Indiana University Press blog

Read an interview with Gerardo Marti

Gerardo Marti, author of A Mosaic of Believers, was interviewed about his book on The Sixth Sense blog.

Author interview: Ray E. Boomhower, Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary

Marking the 40th anniversary of his assassination, Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary by Ray E. Boomhower explores the characters and events of the 1968 Indiana Democratic presidential primary in which Kennedy, who was an underdog, had a decisive victory. Today, the IU Press blog interviewed Boomhower about his latest release:

You were only 9 when Robert Kennedy was assassinated, but even at that young age, Kennedy appears to have made an impression on you. Can you tell us more about the inspiration for writing this book?

One of the seminal memories of my childhood growing up in Mishawaka, Indiana, was sitting in the living room of our home on West Battell Street and watching Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral on television. Even at that young age, I could not believe that someone so young and vibrant could be snatched away like that in the blink of an eye. I told my mother, Joyce, as she walked into the room, that I hoped someone—anyone—would kill the person responsible for this horror.

Perhaps my mother remembered the death of another young politician—President John F. Kennedy—and the subsequent shooting of the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Perhaps she had watched on television as Ruby rushed up to Oswald as authorities were taking him from police headquarters to the nearby county jail on November 24, 1963. All I know for sure is that my mother reproached me for my remark, noting that Robert Kennedy had been known as a compassionate man who, because of the tragedy in his own family, abhorred such violence and had worked to heal, not harm.

My late mother’s words that day have stayed with me and, perhaps, were the impetus behind my research and writing about Kennedy’s famous speech in Indianapolis following the killing of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Several challenges—negative local press, the formidable opponents of Eugene McCarthy and Indiana Gov. Branigin, and late entry in to the Democratic primary race—faced Kennedy during his 1968 run in Indiana. How did he overcome these obstacles to achieve a victory in Indiana?

Kennedy realized that entering the Indiana primary was a gamble and realized he needed to make an all-out effort to win the state. “Indiana is the ballgame,” Kennedy said. As one of his aides later recalled, a loss in Indiana could have derailed the entire campaign, so the senator’s staff and friends flocked to the state and worked long hours on his behalf. Nobody, however, worked harder than the candidate himself. He campaigned furiously and often ended the day with his hands raw and sometimes bloody after shaking countless hands of would-be voters. Through the force of his own character, Kennedy convinced often skeptical Hoosiers of the sincerity of his beliefs. In doing so, he also honed his message and became a better candidate for the primaries to come.

Kennedy also benefited from having the advice of a man—John Bartlow Martin—who knew the state’s history and the character of its people. Martin, who produced one of the best books ever written about the state, Indiana: An Interpretation, played a key role in the campaign and offered Kennedy vital information on every community he visited leading up to primary voting on May 7.

At an outdoor rally in the heart of Indianapolis’s African American community, Kennedy delivered the news that Martin Luther King had been assassinated. His speech is considered one of the greats in American political history. Describe the impact it had upon the crowd gathered at the rally.

Those who were a part of the crowd that gathered on April 4, 1968, at Seventeenth and Broadway streets, to hear Kennedy, blacks and whites alike, compared what they saw and heard to a religious experience. The candidate had reached out and touched their hearts with his words calling for compassion and understanding in the face of violence and bloodshed. One of the people I interviewed for the book who was at the speech remembered feeling as if the candidate had “laid his hands upon the audience” and healed them, deflating the powerful anger that surged through the packed audience. The crowd, another person recalled, walked away in pain, but with no thoughts of revenge. While countless cities across the country exploded in violence, Indianapolis remained calm.

Some in the media are comparing Obama’s run for presidency to RFK’s. What similarities do you see between the two men’s campaigns? Any key differences?

Both Obama and Kennedy seem to share a certain charisma that has attracted a large a devoted following of people who have never before been involved in politics. Obama’s appeal to young, college-age voters, however, reminds me more of the campaign of the other Democratic candidate in 1968—Eugene McCarthy. Attracted by his McCarthy’s anti-war candidacy and defiance of incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson, college students from across the country shaved off their beards, cut their hair, and became “Clean for Gene.” Obama seems to generate the same level of enthusiasm from his young supporters as McCarthy did. Obama also shares McCarthy’s eloquence on the stump. Kennedy always did better interacting with audiences on a one-on-one basis during question and answer sessions, as compared to delivering a set stump speech.

How do you think the course of history might have changed if Robert Kennedy had been elected president?

I always get this question when doing talks on my book to audiences. I always remind people that Kennedy faced a tough fight to even win the Democratic nomination at the Chicago convention in August. While he and McCarthy were battling each other in the various primaries, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, who had announced his candidacy too late to enter any of the primaries, was traveling around the country picking up sizable blocks of delegates from state party conventions and caucuses. Johnson, no fan of Kennedy, would also have done everything he could to deny his rival the Democratic Party’s top prize. Kennedy’s own staff said the odds were 50-50 that he would capture the nomination from Humphrey.

Still, if Kennedy had won the nomination and beaten his GOP opponent, Richard Nixon, in the fall, a Kennedy administration probably would have removed American troops from Vietnam much sooner than did the Nixon administration. Without Nixon as president, of course, there would have been no Watergate scandal, and perhaps Americans mistrust and suspicions of politicians in Washington, D.C., might have been allayed for a time. Kennedy has also made increasing benefits for Social Security recipients an issue during the Indiana primary, which might have resulted in a closer and earlier look at the solvency of the system.

Read an article on Nancy Hiller

Nancy Hiller, author of the forthcoming The Hoosier Cabinet in Kitchen History, is featured in an article in Sunday's Herald-Times (Bloomington, IN):

Most people know Nancy Hiller’s name from her work as one of the most sought-after custom cabinet and furniture makers in the area.

Increasingly, however, her name is showing up as a byline. Right now, for example, you can stop in at the Book Corner, Border’s or Barnes & Noble, pick up a summer edition copy of a handsome magazine named American Bungalow, and read her excellent piece, “Bringing Back Stinesville.”

Continue reading article (subscription required)

Ray Boomhower interviewed for RFK article

Ray E. Boomhower, author of Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary, was recently interviewed by the Indiana Daily Student for an article on Kennedy, marking the 40th anniversary of his assassination. <read article>

Read an interview with Norbert Krapf

Norbert Krapf, author of Invisible Presence and the forthcoming Bloodroot, was interviewed for an article in June issue of Indianapolis Monthly. <read interview>

Author interview: Kate Lenkowsky, Contemporary Quilt Art

Contemporary Quilt Art combines a well-researched history of studio quilts in the context of fine art and studio craft and includes an overview of educational resources and the marketplace. Recently, the IU Press blog interviewed author Kate Lenkowsky about her new book:

According to your bio, you began quilting in the early '90s. What drew you to quilting? Did you do any other type of art before you picked up quilting?

Growing up, I was surrounded by wonderful art, but it was the musical, not the visual form. In the early '70s, I spent a year in Scotland and England where I made the expected round of all the museums. I was fascinated with the early modern art in the Tate Gallery in London. The colors, shapes, and lines in these paintings and sculpture. It certainly had emotional effect on me, but just as important, I wanted to understand this art. I returned to the Tate many times that year.

Within a few years my interest had taken a back seat to raising children. A school volunteer project actually drew me to quiltmaking. Over time, I became increasingly interested in artists' quilts. Some of these had the same effect on me as the art at the Tate Gallery and I wanted to know more about them.

In the introduction of your book, you present a thorough discussion of the evolution of studio quilts. Could you briefly summarize what qualities define studio quilts and the major differences between them and traditional quilts? 

Quilts made by artists give visual form to their on-going explorations--of concepts, line, shape, texture, color, light, and techniques. The artist's intention may be to express an emotion or to communicate a message about some aspect of life. The fabric and structure of the quilt and the metaphor evoked by the quilt medium are an integral part of their art.  

Traditional quilts are an art form in their own right, but the intention of the quiltmaker is different. Most often it is to make a beautiful quilt or a functional one, or both. Sometimes it is to tell a story. Studio quilts might be beautiful but their beauty is the result of the artist's continual explorations and his or her mastery of materials and composition. There are other differences too, such as the stitching or the use of fabrics which the artist has designed herself rather than purchased already dyed or printed. I believe the principal differences, however, have to do with the intentions of the artist.

What was one of the most fascinating and/or surprising things you learned about studio quilt art while working on this book?

What I found most surprising was the number of artists who, even after obtaining their arts degrees, immersed themselves in the study of the textile arts of non-Western cultures. The influence was not always immediate or direct, but it certainly affected both the ideas and aesthetics of their art over time. Sometimes, it suggested new ways of looking at everyday experiences at home.

Discuss some of the obstacles studio quiltmakers face getting their work accepted as an art form by those in the art world and the general public. How does your book challenge this notion?

The largest obstacle to acceptance is the public's continued association of quilts with their grandmothers. Studio artists can begin to overcome this by entering their art more often in mixed media competitions and exhibits. Another handicap is the perception, among many gallery directors, of quilts as "women's work" and, therefore, not comparable in price or quality to fine art. This obstacle is hard to overcome. The artists featured in Contemporary Quilt Art are all professional artists.

A third factor that works against artists making quilts has been the prejudice of some critics and museum directors against objects made with craft materials. This persists in spite of the fact that many artists no longer make such distinctions themselves. It is also possible that these individuals do not know enough to understand textile art. It is notable, however, that no one stopped calling Robert Rauschenberg an artist when he put part of a quilt into one of his paintings.

Finally, people tend to think that textile art is hard to care for and not durable. I address the general care of quilt art in my book. Most often, it is relatively simple. Many artists give their customers care instructions with the purchase of a studio quilt.

Between working on and promoting the book, have you had any time to quilt? What kinds of quilting projects are you working on (or will plan to work on)?

I definitely miss the time I once had to spend in my studio. My research for the book, though, has taught me much about creativity and the creative process. I am presently working on a project at the Mathers World Cultures Museum at Indiana University which involves a pre-Columbian woven sampler from Peru. It has introduced me to various weave structures which were the inspiration for several quilts I am currently making.

Book review & interview: Miles Davis, Miles Smiles, and the Invention of Post Bop

"...one of the best Miles Davis books..." --David Rickert, All About Jazz <read review>

Also, tune into an interview with Miles Davis author Jeremy Yudkin on WVXU (91.7 FM, Cincinnati, OH) this Sunday, May 18 between 7 and 8 pm EDT. Listen live online or download a podcast.

Listen to an interview with Ray Boomhower

Ray Boomhower, author of Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary, was recently interviewed on WFIU Night Lights Blog about his new book. <listen to podcast>

Listen to an interview with the author of Dillinger

William Helmer, author of Dillinger, recently appeared on the WIBC radio show Crime Beat with Carl Bruzzi to discuss the life of notorious gangster John Dillinger and his ties to Indiana. Listen to the interview online (click on April 26th program) or download a copy: Download Dillinger.m3u

Read an article on Norbert Krapf

Norbert Krapf, author of Invisible Presence and the forthcoming Bloodroot, was featured in an article in the Indianapolis Star. <read article>