tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post115427775936263620..comments2023-10-30T11:47:51.272-04:00Comments on lefter, warmer: My Friend, Josie Fowlerrebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03384242746548343890noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-65001480462736884592013-07-24T04:18:39.634-04:002013-07-24T04:18:39.634-04:00So sad to remember this time where one of your fri...So sad to remember this time where one of your friend are no longer around for you to see them. I remember the time where I asked her if she had any advice for my <a href="http://thesishelpdesk.com/phd-dissertation/" rel="nofollow">phd dissertation</a> writing and just laugh at me because she said that phd have a thesis while dissertations are for masters. She said I might been living in the other part of the globe to have a phd dissertation. Holly Buzzellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1161305579700682842006-10-19T20:52:00.000-04:002006-10-19T20:52:00.000-04:00I'm not sure if you were the lead speaker at the m...I'm not sure if you were the lead speaker at the memorial for Josie at the U of Minnesota reception at ASA this past weekend, but she sounded like a truly extraordinary person. I happened to wander in because someone told me to meet them at the reception. I couldn't stay for the whole time, but I was quite moved by what I heard, not even knowing word one about Josie beforehand. I'm definitely going to look into her work, and I can't begin to imagine what you're missing. Wishing you the best in healing, & in carrying on with her in your heart.Bear Lefthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14800176623970617091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1156998542788002612006-08-31T00:29:00.000-04:002006-08-31T00:29:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.rebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384242746548343890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1156872766450378382006-08-29T13:32:00.000-04:002006-08-29T13:32:00.000-04:00Having heard about Josie's death after I left the ...Having heard about Josie's death after I left the Twin Cities and the company of so many people who knew her, it was hard to grieve the loss and celebrate the life. Your posting, Rebecca, the comments from so many other who were touched by Josie, have provided a much needed outlet. It makes me happy to read how many people recognized her unique spark, humor and intelligence. Your words really captured her. Thanks. <BR/><BR/>Kate KaneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1156870058398579112006-08-29T12:47:00.000-04:002006-08-29T12:47:00.000-04:00Thanks, Rebecca. Mary Strunk forwarded your beauti...Thanks, Rebecca. Mary Strunk forwarded your beautiful post. I will be in Oakland and look forward to paying tribute to Josie as a dept.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>Joyce MarianoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1156820389411982202006-08-28T22:59:00.000-04:002006-08-28T22:59:00.000-04:00Thanks Adam and Mary. It's nice to see, as the wee...Thanks Adam and Mary. It's nice to see, as the weeks go by that more and more people were so inspired by Josie. Where are you guys at these days? If you're at the American studies meeting in Oakland in the Fall, there will be a brief memorial at the U. of M. reception.rebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384242746548343890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1156816239750305312006-08-28T21:50:00.000-04:002006-08-28T21:50:00.000-04:00Thanks, Rebecca, for these remarks, which come as ...Thanks, Rebecca, for these remarks, which come as a real salve. When I think of Josie, I think of someone who is still in motion, still full of motion, someone who is heading off in so many directions, so full of humor and intelligence, so gentle and, in the best way, so serious. I don't expect that to change. She still had more to say, more curiosity, more argument and fight, more traveling. She died before her time. That prankish, sidelong, and thoroughly conspiratorial smile she would sometimes give: I don't know how to imagine that as a thing of the past.<BR/><BR/>Adam SitzeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1156810371416948032006-08-28T20:12:00.000-04:002006-08-28T20:12:00.000-04:00I'm glad to have stumbled on this lovely tribute t...I'm glad to have stumbled on this lovely tribute to Josie, whom I only got to know a short while before leaving the Twin Cities. I remember her as others have described her here: so intelligent, so talented, so very committed to all she did. I also will remember her extreme gentleness of spirit. I once attended a play with Josie during which she unself-consciously vocalized her worry for the characters as some ominous set of circumstances unfolded onstage. That others in the audience had been feeling the same tension was clear by the smiles that suddenly appeared on the faces of those seated nearby. That little moment recalls for me some of what I admired most about Josie: her ability to be in-the-moment, her overflowing empathy, and her unfettered instinct to speak out for those in trouble or distress.<BR/>-mary strunkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1156361548029674592006-08-23T15:32:00.000-04:002006-08-23T15:32:00.000-04:00Rebecca,Your memories of Josie make so much sense ...Rebecca,<BR/>Your memories of Josie make so much sense to me, in the way that I found myself reading and all along thinking, "yeah, she was just like that." And I think the thing that was so hard to describe about Josie is that she had such a strong sense of the big picture, and yet, she could be so consumed by the individual moment. She lived with both these types of awareness at the same time, and I think this is what made her an intense person. She had a rare ability to be aware, and you knew that when you talked to her, you had to be very focused and listen hard. <BR/>Anyway, I am still getting used to the idea of her passing. This was good to read.<BR/>DeirdreAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154699571018710742006-08-04T09:52:00.000-04:002006-08-04T09:52:00.000-04:00thanks Duchess. It's good to see you here.thanks Duchess. It's good to see you here.rebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384242746548343890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154695442714676262006-08-04T08:44:00.000-04:002006-08-04T08:44:00.000-04:00Josie had a wonderful laugh, a quick wit, and an i...Josie had a wonderful laugh, a quick wit, and an incisive mind. I was fortunate to know her, and her passing is a concrete reminder that we should all try to live with as much meaning as Josie did.<BR/><BR/>Duchess HarrisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154470702744505952006-08-01T18:18:00.000-04:002006-08-01T18:18:00.000-04:00thanks folks for your comments. I keep having othe...thanks folks for your comments. I keep having other memories of Josie that I should have put in, one in particular: during two weeks she had off from Chemotherapy about a year +1/2 ago, she came to do research in the library in NY. The two of us were both down in the basement of Bobst library, busily churning the comintern microfilm for about three straight days. I saw something related to her work and asked, "have you seen this thing that's in delo 4276 (or something)?" For the uninformed, there are about 500 reels of film in this collection, each with two or more delos each. "Oh, delo 4276," she said, as if she were talking about a recent movie, "I've seen that one." <BR/> I could go on and on.rebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384242746548343890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154382613883237522006-07-31T17:50:00.000-04:002006-07-31T17:50:00.000-04:00Hi Rebecca--This is lovely tribute to Josie's life...Hi Rebecca--This is lovely tribute to Josie's life and her passions. Thank you so much. <BR/><BR/>She was a very generous soul with a big, terrific laugh that always seemed to me to contradict her slight build--just something I remember. <BR/><BR/>And, if my memory serves, her dissertation actually began as a novel before it was a play. I recall her saying that it was practically all dialogue, so a play seemed to make sense. Well, I guess it did for a while, and then it didn't.<BR/><BR/>I'll be sure to look for her book in the future. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again for letting other people know about who Josie was.<BR/><BR/>catherine orrAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154369079824450002006-07-31T14:04:00.000-04:002006-07-31T14:04:00.000-04:00thanks so much, Beth. I heard about her visit with...thanks so much, Beth. I heard about her visit with you too, and about how much you meant to her over the years.rebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384242746548343890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154368693343068172006-07-31T13:58:00.000-04:002006-07-31T13:58:00.000-04:00Dear Rebecca: thank you for posting this picture ...Dear Rebecca: thank you for posting this picture and remembrance of Josie. I visited her in Cambridge 2 days after your visit, and she was home, and still beaming from her visit with you. I was very moved by her ferocious spirit, and by her eloquence and quiet pride about her book. "The book saved my life," she said. Yes. And it will have such a life for many scholars and students. Thank you for providing a context for the writing of her book.<BR/><BR/>I have a copy of Josie's first dissertation, I'm pretty sure -- she gave me a copy to read because I'm in Macalester's theater department. I'll look for it.<BR/><BR/>I'll be glad to receive the information about which causes she'd like us to donate to on her behalf.<BR/><BR/>Much love to you, Rebecca, and solidarity -- <BR/><BR/>Beth ClearyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154287409945222172006-07-30T15:23:00.000-04:002006-07-30T15:23:00.000-04:00If you read down this page, you'll be able to read...If you read down <A HREF="http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Resources/Books/01475479.html" REL="nofollow">this page,</A> you'll be able to read an abstract of an article that she published two years ago in the Journal, "International Labor and Working Class History."rebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384242746548343890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154287172826579882006-07-30T15:19:00.000-04:002006-07-30T15:19:00.000-04:00Thanks. She really was remarkable. A mutual friend...Thanks. She really was remarkable. A mutual friend told me recently that he thought there might have been a reading of the play done at Macalester while she was there. It sounds familiar, but I don't completely remember. She kept all her papers in very good order, so I'm sure that there is a copy of it around somewhere, along with her other writings.rebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384242746548343890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8077580.post-1154286406589961822006-07-30T15:06:00.000-04:002006-07-30T15:06:00.000-04:00I just read your story about your friend Josie. S...I just read your story about your friend Josie. She was a remarkable woman and the loss for you, her family, and others who knew her must be awful. Her courage and humor throughout this long and deadly illness are inspiring. I believe that she'll remain in your memory as a rare and unforgettable friend. <BR/>It's hard to imagine that one could write a dissertation in the form of a play and then toss it and move on to achieve what she did. I plan to read her book when it comes out -- and I've got to admit I'm very curious about how she was able to write her "first" dissertation in the form of a play. Have you ever seen it or parts of it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com