2009.05.30: May 30, 2009: Headlines: COS - Azerbaijan: Writing - Azerbaijan: COS - Ecuador: Writing - Ecuador: The Open Press : Azerbaijan RPCV Carla Seidl writes The Sophisticated Savage, an anthropological memoir that follows the author, then-Harvard-student Carla Seidl, to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, where she meets a local surfer named Fredy who tells her he used to be a cannibal in the Amazon Jungle
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2009.05.30: May 30, 2009: Headlines: COS - Azerbaijan: Writing - Azerbaijan: COS - Ecuador: Writing - Ecuador: The Open Press : Azerbaijan RPCV Carla Seidl writes The Sophisticated Savage, an anthropological memoir that follows the author, then-Harvard-student Carla Seidl, to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, where she meets a local surfer named Fredy who tells her he used to be a cannibal in the Amazon Jungle
Azerbaijan RPCV Carla Seidl writes The Sophisticated Savage, an anthropological memoir that follows the author, then-Harvard-student Carla Seidl, to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, where she meets a local surfer named Fredy who tells her he used to be a cannibal in the Amazon Jungle
“Meeting Fredy made me start to seriously question whether I wanted to continue living in a highly developed society,” Seidl says. A seasoned world traveler, Seidl knows a little something about different ways of life. Since first traveling to the Galapagos Islands, Seidl has continued her search for the ideal lifestyle in other parts of the world, including Chile, Argentina, and the Caucasus country of Azerbaijan, where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2006 to 2008.
Azerbaijan RPCV Carla Seidl writes The Sophisticated Savage, an anthropological memoir that follows the author, then-Harvard-student Carla Seidl, to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, where she meets a local surfer named Fredy who tells her he used to be a cannibal in the Amazon Jungle
Galapagos Romance Between Harvard Student and Ex-Cannibal Sparks Memoir
Published on: May 30th, 2009 12:07am by: Carla11
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Huntington, NY (OPENPRESS) May 30, 2009 -- The Sophisticated Savage, an anthropological memoir by Carla Seidl, has just been released from Inner Hearth Books. The book follows the author, then-Harvard-student Carla Seidl, to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, where she meets a local surfer named Fredy who tells her he used to be a cannibal in the Amazon Jungle. The two fall in love, and the author returns to the Islands several years later and she and Fredy travel to the Amazon to try to find his family. Seidl tells her story in a unique mixture of personal narrative, interview, and research, with the lens of investigating the idea of simplicity. She asks, “Are people in developed cultures really happier?”
With its investigation of the recent history of the Huaorani tribe and its reflections on complex versus primitive cultures, The Sophisticated Savage, which is Seidl’s first book, is more than just a coming-of-age story. Creative Byline writes, "...this merging of an academic approach with a romantic treatise....is very well done, very sophisticated and perceptive. Also very honest....well-written and thoroughly engaging."
“Meeting Fredy made me start to seriously question whether I wanted to continue living in a highly developed society,” Seidl says. A seasoned world traveler, Seidl knows a little something about different ways of life. Since first traveling to the Galapagos Islands, Seidl has continued her search for the ideal lifestyle in other parts of the world, including Chile, Argentina, and the Caucasus country of Azerbaijan, where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2006 to 2008.
Seidl reflects on her wealth of travel experiences in radio and song as well as through writing. In January, she released Under My Skin, her debut album of mostly original songs, including one called “Azerbaijani Housewife” based on her experiences living with several host families in rural Azerbaijan. “But,” she says, “there is always more to learn.” Seidl will be leaving next month for another round of Peace Corps service in Mauritania, where she will be working to empower and educate women and girls.
For more information on this title and on author Carla Seidl, see www.thesophisticatedsavage.info or www.carlaseidl.com.
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Professional Free Press Release News Wire
A Harvard student and an ex-cannibal may seem like an unlikely pair, but on a dance floor in Ecuador, their steps matched. Author Carla Seidl met Amazon-Jungle-born surfer Fredy Andi while teaching on the Galápagos Islands at age nineteen, and her life has never been the same since. Several years later, thinking that perhaps simple living was the key to happiness, Seidl returned to the islands to unearth more about Fredy's story and see if their connection, and his seemingly carefree lifestyle, were for real. The duo ended up traveling to the Amazon Jungle to try to find Fredy's family, and Seidl survived to tell the tale.
The Sophisticated Savage combines the best of biography, ethnology, and travel writing in an anthropological memoir with a romantic twist that will inform as well as engage. With a unique interweaving style and a refreshingly honest narrative voice, Seidl tells her own coming-of-age story and at the same time delves into the history of the infamously violent Huaorani tribe, the notion of the primitive, and the increasingly relevant topic of simplicity and its relationship to happiness.
Advance Praise for The Sophisticated Savage:
"...this merging of an academic approach with a romantic treatise....is very well done, very sophisticated and perceptive. Also very honest....well-written and thoroughly engaging." --Creative Byline
"...intriguing and smart...." -- Hannah Gordon, Foundry Literary & Media
Pictures and audio related to The Sophisticated Savage can be found in the related slideshow, "Cannibal Theme Park," the audio for which the author put together as a radio documentary project in fall of 2008:
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Headlines: May, 2009; Peace Corps Azerbaijan; Directory of Azerbaijan RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Azerbaijan RPCVs; Writing - Azerbaijan; Peace Corps Ecuador; Directory of Ecuador RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Ecuador RPCVs; Writing - Ecuador
When this story was posted in June 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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