Sophie Hannah, crime writer, poet and the older daughter of me and WotN, has been 'singing her way' through the US during the last few days. This is what she writes at Penguin.com (usa):
Something must have gone weirdly wrong with my education at some point. I am British - English, to be specific. I ought to know more about my own country than I do about America. On a six-city tour of the US, however, I find that the opposite's true, particularly when it comes to geography. I have had many opportunities to peruse the United Airlines magazine, with its double-page map of the States, and I find I know all sorts of interesting facts about this country I'm visiting, without having realised I knew them. How do I know these facts? Well, it's mainly a result of having been a country music fan for as long as I can remember.
For example, looking at South Carolina on my map (which I have now torn out of the United Airlines magazine), it occurs to me that there are many tall pines there - I know this because of Gram Parsons' Hickory Wind. There is also at least one oak tree in South Carolina, because Gram used to climb it. And that's not all I know about the distribution of American trees. Thanks to Dwight Yoakam, I know that the dogwood trees grow south of Cincinnati...
Trees aren't all I know about, in case you were wondering. I also know there are wild skies in Montana (John Denver) and green rolling hills in West Virginia (Emmylou Harris)...
... I can see all the places Tammy Wynette went in her attempts to follow George Jones' elusive dreams and schemes - Utah, Alaska, Nebraska, Alabama. Poor old Tammy - she must have had to take off her shoes at a fair few airports. I wonder if, like me, she learned after a while (after my second US book tour) to wear slip-on sandals when travelling. My trusty map shows me exactly how far Emmylou Harris would have to walk if she really did try the Boulder to Birmingham slog she keeps telling me she'd happily undertake...
You can, as per the legend, read the whole thing. I don't know about there having been something 'weirdly wrong' with Soph's education. But I reckon you can see clear signs here of a parental influence.
