Acknowledgments
I am indebted to Robert M. Alter, who nearly two decades ago prophesied that a collection of crazy wisdom stories of the inscrutable Mullah was in my destiny.
“Story is the ship we sail across time,” Ursula LeGuin is quoted as saying. This project has been immeasurably enriched by my affiliation with the Connecticut Storytelling Center, whose director Ann Shapiro welcomed me to discover its storytellers and to share its outstanding folkloric resources.
Parts of the Foreword and Introduction were included in my article, “Nasruddin at 800,” published 2008 in Hearsay, the CSC newsletter. Learn more about the art of storytelling at the CSC website, <www.connstorycenter.org>.
In supporting the genesis of this project, many people have provided much-needed dabs of ammonia on the rear end of Nasruddin and his little grey donkey to propel them forward into existence in this collection. For their spark and spunk, I thank:
publisher Steve Berman, of Lethe Press
Steve Bhaerman, a.k.a. “Swami Beyondananda”
designer Toby Johnson
illustrator Sgott MacKenzie
Ralph Seligman, who copyedited the book
Oğuzhan “Ozzie” Özkan; Mehmet Ali, of Bears of Turkey; Cenk Uygur, of The Young Turks
Diane Edgecomb, Peg Donovan
Rev. Mike J. Ader
Dave O’Neal, Kendra Crossen Burroughs, Jonathan Green, Peter Turner, and Sam Bercholz of Shambhala Publications
Jeff Shaumeyer and Isaac Borocz
Thomas Cornick
Jerry L. Wheeler, Dale Chase, William Holden, and Wayne Courtois
Stephan Niederwieser, Felice Picano, Robert H. Hopcke, P.J. Willis, S. Harrington, Todd Smith
the staff of my auxiliary “offices” at Bean & Leaf, and Muddy Waters cafés in New London
Joe Maulucci, webbear
Carol Karuna Lane, Sharon Kumuda Janis, David M. Keepnews, and Sw. Anantananda
Daniel M. Jaffe
and Meir D. Amiel, Esq.
Ultimately, this work never could have been realized without the enduring support from my loving husband, Rocco.
Ti voglio bene assai.
RJS
New London, Connecticut
July 2010
Mullah Nasruddin Books by Ron J. Suresha
Mullah Nasruddin stories and books
Acknowledgments
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