Moments Rightly Placed: A an Aleutian Memoir [Paperback]

Ray Hudson (Author), Tricia Brown (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998

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 passedone, then five, ten, then twentyhe 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 Hudsons 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.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starkly rugged volcanic silhouettes, rusted and ghostly remains of wartime outposts, a decaying Orthodox church, arctic flowers in a muddy bog, the blinding light off a bay--these are the views and visions of the Aleutian Islands presented by Hudson, a teacher who lived there from 1964 to 1992. The grasses that Hudson gathers, dries and turns into baskets are the metaphorical threads of his narrative. Weaving a basket is a slow process, one that allows Hudson to gracefully combine the nature and culture of the Aleutian islands and the voices of Aleut people, such as his teachers, weavers Anfesia Shapsnikoff and Sophie Pletnikoff. While Hudson lived in the Aleutians for a quarter of a century, this book concentrates on the first 10 years, during which Unalaska first changed from a small, largely Aleut village to a town of immigrants employed by fisheries. Hudson has preserved the voices of the Aleut people, their real accomplishments and tall tales; public history and private lives; the fights won and lost; the survivors and the dead. Hudson provides plenty of the history of a region exploited variously by Russians and Americans since the 18th century, but mostly he has created a collection of illuminations: gentle, flowing, full of knowing detail. Hudson's love for this determined and traditional people coping with various conflicts of transition has shaped a deeply moving testimonial, a public gift to a people he very clearly adores.

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

One of Alaska's 67 best books --Alaska Historical Society

MOMENTS RIGHTLY PLACED is woven like an Aleut basket, warp by warp, each character lovingly described, each story gently told...the culture brought out in subtle detail. --Velma Wallis, author of TWO OLD WOMEN

This remarkable, fresh book is an understated manual for how to learn a place...and how to undertake a practice that will transform you...What we need to know about the fit between place and culture, about 'real human beaings,' is all here. --Gary Snyder, Pulitzer Prize winner, and author of MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS WITHOUT END --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Epicenter Press; Signed by Author edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945397496
• ISBN-13: 978-0945397496
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,567,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lyrical tribute to the Aleutian Islands, June 18, 1999

By 

Carol (Kodiak, AK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moments Rightly Placed: A an Aleutian Memoir (Paperback)

Ray Hudson's memories of Unalaska and its people form a beautiful portrait of a time and place. As a former resident of Unalaska, I highly recommend the book. Although the community can no longer be called a village, the Aleut roots described in Hudson's tale are still there. And his deeply evocative descriptions of the land--one of the most remote and beautiful in the world, I'm convinced--are wonderful. The descriptions of everything from fog to wildflowers to stormy nights are moving and accurate. A definite must to anyone traveling to the Aleutian Islands--and a terrific travelogue for the armchair traveler..

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful, Heartfelt Story of Life in Unalaska, March 13, 2010

By 

hummbirdy "hummbirdy" (Unalaska, Alaska) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moments Rightly Placed: An Aleutian Memoir (Alaska Book Adventures (Epicenter Press)) (Paperback)

This is a true story written by a white teacher who came to Unalaska when the native culture was still alive and well here. He was interested in the culture, and immersed himself in it. This book is a must read for anyone living in, or traveling to Unalaska or who is interested in the history of this place or the Unangan "Aleut" people. It made me want to see the culture rise to dominate here again.