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The Idaho Library
Association 2003 Book Award was announced at the Annual Conference held in
Boise, Thursday, October 7.
The 2003 ILA Book Award was presented to Traplines: Coming Home to
Sawtooth Valley by John Rember (Pantheon Books, 2003).
In 1987 John Rember went home to Sawtooth Valley, a return made because of
a strong “homing instinct” and a love of place. The forty acres that
had been home to his family and assorted horses and dogs was his domicile
once again. In Rember’s journey home, he explores how not only Sawtooth
Valley has changed, but the West as well. By sharing his examination of
the stories his memories tell, the author brings insight to the West as it
was and is today. Traplines is memoir, history, philosophy…it
will make you laugh, bring tears to your eyes, and sometimes, cause a bit
of anger to ring in your ears.
John Rember was born in Sun Valley, Idaho and grew up in the nearby
Sawtooth Valley. He was educated at Harvard and the University of Montana,
and teaches English at Albertson College in Caldwell. Rember is the author
of two previous books, Coyote in the Mountains and Cheerleaders
from Gomorra.
Honorable Mention went to Polly Bemis: A Chinese American Pioneer
by Priscilla Wegars (Backeddy Books, 2003).
A picture-book biography for children, this delightful book tells the
story of the Pacific Northwest’s most famous Chinese American woman.
Polly Bemis was sold in China by her parents, and then smuggled into this
country, purchased by a Chinese man and taken to Warren, Idaho, to work in
a gambling hall. In 1894, Polly married Charlie Bemis and settled with him
on the remote Salmon River. Read this fine book and revel in the many
fascinating pictures as you learn Polly’s story.
Dr. Wegars is an independent historian and historical archaeologist
specializing in the history and archaeology of Asian Americans in the
West. She has worked on archaeological excavations in Idaho, Washington,
Oregon, California, England, New Zealand, and Belize. Wegars wrote Chinese
at the Confluence: Lewiston’s Beuk Aie Temple, edited Hidden
Heritage: Historical Archaeology of the Overseas Chinese, and is
currently working on a biography of Polly Bemis for adults.
A committee of librarians from across Idaho chose the winners from a field
of 16 nominees, all published in 2003. The titles of the nominees may be
viewed on the Book Award website at www.idaholibraries.org/bookaward/
The mission of the Idaho Library Association’s Book Award is “to
recognize and honor one book, selected from among all the books published
in any one calendar year, which has made an outstanding contribution to
the body of printed materials about Idaho. The award is intended to
encourage the writing and publishing of books about Idaho, and to
encourage excellence in writing and high standards of accuracy and
readability in those books.”
Nominations
for the 2004 award are now being accepted.
Please check the Idaho Book Award website at www.idaholibraries.org/bookaward/nominate_book.htm
for more information.
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