 13 countries, meeting with emerging African authors
Embroidered Postcards From Africa and Spain Read More »
My father Emile Snyder was a professor of African Literature and Languages, specializing in contemporary African Literature written in French and English. He taught at a number of universities, including the University of Wisconsin – Madison, the University of Dar- es Salaam, Tanzania, and Indiana University. In 1964 when he was just embarking on a
Kora, Calabash, and Drum: West African Musicians, Photographs circa 1964 Read More »
