The especial genius of women I believe to be electrical in movement,
intuitive in function, spiritual in tendency.
Margaret Fuller, journalist (1810-1850)
Local artist Rya has created a set of note cards with eight designs that
feature inspiring quotes by women artists and writers, ranging from
Billie Holiday to Elizabeth Barna Browning. Several businesses have
donated labor and materials so that sales can benefit Rape Crisis Net
work. They’re SO at Rape Crisis Network's Saturday Market booth
or by calling Rya at 344-7085.
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■BOOKS
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Unique books by local writer
Review by Robert Wolfe
Martina and McGee
The Runaways
written by Bjo Ashwill, Bjo’s
Enterprises, Eugene, OR
McGee noticed that the new bear
was missing one of her back paws.
“Oh, you poor thing. Part of you is
missing."
“I’m not a poor thing," said the
bear indignantly. "I’m a bear named
Marlina and I catch fish good. I just
get from one place to another slower
than most.''
With that show of independence,
the two little bears of Marlina and
McGee begin an adventure that pro
vides positive role models for young
readers.
“Modern literature had deficien
cies” in the way it portrays people
with disabilities, claims local coun
selor, disabled-rights activist, and
author Bjo (Be-joe) Ashwill.
To get the message across she has
chosen to create her own literature.
After writing stories, books, and
an award winning play about dis
abilities, her latest project is a pair of
children’s books that teach disabled
and non-disabled kids alike a healthy
way to interact.
“The moral of my stories is inde
pendence versus dependence,” says
Ashwill. “Disabled people are train
ed to be dependent; they don’t know
what else to do.” To foster inde
pendence, her books portray disabled
children who learn to control when
and what kind of help they receive
from “temporarily able-bodied” peo
ple.
In The Runaways, young Bernice
tells her over-helpful Aunt what she
has learned from running away to the
city for a day:
Bernice grinned. "Do you know
what I noticed?” she asked.
"What? ‘ ‘ asked Irene.
"People are always trying to do it
all for me. They say they want to help
but what they mean is they ’ll do it for
me.
So I just told them what help I
needed and then they let me do the
rest myself.”
After futile attempts to interest
publishers in her product, she turned
to self-publishing. Now she is mar
keting the books locally and is mak
ing plans to attempt national markets.
Her efforts to sell to local schools,
libraries, pediatrician’s offices, and
other outlets can be frustrating. One
experience came when she pitched
Marlina and McGee to the Eugene
Public Library.
“They didn’t want my book because
they already had one titled Martin is
our Friend, and they thought that one
book was enough. But that book is
written from a non-disabled point of
view,” claims Ashwill.
A promotional flyer from the book
promised to teach people “how to deal
with those less fortunate than our
selves.” It is exactly this type of “pa
tronizing attitude” that gets Ashwill
fired up.
“The words they use imply that dis
abled people are a sub-group” and
promote dependency rather than
teamwork, she says.
Ashwill brings a record of long ac
tivism in the area of disabled rights
to her work. She is a former member
of the State Board for Very Special
Arts Festivals, which taught disabled
children to participate in art activities,
and was a member of the Eugene
Commission for the Rights of the Dis
abled. She has worked since 1979 as
Author Bjo Ashwill.
a counselor at Lane Community Col
lege, where she started the “Disabled
Student Services Unit.” She worked
as a disabled student counselor until
she was “mainstreamed” into a job
counseling all students.
“I was particularly pleased with
that because they acknowledged my
skills as a counselor, not just my skills
with disabled people,” says Ashwill.
Marlina and McGee is a softcover
book written for young children
through the third grade. The Run
aways comes in both soft and hard
cover, and is targeted at older children
up to the eighth grade. The books are
available through The Literary Lion
bookstore, The Ugly Duckling, and
the LCC Bookstore. They can also be
ordered direct from Bjo’s Enterprises,
837 Archie Street, Eugene, 97402.
Either way, the softcover books cost
$5.95 and the hardcover version of
The Runaways sells for $12.95.
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