Along a thousand-mile chain of treeless and windswept islands, Unalaska is perched at the end of the world, or, as some prefer to say, the beginning. In 1964, Ray Hudson, 22, landed in Unalaska village with a brand-new college degree, eager to teach. The Aleuts had seen many outsiders who had come but seldom stayed more than a year. Yet Hudson was no short-timer. Captivated by Unalaska and the history and traditions of its enduring people, he stayed. As the years passed--one, then five, ten, then twenty--he was embraced by his Aleut neighbors, sharing their celebrations and tragedies, teaching their children, exploring their language, and, much to their surprise, learning their delicate art of grass basketry. Ray Hudson's intimate memoir weaves together landscape and language, storytelling and silence, ancient mythology and day-to-day village life. Ultimately he pays homage to the people he came to teach, and who, in the end, were his teachers.
Along a thousand-mile chain of treeless and windswept islands, Unalaska is perched at the end of the world, or, as some prefer to say, the beginning. In 1964, Ray Hudson, 22, landed in Unalaska village with a brand-new college degree, eager to teach. The Aleuts had seen many outsiders who had come but seldom stayed more than a year. Yet Hudson was no short-timer. Captivated by Unalaska and the history and traditions of its enduring people, he stayed. As the years passed--one, then five, ten, then twenty--he was embraced by his Aleut neighbors, sharing their celebrations and tragedies, teaching their children, exploring their language, and, much to their surprise, learning their delicate art of grass basketry. Ray Hudson's intimate memoir weaves together landscape and language, storytelling and silence, ancient mythology and day-to-day village life. Ultimately he pays homage to the people he came to teach, and who, in the end, were his teachers.
"Moments Rightly Placed is woven like an Aleut basket, warp by
warp, each character lovingly described, each story gently told
..."-Velma Wallis, author of Two Old Women"A tribute to an art and
the people who created it, by a man whoadapted to and was adopted
by the Aleuts ..."-Newberry medalist Karen Hesse, author of
Aleutian Sparrow
"Moments Rightly Placed is woven like an Aleut basket, warp by
warp, each character lovingly described, each story gently told
..."-Velma Wallis, author of Two Old Women"A tribute to an art and
the people who created it, by a man whoadapted to and was adopted
by the Aleuts ..."-Newberry medalist Karen Hesse, author of
Aleutian Sparrow
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