Research Objectives:
It is often the extremes and natural drama of Antarctica that draws the attention of a visitor or outsider. Artists and writers have rightly celebrated the striking beauty of Antarctica, but for those who have spent time on the Ice it is often the details of the day to day--how and what to eat, where you sleep, how to stay warm--that provide the most insight into what it really means to live in such a place. The texture and richness of daily life generates interesting and complicated memories—and often the best stories. This is what Susan Fox Rogers discovered when in 1996 she edited Alaska
Passages: Twenty Voices from Above the 54th Parallel (Sasquatch Books) in which she gathered stories from Alaskans that offered vivid details of what it is like to live in such a “big place.” Her goal is to assemble a similar collection of personal essays from “Antarcticans,” those who have spent time on the ice and have a keen literary eye for describing this life.
Susan Fox Rogers has edited ten book anthologies, four of which focus on women
and outdoor sports (Solo: On Her Own Adventure, Two in the Wild:
Tales of Adventure from Friends, Mothers, and Daughters, Another
Wilderness: New Outdoor Writing, and Going
Alone: Women’s Adventures in the Wild). Each of
her collections combines the work of new as well as veteran writers and though
each book began with an initial vision, they all took shape through the words
and experiences of the contributors. As with these previous books, Ms. Rogers
hopes to be surprised by the tales from a range of writers-- and from those
who never thought of themselves as writers--whether support staff, principal
investigators, or team members.
Formerly an editor at Penguin U.S.A., Ms. Rogers is currently a visiting professor
of writing and first year seminar at Bard College. Ms. Rogers has taught courses
on antarctic narratives and, based on her work on the ice, plans to develop
a new course for fall 2005. She has also taught writing at the University of
Arizona, where she received her M.F.A. in creative nonfiction.
Ms. Rogers will work out of McMurdo. There, she intends to solicit stories, to experience the “daily life” of certain teams and to explore possible subjects that would be essential to such a collection.
