On, Tuesday, May 16, the Minnesota Chapter of the USCPFA, together with literary publisher Milkweed Editions, celebrated the essay collection Coming Home Crazy by the late Minnesota author, poet, and professor Bill Holm. In 1986 Holm spent a year in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, after which he wrote a collection of essays depicting life in Xi’an and his unique and very Minnesotan author’s perspective on it. Kicked off by remarks from chapter Co-Presidents Glynis Hinschberger and Margaret Wong, as well as Katie Hill from Milkweed Editions, the celebration was prompted by the ongoing observance of the anniversary of the Minnesota – Xi’an Sister State/Province relationship, established in 1982.
The event, held at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, attracted attendees from a range of different connections and disciplines, from friends of Bill Holm and Icelandic culture, to early supporters of the USCPFA’s interest in building bridges between the US and China, to long-standing students of Chinese culture and society from both the US and China, to a singer-songwriter who incorporated Holm’s work in his music. Minnesota author Patti Isaacs, whose memoir The Second Long March chronicles her experiences in Xi’an in 1981-82 and again in 2005, read a statement from a student of Bill Holm in Xi’an, Professor HU Zongfeng (Hoover), who serves today at Xi’an Northwest University and the Shaanxi Translators Association. Minnesota’s true American troubadour, Larry Long, read Bill Holm’s untitled poem about the Mississippi River which Long incorporated into his “Blue Highway” composition.
Attendees were seated at round tables and discussed questions posed by the session moderator, USCPFA-MN Vice President Brian Hammer. “What can an author and larger-than-life human like Bill Holm and his book Coming Home Crazy teach us at a time when we feel ‘concerned’ and ‘disheartened’ that US-China relations are ‘dissolving’ and ‘shrinking’ around us, as some participants observed? The purpose of our event was to listen, share and forge a sense of camaraderie for hope and possibility at a time when it would be easy to retreat into despair,” Hammer said. “Notes from our discussion include words to describe Holm’s approach like: Soft—Kind—Caring—Truth—Specificity—Present—Drilled Down—Self-deprecating—Bridge-builder— Understanding and empathy through Music.”
The group was unanimous in supporting the role of works like Coming Home Crazy in helping to build bridges of understanding and looking to a more hopeful future.
To listen to Larry Long’s “Blue Highway”, click here: https://larrylong.bandcamp.com/track/blue-highway
To read an appreciation of Bill Holm by Minnesota author James Lenfestey published in Minnesota Monthly after Holm passed away in 2009, click here: https://bit.ly/45iO4iQ
To listen to a Prairie Home Companion performance recorded in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2006 which features appearances by Bill Holm (at minute 35 and minute 1:45), click here: https://www.prairiehome.org/shows/57177.html