Daniel A. Smith (3)

I found this book by Daniel A. Smith to be a delightful mix of genres which has made it somewhat difficult to categorize as to which genre it actually belongs to. The book is part geographical, part anthropological, part photographical; it deals with music and musicians, archeological curiosities and those who made them. But in the end; it’s autographical account of an individual’s progress in becoming a published author despite his suffering from dyslexia; otherwise known as being a memoir.

From finding mysterious orbs in the wilds of Arkansas, to finding out who made them, is a journey into antiquity along with photographs that the author takes his readers on. A journey which goes from being a mere curiosity into a passion in finding out everything he can about the orb stones and geoglyphs he continuously found throughout Arkansas.

Being an author myself, I’d become interested in how the trek he’s taken into being an author had differed from my own trek. For giving his readers a journey in discovering one’s self, and one’s hidden passions, I’ve given Mr. Smith 5 STARS… (más)

***This book was reviewed for Reader's Favourite

Smith’s short memoir Orb Stones and Geoglyphs: A Writer's Journey is an exploration of one man’s drive to create, and the inspirations he found to do so. Smith admits a favouring of mathematics and hard science over writing, finding the latter confusing in its more chaotic nature. Writing and language do have order and rules, but there's far greater fluidity and change. It certainly doesn't help that he is dyslexic.

As a young man with a degree in physics, Smith began work as a soundman, weaving artistry with soundwaves to help create amazing concerts. He was one of the 'men behind the curtain’. His discussing of rock and roll music seamlessly segues into a discussion of a trip he took with his wife, and stumbling upon a small town where giant, near perfect round stones were everywhere. Clusters rested in fields, and graced entryways and parking areas, where people had moved them. He would go on to search for the mysterious orb stones all through Arkansas, eventually sparking a story fragment.

As Smith’s travels and research carry him deeper into the past, he shares with us his thoughts regarding the lost past of the indigenous cultures, and insights from his research. I found the conquistador information fascinating.

I love how, for Smith, these orb stones became his guides, paving the way to find the key to the past, to meet the hermit, at the sick girl’s grave. Here, Smith echoed something that I, as a writer myself, fully believe. We are biblioanthropologists, blessed with the key, or keys, to different places. We share not places that exist only in our own heads, but out there, somewhere beyond the blurred borders of our here and now. For Smith, his key is to our past. He stepped through and found Tatianto and Manaha, who have stories to share. I know, too, the fierce feeling of needing to write in the moment. It's an all-consuming need, to get it all down on paper before the connection fades.

As I read the beginning of Smith's story coming together, I kept having niggling sensations of familiarity. Annoyance and curiosity finally got the better of me and I went and looked up Martin's other books on Goodreads. 'Lo and behold, I had read Storykeeper some years before! Good book!

Orb Stones and Geoglyphs: A Writer's Journey is a highly engaging little read. It is one man's journey towards learning to be a bridge and a keyholder. A chronicler. A biblioanthropologist. Highly recommended for all the baby biblioanthropologists out there, to help ease doubts and learn to trust the process.

📚📚📚📚📚… (más)

***This book was reviewed for Reader's Favourite***

Storykeeper by Daniel Smith is a beautifully woven tale of stories nested inside stories. It is a tale of times long past and peoples long gone. Long before writing, stories were kept by shaman, Druids, lorekeepers, bards. They encoded history, myth, legend, and kept a people in touch with their ancestors.

Storykeeper threads through the lives of several such lorekeepers, binding them together, even as the stories they tend bind family and tribe and the whole of a people together. There is Tantino, the elderly hermit, Nanza, called Manaha, whom he cares for after her family is killed, and Ichisi, who listens to Nanza tell stories. These stories encapsulate a history of several generations, from the time of Hernando de Soto’s arrival, through to the next century.

I found this story to be so sad. My training, and one of my big interests, in archaeology is North and South America, and it never ceases to amaze and sadden me the utter devastation contact with Europeans had on the native populations of the Americas. Change is inevitable. It is the only constant and assured thing in life. Everything passes into something other. That's why it is so good to have storykeepers. So we never forget what once was.

I enjoyed the amount of research Smith seems to have put into this novel. It is a glimpse into the Americas of a bygone era, into lost names, lost places, and lost culture. This story reminded me a bit of W. Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear’s First North Americans archaeological fiction. If you enjoy historical fiction, especially of early America, be sure to check out Daniel Smith’s Storykeeper.… (más)