May 28, 2007 – NEWS ARTICLE
Call it the “Koala Konnection.” It’s the thread that has brought together a California publisher, a New Jersey writer, and the artists at the Central Ohio Art Academy in Reynoldsburg. Article by John Matuszak, Eastside Messenger, Columbus, Ohio. More
Columbus Eastside Messenger
May 28, 2007
—
By John Matuszak
Eastside Editor
Call it the “Koala Konnection.”
It’s the thread that has brought together a California publisher, a New Jersey writer, and the artists at the Central Ohio Art Academy in Reynoldsburg, bound by their love for the endangered animal and their willingness to aid in its survival.
The bond extends from the origins of the world, as related in their collaborative effort, “Klassic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings,” to the modern World Wide Web.
“It was a miracle of the Internet” that led to their project, commented writer Lee Barwood, who visited Reynoldsburg May 19 for the release of the book for which Donna Boiman and her students at the art academy provided illustrations.
Barwood (pen name for Marlene Satter) was contacted by editor and illustrator Joanne Ehrich, owner of Koala Jo Publishing, after writing a complimentary review of her book “Koalas: Zen in Fur.”
“It was the most awesome coffee table book on koalas I had ever seen,” Barwood said.
The women learned that they shared a life-long love for the koala, that began for Barwood with her father’s tour of duty in Australia during World War II.
Amid the more grim experiences of war, he found delight and serenity among the koalas, and sent home photos of himself with the animals in his arms and perched on his shoulders.
He also sent back koala books and toys for his daughters, which Marlene, the youngest, inherited from her sisters.
“I got my first koala (teddy bear) when I was no bigger than a koala,” Barwood said. “There were always koalas in the house.”
Growing up, Barwood also found a passion for writing and reading, particularly mythology and folklore, with tales such as “Beowulf” and “Song of Roland” among her favorites.
She found a career as a freelance writer for numerous publications, including Ellery Queen’s Mystery magazine.
Her interest in folklore and her environmental conscience were further strengthened when she and her husband moved from Long Island to escape commercial sprawl, only to find the same forces at work in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas.
Amid poverty and high unemployment, farmers were left with little choice but to sell off their acres to construction companies or loggers who could strip a hillside of its trees almost overnight.
Barwood’s alarm over this environmental degradation, and her admiration for the folk wisdom of the Ozark natives, led to her first published novel, “A Dream of Drowned Hollow,” which won Andre Norton’s Gryphon Award for fantasy fiction.
All of the elements that had shaped her world view came together when Barwood, now back in New Jersey, was asked by Ehrich if she would interested in the book project that would benefit koalas and the Australian Wildlife Hospital.
Meanwhile, Ehrich had heard from Boiman’s students, who were impressed with her book “Koalas: Moving Portraits of Serenity,” and had accepted the assignment to provide illustrations.
Everything from there moved with the speed of a keyed-up kangaroo.
Ehrich and Barwood found a treasure trove of Aboriginal tales on the Internet, and the writer proceeded to update them for modern readers.
Most of the tales feature the koala and its important place in Aboriginal mythology.
People are drawn to the koala because it is soft and cute and non-threatening, the author offered.
“They like to hold onto things,” Barwood said. “They are the image of nurturing.”
But in the Aboriginal tales, “the koala is powerful. It’s a shamanic figure,” she added. “The koala has the power over water and drought. If it is not treated with respect, it will not rain. If the koala does not sing to the trees, they will not grow.”
Considering the current plight of the koala, whose habitat is increasingly threatened, and the droughts and wildfires plaguing Australia, Barwood wonders if the ancients were onto something in their regard for the creature.
“It sends shivers up your back,” Barwood said.
In another tale, the animals seek out a bloated frog who has swallowed up all the water.
“The animals and birds felt hopeless to see that one creature had been so selfish as to drink up every drop,” Barwood writes.
That the frog could be seen as symbolic of the Western world “was not deliberate, but it’s accurate,” Barwood said. “That is exactly what we’re doing. The civilized world is devouring everything we need.”
There are warnings in the folklore of every culture, from Australia to Appalachia, Barwood said, “about being being prudent, about being thrifty.”
And it would be a good idea to pay attention to some of this ancient wisdom. “There are old wive’s tales because the old wives knew something.”
The ray of hope comes from taking action, as did the students at the Central Ohio Art Academy, the writer believes. “There are a few people doing a lot, and most are not doing enough.”
While in Columbus, Barwood planned on visiting the zoo and viewing the koalas, and convincing the zoo to carry the latest book.
Her dream is to someday visit Australia and see the koalas up close, as her father did.
“I really want to hold one,” Barwood said.
“Klassic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings” is available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Borders.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Australian Wildlife Hospital, a project of the Australian Zoo Wildlife Warriors for the preservation of the koala and other animals.
Other books on koalas by Joanne Ehrich are available through www.koalajo.com.
Students from the Central Ohio Art Academy, (front center) Jessica Littrell, a sophomore at Gahanna Lincoln High School; (back left) Kelsey Darner, a sophomore at Pickerington North High School; and (back right) Mariya Nudel, a junior at Columbus Torah Academy, and the school’s director, Donna Boiman (right) meet with author Lee Barwood May for the release party for “Klassic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings,” for which the students and Boiman contributed illustrations. The book is published by Joanne Ehrich, who also contributed artwork. Part of the proceeds from the project will benefit the Australian Wildlife Hospital. The students who also received year-end awards.
Among the Central Ohio Art Academy students who worked on the koala book project were Danny Wiecek, a sixth-grader at Harmon Middle School in Pickerington, and Helen Casebolt, a sixth-grader at St. Pius X school. Wiecek is holding a photograph of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, whose wildlife hospital will receive part of the proceeds from book sales.
Others who contributed include Stavroula Soulas of Blacklick and Jessica Motz of Pickerington.
Stavroula Soulas worked on the illustration for the story “The Koala’s Clinging Baby.”
Jessica Littrell created the artwork for the story “The Sowers of Discord and the War Between the Birds and the Animals.”