Today’s moment of serenity depicts a Maori fishing basket. This is just one installation of public art on the waterfront at Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand.
And this is only one example of the vibrant presence of Maori culture. All signs are in both Maori and English. Maori were the original settlers of the country, and are rightfully prominent in the history, language, and arts in New Zealand. More images to follow!
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
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Jadi Campbell is from Germany / Upstate New York. Jadi is one of IHRAM Press’s treasured writers. In this interview, she shares her musings, inspiration, and honest thoughts on her experience with us as an author and activist.
Jadi’s latest publication with IHRAM Press, “Red Red Roses,” is featured in the IHRAM Quarter 2 Literary Magazine: Reflections of Feminine Empowerment.
Thank you for all you do, Jadi.
Now, be honest, how has your experience been with IHRAM Press? How did you find us, and why did you choose to publish with us?
For several years, I took part in a variety show to benefit V-Day, begun by Eve Ensler, to end violence against all women, girls, and the earth. I began to look for a publication that might be interested in the essay I wrote for the show: “Red Red Roses.” When I found your call for submissions on the topic of Reflections of Feminine Empowerment, I knew my piece might find a perfect home.
Would you recommend IHRAM Press to other writers/artists?
I already have!
Share a quote from your ESSAY published in IHRAM Literary Magazine 2024!
“One day out of the blue my father astonished me by confessing that he and his male peers had watched with envy as my generation experienced the sexual revolution. I have no idea how much sex he imagined I’d had, but clearly he believed a generic ‘we’ were in and out of beds often.
Of course, he was speaking as a man. The cultural shift for women was complicated and it was messy. We inherited society’s clichés, including how we should look. My mother told me that when she was a girl she was instructed, it takes a lot of work to be attractive, and women just have to suffer in order to be beautiful. Mom passed this dubious wisdom on to me and my two sisters.
Another cliché I was taught is that nothing bad happens to girls who are good. We lived in a small town and I had no idea that terrible things could happen even there.”
Now for the fun questions! What compels you to pick up a pen or open your laptop to free-write? And what inspires/influences your writing, particularly when it comes to addressing human rights issues?
At the age of 6 I decided I was going to be a writer – and waited until I was 50 to get serious about it. A compulsion to write now rules my waking hours. I’ve belonged to a writers’ group since 2012. We talk about a writer’s need to bear witness. I write both fiction and nonfiction, and believe that compelling writing tells the truth no matter what genre a writer chooses. What influences me is a desire to make readers feel and empathize with the lives of others.
The human rights concerns addressed in the IHRAM literary magazine are often complex and challenging to navigate. How do you navigate the balance between highlighting these challenges and maintaining a sense of hope or optimism in your writing?
I couldn’t write about real-life attempted rape and societal blame without leavening the piece with humor. I also tried to give the story a historical perspective, and talked about the world my mother bequeathed to me and my sisters vs. what she had lived through. I marched on the streets 40 years ago and witnessed progress. I cannot believe that the majority of us want to turn back the clock.
How do you personally connect with our mission? Particularly on the power of art and literature to influence social change, and our values of beauty as a fundamental creative principle, sincerity, vulnerability, celebrating diversity, and opening doorways of engagement.
Your work is electrifying. The mix of international perspectives as well as the incredible artwork you feature produces a beautiful and stunning magazine. The word I keep coming back to is inspiring. I am incredibly proud to have been featured in such a global group of artists and writers. We are all interconnected, and using art to celebrate and explore what that signifies is healing and powerful.
The IHRAM magazine aims to celebrate authors contending with their identities within the context of their environments. How does your environment influence your view of the world (your home country, city, and surrounding culture)?
I’m an American who has spent half her life in Europe and another language. Experiencing a life between cultures informs everything… A dear friend once told me I’d become a citizen of the world. My German husband and I travel a great deal, and the globe is like a pointillist painting. The dots gather and connect, and create a larger and more detailed picture as I slowly fill it in.
In comparison, how does your intersectionality influence your view of the world (your personal beliefs, gender expression, religious affiliations, etc.)?
I seek out the sacred places of each place I visit. I will try to set my own ideas about what is ‘right’ or ‘true’ to one side and see if I can understand what a foreign culture has to tell me. With that said, a society that holds a group as more important or valuable than others is never justified.
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I have no idea who crocheted these dolphin vests (or why!) but boy did they make me smile. My last visit to Hong Kong was in winter of 2019, just ahead of the COVID lock down. I returned to Hong Kong with Uwe in March of this year. Somehow we’d missed this part of Kowloon, logically called Dolphin Sunset….
The views are stunning and the whimsical clothes add a certain sweetness to an overwhelmingly urban landscape.
check out the reflection on my headnothing quite like a tailor-made shirt
The location is Dolphin Sunset at Harbor City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
Earlier I posted about the oversized Maori fishing basket on the waterfront in Whangarei, New Zealand.
Today’s fishing basket image is from the Auckland Art Gallery.
This piece is by artist Chris Charteris and titled Te Ma (Fish Trap). Here is the explanation provided by the museum and artist:
I’m the daughter of a fisherman. My sisters and I accompanied him on many, many fishing trips. We rowed the row boat for him, floated on our own inflatable raft, and got to fish with the crap fishing rod he always brought along just in case. Sometimes we caught fish, too!
In any case, I’m drawn to images of fishing and fishing techniques, and Maori art has created some of the most beautiful images in the world. These posts are for our dad, Bobbo Campbell.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.
Eva Herlitz was born on July 28, 1952 in Solingen, Germany. She was a teacher and interior decorator, and a visionary. Eva Herlitz and her husband Klaus created the wonderful United Buddy Bears. The couple invited artists from every country in the world to decorate oversized bear statues. The Buddy Bears are placed in circles side by side, in exhibits that tour around the globe and are always free to the public. Donations are raised for UNICEF and other charities for children. According to the Buddy Bears website: “Since 20th June 2001, when the Buddy Bears appeared in Berlin’s streets and squares for the first time, Buddy Bear activities and help for children in need have formed an inseparable unit.” In Eva Herlitz’s honor here I give you the post I wrote after The Buddy Bears came to downtown Stuttgart. – Jadi
Many people feel Berlin is now the cultural heart of Europe. Creative impulses come from Germany’s capital and spread from there. One of the quirkiest is the Buddy Bears.
Circle of United Buddy Bears, Stuttgart
The Buddy Bears creators were inspired by the cow parades in New York and Zurich. Eva and Klaus Herlitz of Berlin wanted to initiate a similar street art project. The bear is the icon of Berlin, and thus in 2001, the Herlitzes created the first bear with a sculptor named Roman Strobl.
New Zealand
Their projected expanded, and in 2002 it went international. They had a bear created for every country the UN acknowledges, designed by artists native to each country. The bears have their arms raised as if they’re holding hands. (This can also be described as the laughing Buddha pose.) Each bear is painted with images of the culture, history, landscape, economy, art and music of its country.
The first display took place in a circle around Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. The circle symbolizes the Art of Tolerance. One and a half million people saw the exhibit, and since then, they’ve toured 5 continents and stood in an alphabetical circle in the centers of host cities.
Uzbekistan and UruguayPanama
I saw the Buddy Bears in 2008 when they came to the Schlossplatz in downtown Stuttgart. They send a message about peace, understanding, love and tolerance among the world’s nations, cultures and religions.
When new bears are commissioned, the older ones are auctioned off. All monies go to UNICEF and other childrens’ charities. As of September 2018, 2,300,000 Euros have been raised for charities such as Eva Herlitz’s Buddy Bear Help!
Over 240 artists have been involved in the project, and more than 30 million visitors have seen the United Buddy Bears. A smaller circle of United Buddy Bears-The Minis (1 meter high) also tours.
South and North Korea, side by side
Brazil and Bulgaria
The United Buddy Bears exhibitions are always opened by national and foreign dignitaries. After he saw the bears in Berlin, actor Jackie Chan made sure they came to Hong Kong. When UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Sir Peter Ustinov saw them, he insisted that Iraq be represented.
There is one very special grey and white polar bear. He has the image of Albert Einstein and the following quote: ‘Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding’.
Kirgyzstan, Columbia, Congo and Congo-Brazzaville
It’s fascinating to consider that United Buddy Bears change their order as they travel. The circle is always organized in the language of the host country. Buddy Bears may suddenly hold hands with distant or hostile neighbors…
In memory of Eva Herlitz, 28 July 1952 – 26 February 2021
Selected Bibliography:
Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — Die Kunst der Toleranz. Bostelmann & Siebenhaar Publishers, 2003. ISBN 3-936962-00-6.
Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — World Tour. NeptunArt Publisher, 2006. ISBN 3-85820-189-8.
Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — The Art of Tolerance. 384 pages, English/German, December 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-029417-4.
This post is the fourth in my series on southern Africa’s traditional baskets. This one is from Botswana, and the pattern is titled Running Ostrich. If you’ve ever watched these gangley birds do a thirty yard dash, you know this basket couldn’t be called anything else. Perfectly named!
This basket was made in Botswana. I spotted it hanging on a wall among much brighter-colored baskets. I asked to see it, and was told that the colors are from traditional materials. The main material used to make Botswana baskets is raw fibres of the Mokola or ‘vegetable ivory’ palm tree. Brown dye tones are won from the bark and roots of Motlhakola and Motsentisila trees.
After I bought this basket I looked up the pattern, suspecting that it had to have an interesting name. This pattern is called the Knees of the Tortoise.
My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded and The Trail Back Out.
Tsunami Cowboys was longlisted for the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Award. Broken In: A Novel in Stories was semifinalist for the international 2020 Hawk Mountain Short Story Collection Award from Hidden River Arts and Finalist for Greece’s 2021 Eyelands Book of the Year Award (Short Stories).
The Trail Back Out was the 2023 San Francisco Book Festival Winner for General Fiction, American Book Fest 2020 Best Book Award Finalist: Fiction Anthologies, Runner-Up for the 2021 Top Shelf Award, 2021 IAN Book of the Year Award Short Story Collection Finalist, and awarded a 2021 Wishing Shelf Red Ribbon. The title story The Trail Back Out was longlisted for the 2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Award.
Click here for my author page to learn more about me and purchase my books.
I am delighted to report that Epistemic Literary has published their first print anthology, consisting of the first four issues of the online magazine! Available on Amazon. Proceeds will go towards paying authors for their work.
My short story Food is Love appeared in their very first issue.
Maybe it’s weird, but I know more about people in my imagined universe than I do about the real people in my life. I figure real folks are entitled to their privacy. But if I thought you up and wrote you down, I DO know and WILL share salacious and embarassing details.
I create back stories for all my characters. People in my books reappear in later works. I take characters who showed up in an earlier novel or short story and fill in their profiles – sometimes against their wills.
Which brings us to Brian Klevenger. He made a brief appearance in Tsunami Cowboys, remember? Brian is Scott McCreedy’s best friend. He’s an only child, the son of alcoholics, and spends as much time as possible at Scott’s house.
Brian takes center stage in my most recent novel The Taste of Your Name. He’s fled to Germany where he does reminiscence therapy with dementia patients. He’s sleeping with two sisters. And (because I wrote his story) I tell the readers his most secret inner thoughts and emotions (because getting to do so is one of the great rewards of being a writer).
Brian is one of the most complex, complete human beings I know. You can meet him here: Amazon.com. Available around the world as eBook, hardcover, and paperback.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. My most recent book with Brian, The Taste of Your Name, was a finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award.
Traveling for a long time with just one suitcase is great. It forces me to limit what I take with me. And it limits what I can bring back. I admit it: I felt pretty virtuous about this. And then I fell in love with the traditional baskets of southern Africa.
We were in a remote lodge and wanted to buy a bird book to identify the bird life Uwe was taking pictures of every day. I wandered around their gift shop. They had a collection of brightly colored woven metal baskets, but the one I was most drawn to was a natural-colored basket hanging on the wall.
“It’s from Chobe,” I was told. We’d just come from there, and I left the shop with book and basket. I began to search out baskets from small stands on the roadsides.
Here’s another beautiful basket for you. This pattern is called: The ribs of a zebra. Isn’t it stunning?
Click here for my author page to learn more about me and purchase my books.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. My most recent book The Taste of Your Name was a finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award.
Today’s fishing basket image is from the Auckland Art Gallery.
After I bought this basket I looked up the pattern, suspecting that it had to have an interesting name. This pattern is called the Knees of the Tortoise.
NOTES: © Jadi Campbell 2024. Zebra photo ©2023 Uwe Hartmann. Uwe’s photos of our trips and his photography may be viewed at 