Bøker av Barbara Walker

Barbara Walker examines the Russian literary circle, a feature of Russian intellectual and cultural life from tsarist times into the early Soviet period, through the life story of one of its liveliest and most adored figures, the poet Maximilian Voloshin (1877-1932). From 1911 until his death, Voloshin led a circle in the Crimean village of Koktebel' that was a haven for such literary luminaries as Marina Tsvetaeva, Nikolai Gumilev, and Osip Mandelstam. Drawing upon the anthropological theories of Victor Turner, Walker depicts the literary circle of late Imperial Russia as a contradictory mix of idealism and "communitas," on the one hand, and traditional Russian patterns of patronage and networking, on the other. While detailing the colorful history of Voloshinov's circle in the pre- and postrevolutionary decades, the book demonstrates that the literary circle and its leaders played a key role in integrating the intelligentsia into the emerging ethos of the Soviet state.

Marigold "e;Goldie"e; Robbins is a vivacious and energetic sixty-six-year-old. Recently widowed and plagued with loneliness, she yearns for the companionship and romanticism she experienced as a younger woman. One day, while working out at her fitness center, Goldie meets a handsome, charismatic man who makes her feel young and desirable again. Despite the difference in their ages, Goldie quickly succumbs to his seductive charm and throws caution to the winds. She leaves the fitness center in the company of the mysterious stranger and later vanishes without a trace. Barbara Ross, Goldie's lifelong best friend, initially tries to convince herself that Goldie impulsively slipped away for a romantic rendezvous with a man she met on one of the Internet sites she recently had been visiting. All the while, a fear that her friend may have fallen victim to an Internet predator niggled at the back of her mind. Barbara's fears are intensified when she receives an e-mail, ostensibly from Goldie, claiming that she is enjoying a clandestine romantic getaway. Barbara recognizes instantly that the e-mail is filled with cryptic messages and misinformation - surely a cry for help from Goldie. As police conduct an investigation into the disappearance, it soon becomes apparent that Goldie has been abducted and that her life may be in jeopardy. As more and more alarming facts are uncovered, the authorities realize that the motive for Goldie's abduction is far more sinister than they could ever have imagined. Using every tool at their disposal, the police race against time to find Goldie before it is too late.

What is life like for aid workers who gather from around the world to serve refugees who have fled their homes due to famine, political unrest, and disasters? Kiwi nurse-midwife, Barbara Walker - who spent 20 years working for international aid agencies - shares her dramatic, heart-rending, and inspiring stories of the situations she faced and the people she sought to help.From the Sakeo One Refugee Camp in Thailand, where she cared for those fleeing Pol Pot''s regime in Cambodia in a make-shift bamboo-framed field hospital, to her last placement in Mozambique that ended due to a death threat, Barbara''s Christian faith gave her strength and kept her focussed.We also learn of Barbara''s early life in New Zealand, and her later call to ordained ministry as a chaplain when she returned after serving overseas.Barbara hopes that her story will inspire and encourage all who read it to think outside the square and seek to make a difference in the world in which we all live. Post COVID-19, we all have a chance to move forward, working together to address the inequalities which she has seen around the world and here in her country of Aotearoa New Zealand. We cannot make changes alone, but by listening, sharing, building trust, and working in partnership, we can make a difference for all. It''s up to us all.

This volume explores the politics of memory involved in 'coming to terms with the past' of mass dictatorship on a global scale. Considering how a growing sense of global connectivity and global human rights politics changed the memory landscape, the essays explore entangled pasts of dictatorships.