2007.02.11: February 11, 2007: Headlines: COS - Tonga: Writing - Tonga: Gardner: Tri-County Times: "Night Blind" is a novel based on a murder that occurred while the Jan Worth was in the Peace Corps in Tonga
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Tonga:
Peace Corps Tonga :
Peace Corps Tonga: New Stories:
2007.02.28: February 28, 2007: Headlines: COS - Tonga: Writing - Tonga: Gardner: Jan Worth: An Excerpt from Jan Worth's Nightblind :
2007.02.11: February 11, 2007: Headlines: COS - Tonga: Writing - Tonga: Gardner: Tri-County Times: "Night Blind" is a novel based on a murder that occurred while the Jan Worth was in the Peace Corps in Tonga
"Night Blind" is a novel based on a murder that occurred while the Jan Worth was in the Peace Corps in Tonga
A beautiful, young Peace Corps volunteer is murdered on an October night in the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga. For young American Charlotte Thornton, the main character, the killing sets off an unnerving cascade of questions. She wonders if she will be able to survive and work in the tense post-murder atmosphere. She plunges into her job as a public relations officer for a Tongan noble.
"Night Blind" is a novel based on a murder that occurred while the Jan Worth was in the Peace Corps in Tonga
'Night Blind' author to autograph books at center
By: Jan Rynearson, Features Editor
02/11/2007
"Night Blind" is a novel based on truth. It highlights a murder that occurred while the author, Jan Worth, instructor of writing at University of Michigan-Flint, was in the Peace Corps.
Worth moved to Flint in 1981 and in 1998 became a full-time instructor at U of M-Flint. She served in the Peace Corps from 1976-1978. Worth and her husband, Ted Nelson, who she met in Tonga, commute between Michigan and Los Angeles.
On Saturday, Feb. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m., Worth will be featured at a book signing at Little Professor Book Center in Fenton.
A beautiful, young Peace Corps volunteer is murdered on an October night in the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga. For young American Charlotte Thornton, the main character, the killing sets off an unnerving cascade of questions. She wonders if she will be able to survive and work in the tense post-murder atmosphere. She plunges into her job as a public relations officer for a Tongan noble.
Polynesian customs, an earthquake and the Tongan language are sprinkled throughout the 260 pages of the book published by iUniverse, Inc. of New York, Lincoln, Shanghai.
Phil Wiess, author of "American Taboo" says "Night Blind gets under your skin and won't go away, like an old lover returned when you least expect it ... The events of this book are so painful and so vivid, so picturesque and so lasting, and its purpose so anti-nostalgic that it almost does the opposite, makes you never want to leave, reminding you of the huge cost of growing up."
The author says it took her 30 years to come to terms with the events encountered in Tonga and the equal amount of years to learn how to write a novel. "I hope that in that respect I am a good example to my students," she said.
Worth is a journalism graduate of Kent State University in Ohio and obtained a master's in social work at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
She also holds a master of fine arts in creative writing from Warren Wilson College. She was born and raised in Canton, Ohio and writes poetry, essays and fiction. Her work has appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines and journals.
The novel is called "Night Blind" because Worth was pretty clueless about the potential dark side of life when she entered the Peace Corps and ended up in Tonga.
Worth's knowledge of the country and its culture and her intense description make for a fascinating and exciting read. It's a book that once started, beckons one to continue.
©Tri-County Times 2007
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: February, 2007; Peace Corps Tonga; Directory of Tonga RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Tonga RPCVs; Writing - Tonga; Murder of Deborah Gardner
When this story was posted in March 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Tri-County Times
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Tonga; Writing - Tonga; Gardner
PCOL36130
00