Message on the Wind: A Spiritual Odyssey on the Northern Plains

by Clay S. Jenkinson

"I call it the sacred corridor. That's a poetic name for a district that most people would do anything to avoid, a corridor travelers pass through as quickly as possible, with their souls and windows closed, and describe later as the flatest, dreariest, most isolated country they have ever seen. This book is a love song to that lonely country...I call it the landscape of the improbable. The promise of America is that we will create a society equal to the magnificence of the continent on which we have planted it. It is not quite too late. I remember how inspired I felt the first time I heard Wallace Stegner's phrase, 'a society to match the landscape.' At a time when rural America has fewer advocates than at any previous era in our history, I wish to argue that our national renewal must come from the empty quarter, the backwater villages and the unvisited buttes of the American West. As a nation, we are being destroyed by mobility, abstraction from nature, alienation from the macrobiotics of the food chain and the food supply, and addiction to homogenized comforts that deracinate us from the life of the spirit. This is a book about spirit of place."

Genres: Nonfiction

311 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Clay Jenkinson is one of the most sought-after humanities scholars in the United States

A cultural commentator who has devoted most of his professional career to public humanities programs, Clay Jenkinson has been honored by two presidents for his work. On November 6, 1989, he received from President George Bush one of the first five Charles Frankel Prizes, the National Endowment for the Humanities highest award (now called the National Humanities Medal), at the nomination of the NEH Chair, Lynne Cheney. On April 11, 1994, he was the first public humanities scholar to present a program at a White House-sponsored event when he presented Thomas Jefferson for a gathering hosted by President and Mrs. Clinton. When award-winning humanities documentary producer Ken Burns turned his attention to Thomas Jefferson, he asked Clay Jenkinson to be the major humanities commentator. Since his first work with the North Dakota Humanities Council in the late 1970s, including a pioneering first-person interpretation of Meriwether Lewis, Clay Jenkinson has made thousands of presentations throughout the United States and its territories, including Guam and the Northern Marianas.

In 2008, Clay became the director of The Dakota Institute through The Lewis & Clark, Fort Mandan Foundation, to further expand his humanities programs with documentary films, symposiums and literary projects. He is also the Chief Consultant for the Theodore Roosevelt Center through Dickinson State University and conducts an annual lecture series for Bismarck State College.

Clay is also widely sought after as a commencement speaker (he has several honorary doctorates); as a facilitator of teacher institutes on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Classical Culture, the Millennium, and other topics; as a lecturer on topics ranging from the "Unresolved Issues of the Millennium," to the "Character of Meriwether Lewis"; as a consultant to a range of humanities programs, chiefly first person historical interpretation (Chautauqua). Best known for his award-winning historical impersonations of Thomas Jefferson, Clay Jenkinson also impersonates other characters, including Meriwether Lewis, John Wesley Powell, Robert Oppenheimer, Theodore Roosevelt and John Steinbeck.

Clay Jenkinson can:

Serve as a cultural commentator on a range of topics
Conduct humanities institutes and cultural tours
Present historical programs in character with audiance interaction.
Provide live video programs through i-Chat to your classroom or business.
The rates for Clay Jenkinson's professional humanities presentations will vary. if you are interested in more information or in booking or contacting Clay Jenkinson for any professionally related reason, please call Nancy Franke a Dakota Sky Education, Inc at toll free at 1 888 828 2853 or e-mail at nfranke@comcast.net

Public Speaking
If you are interested in knowing more about Clay's topics and characters, please visit http://dakotaskyed.wordpress.com. The views on the mentioned website are Clay Jenkinson's and do not reflect the views of The Thomas Jefferson Hour® nor any of its sponsors.

Social Commentary
Clay Jenkinson is a popular social commentator. While on The Thomas Jefferson Hour®, Clay strictly adheres to the rules of being a humanities scholar (neutrality). If you are interested in Clay's personal views, please consider reading Clay's Weekly Columns.

The views on the mentioned website are Clay Jenkinson's and do not reflect the views of The Thomas Jefferson Hour nor any of its sponsors.
http://www.jeffersonhour.com/about%20...

Reviews

[James Mordarski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I'll have to check out ND one of these days.

[Zach Dorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed this collection of essays. I am not a North Dakotan, but rather a North Carolinian. The author speaks to the 'spirit of place' in such a way that, while he emphasizes the Great Plains, - the way he talks of the 'sacred corridor' can (at least for me) be translated to how one interacts with the place they are from (in my case, North Carolina). I was nearly willing to give this book 5 stars; however, the final essay got quite preachy. There was a bit of "preachiness" throughout, but was fairly subtle, and the author would normally own up to his 'sins,' as well. The final essay, as stated earlier, went a bit too far. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to others.

[Laura Schmidt-Dockter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished my second reading of this book. I do not read a book more than once. While the essays revolve around the "sacred corridor" and the author's personal experiences and revelations, there are deep life lessons to be garnered by anyone willing to listen. The parallels between 'Message on the Wind' and Homer's 'Odyssey' are scattered throughout the book and explained in detail in the key at the back of the book. I recommend this to anyone seeking spiritual clarification...or anyone looking for funny, thoughtful essays.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm only about half way through, but I like it very much so far. I'm living in South Dakota, but am a little familiar with the North Dakota places he describes. I wish I could articulate like he does. It's provocative; makes me want to think more deeply about things, what they mean to me.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clay Jenkinson's love for the prairies and plains of North Dakota. A great read for anyone who feels the magic and mystery of the grasslands of North America.

[Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essays by a ND author about growing up in western ND.

[Jodi Boe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I will most likely read again. Soon.