I had such a wonderful time talking with the family history program at the New York Historical Society about LAST OF THE NAME today! There were some questions about harps so I thought I’d show some pictures I have from a trip to Ireland in 2017. This is the Brian Boru harp on display at Trinity College in Dublin. It is one of the oldest harps in Ireland and is the size and shape of the one I imagined my characters carrying in the story. As you can see, it’s ornately decorated. It’s strung with wire and is 600-700 years old.
In irish a harp is called a cláirseach. It is the national symbol of Ireland and appears on coins, passports, and the presidential seal.The Brian Boru Harp also known as the Trinity College harp
Here is what a small harp sounds like. I’m a new harp student myself so I have plenty still to learn. The tune I’m playing was written by a very famous harper Turlough O’Carolan who lived from 1670 to 1738. Like many harpers he was blind. He composed many tunes. The ones that have the word Planxty in the title are songs in praise of a person, so this tune Planxty Irwin is a song in praise of Captain Irwin.
My commute today is a few dozen steps to the corner of the yard where my tiny studio is waiting for me as it has every day for the past ten years. Today was going to be the start of a publisher sponsored book tour, my very first in more than 20 years as a working writer. It would have been in support of the paperback release of A Wolf Called Wander. I would have traveled across the country and met and been inspired by thousands of students and their wonderful teachers and librarians. I would have made new indie bookseller friends and seen cities I’ve never visited and had new and interesting research opportunities. And I would have sold hundreds of books. Now, because of the pandemic, that opportunity is gone and nothing will bring it back.
And I am feeling such gratitude! First, and most importantly, I’m grateful to all the school boards and superintendents who made the call to close schools and protect the families they serve. I’m in awe of the energy they’ve thrown into educating their students at home. I’m intensely proud of my fellow booksellers who have sacrificed income in favor of the safety of their shop patrons–many of whom are the grandmas and grandpas of my readers. Special cheers to those who are scrambling to make books available to their communities via mail and delivery and ebooks and downloadable audio. I’m thankful that my publisher HarperCollins has valued my safety over their profits and not even asked me to do something that would put myself and my family at risk. I’m grateful to have a roof over my head and my family at my side in these heart-rending times. I’m thankful to be able to stay in and do what I can to protect those for whom staying at home is not possible. I’m grateful for the vast majority of Americans who understand the importance of elective quarantine and hand hygiene.
One thing I came to appreciate in researching A Wolf Called Wander and it’s companion A Whale of the Wild, is that humans are pack animals too. And we are being hunted by a microscopic creature, weak out in the air, but intensely powerful once it breaks the fortress of our lungs. Thousands of our fellow pack members have fallen prey to it. Even so the human pack has the upper hand. Because a virus can’t run. It can’t even crawl. It can only get from one human to the next if a human carries it. And so I’m sending up a howl of solidarity to my fellow pack members, today and everyday, until victory is ours. I will do everything in my power to starve our predator and I will trust my fellow humans to chose life over profit and do the same.
If you are studying at home and love wolves, here’s some bonus content for middle grade students who liked A Wolf Called Wander.
Here are the resources I referenced in the video. If you are looking for information about animals of the world, national geographic has a terrific website for kids. For information about Oregon animals and habitats try the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife.
If you want to look at some wolves and track their behavior like a wildlife biologist does, you could follow this link to the Wolf Conservation Center in New York where they have some wolves you can watch on wildlife cameras. bit.ly/34ulJH4 will take you there.
If you just want to practice drawing a wolf, here is one of illustrator Mónica Armiño’s pictures for practice and inspiration.
And finally if you want to write me a letter, you can reach me at the bookstore where I work: Annie Blooms Books, 3834 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, Oregon 97219. I promise I’ll write back and send you a signed bookplate.
