Hannah Blanke
Scholar Interview (Jane Young, mjyoung@unm.edu)
1. What activities did you enjoy doing as a child?
Reading, sewing, playing piano, gardening, caring for our animals, spending time in the
woods (I grew up on a small farm at the edge of a forest and spent a great deal of time hiking
alone or with my brother).
2. Describe your family. What were they like? Do you have any good memories of them?
My father was an abusive alcoholic and my mother was angry and bitter. My closest
friend was my brother and we are still very close. Because we lived far from town neither of us
grew up with a circle of friends, but we did “look out for each other” and both sought solace in
the woods that surrounded our small farm. I learned to amuse myself and to enjoy being alone –
as a consequence I have rarely been bored. The negative side to such “isolation” is that I never
learned to socialize and have often been uncomfortable in social situations.
3. How did you become interested in material culture? What triggered the switch to a
more socio-cultural focus?
My first interest (in the folklore program where I was a graduate student) was language
and ethnography of speaking. I hadn’t consciously realized it, but I grew up in a farming
community where activities such as quilting and wood carving were practiced and I actively took
part in such practices. I wanted initially to study the Zuni language (and I did learn to speak
Zuni), but the governor of the tribe asked me to record the rock art surrounding the pueblo that
was being vandalized (he said they already knew their language and didn’t need any help with
that). That began a lifelong fieldwork practice of doing what the community I was studying
wanted me to do, rather than imposing my interests on them. After about three years recording
the rock art at Zuni Pueblo and comparing designs to other material forms, such as pottery, I
became intensely interested in the interaction between people and objects (especially those they
made themselves); in a way, I was returning to childhood interests. I also realized that I couldn’t
understand Zuni material culture without comprehending the wider socio-cultural context in
which people and objects were situated. My book about Zuni rock art is as much about Zuni
world view as it is about images carved on rock walls surrounding the Pueblo. Since I’ve been
interested in gender issues for as long as I can remember, I started to pay attention to gender
roles in Mata Ortiz pottery making. What was most fascinating to me was that when women
began to make and sell their pottery (men were the first to do so, but women quickly followed),
their status in the family began to change. Since they were making their own money for the first
time in their lives, their position in a formerly very patriarchal society became more egalitarian.
4. Do you have any sort of ties to the areas that you study (ex. Zuni Indians, potter
community of Mata Ortiz)?
I still have an adoptive family at Zuni with whom I have strong ties, but it has been hard
to keep up with the wider community at both Zuni and Mata Ortiz because of time and distance.
I first went to Mata Ortiz in 1994 and have been going back for extended visits ever since. Three
years ago I bought a house in the village and spend about one-third of my time there. I am very
active in community affairs and I have begun to organize and computerize the notes of Spencer
McCallum (30 years of archival material), the “discoverer” of Juan Quezada and the spark that
ignited Mata Ortiz pottery-making.
5. What job did you do for most of your life? What did you like or not like about it?
I was a university professor for most of my life. I loved teaching and interacting with
students and also found that I loved to write (although writing under pressure with strict
timelines and many other obligations was difficult). I especially enjoyed working with graduate
students who were writing theses and dissertations and found that I was a good mentor, while
learning a great deal from these students about a variety of topics. I liked working with
colleagues (my interests have always been very interdisciplinary) and co-authored a number of
articles with different colleagues in diverse fields throughout my career.
I did not like the constant pressure of needing to publish, teach, give papers at
professional meetings, serve on university committees and professional committees and carry out
all of the other obligations that being a university professor entailed. It was disappointing to
realize that those who “juggled” such tasks most successfully (in the eyes of university
bureaucrats) were those who had little time for students and frequently neglected their teaching.
Despite claims that “times have changed,” I found that women were most often overburdened by
departmental “housekeeping tasks” and caring for students (often to the detriment of publishing
the requisite number of books and articles) and received the lowest salaries. This was true in my
case and for other women who were perceived as “nurturing”; a number of my female graduate
students encountered similar situations when they received their PhDs and entered the academic
realm.
6. Where did you attend your post-high school education?
MA – St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD – liberal arts
MA coursework – Johns Hopkins University – liberal arts – didn’t finish degree
Ph.D. – University of Pennsylvania – folklore and folklife
7. Looking back, what person, group of people, or organization/institution has had the
greatest positive influence on your life story? Why?
When I was growing up, my family was quite isolated because we lived on a small farm
far from anywhere. One of the most exciting times for me was when my mother’s college friend,
Ingeborg Golde (Inge) came to visit during her summer vacation – every year while I was
growing up, she would spend 3 weeks with us. My mother was a worrier and very unhappy, but
Inge had learned to live life “in the moment” and to put worries aside. She was devoted to
learning anything and everything she could and inspired me to do the same. We would take long
walks in the woods and talk about the colors, sights, sounds – she introduced me to literature
(although my mother was also a reader of great literature) and taught me never to feel sorry for
myself because of anything that happened to me. I suppose one could sum that up by saying that
she taught me to live every moment to the fullest and realize that life is what one makes of it –
shaped somewhat by external events, but more by how one responded to those events.
My Aunt Mary was also a major positive influence because she was a joyful person,
despite great tragedies she had experienced. She would walk into a room and it was like she
brought the sunshine with her. She truly loved being alive and her vibrant personality enlivened
those around her. Whereas Inge was an intellectual who had adopted Eastern philosophy as a
way of living in the world, Aunt Mary was simply spontaneous and delighted by many
experiences. She had a marvelous sense of humor and often managed to make my mother laugh
(quite a feat). I am most fortunate to have a sister-in-law who is very like my Aunt Mary.
As a graduate student I was influenced by the scholarship and passion for learning that
inspired Dell Hymes, Virginia Hymes and Ray Birdwhistell. All three were major educational
influences, superb mentors, and their unique perspectives still inform my own scholarship.
Colleagues with whom I co-authored articles influenced both my scholarship and my
attitude toward life – these include Ray Williamson, José Limon, Ken Foote, Jerry Davis and
Polly Schaafsma.
At the Folklore Program at UT Austin, I had the good fortune to work with three students
who were also good friends – I still think of them as a community of scholars/friends/students
that inspired me to think in new ways about gender issues and simply good friends who were fun
to be with. These three were Linda Pershing, Suzy Seriff and Kay Turner.
8. What is the best complement you’ve ever received?
Being told that I had positively influenced someone’s life – that I had made a difference
that was beneficial to them.
9. What is a memorable moment in your life; a time you will never forget.
I come back to living in the moment. One day I was driving with Inge on a back road in
Western Pennsylvania, just looking at the countryside. We came upon a horse running wild in a
field – it was such a beautiful, joyous sight that Inge focused solely on the horse and
consequentlydrove right off the road and into the mud (it had recently rained). Her reaction was
that “paying attention to that joy and beauty” was worth any inconvenience that followed. When
we realized that we were hopelessly stuck (a situation that would have led to cursing and anger
from either of my parents), Inge was entirely unfazed and said, “Well, this will be interesting,
let’s see how we will get out of this.” We walked to the nearest farm and explained to the farmer
who was outside with his tractor what had happened and that we needed him to pull us out of the
mud. His initial response was an angry, “Goddamn women drivers!” Inge immediately began to
talk to him about why he responded in this manner and the conversation (Inge never raised her
voice) went on for over an hour. At some point, the farmer invited us to sit on the porch and
brought us iced tea. I don’t remember what Inge said, but I think she permanently changed his
attitude towards women. Eventually, he did pull us out of the mud with his tractor and told Inge
that it had been a great pleasure to have a conversation with her. I come back to this experience
frequently – encouraging myself to pay attention to joy and beauty and not worry about the little
things. It also reminds me to be patient with the negative attitudes of others.
10. What has been the proudest moment in your life and why?
I can’t single out any specific moment that made me “proudest.” I can say that I was
proud when the Governor of Zuni Pueblo read my book (SIGNS FROM THE ANCESTORS)
and said that I had done a fine job of presenting Zuni perspectives about rock art and Zuni
cultural symbolism more generally. I was proud to be adopted by a wonderful family from Zuni
Pueblo. I have had many proud moments when students I worked with received their degrees
and/or got the sort of jobs they wanted and deserved (but more proud of them than of myself). I
was proud that the potters of Mata Ortiz liked the catalogue that I wrote based on my interviews
with them.
11. What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were younger?
Perhaps because I grew up in a dysfunctional family, I tried hard to prove my worth (to
them and to myself). I felt driven to succeed at everything I undertook (often to the detriment of
my health and well-being). Now that I am retired, I look back on my “career” and see that much
of what I thought was crucially important (for instance, being perceived as successful by others)
was not nearly as significant as the things I gave up to become “successful.” For instance, I put
off having children until it was too late, and often did not sustain meaningful relationships (I
“lost touch” with many friends) because I spent my time on pursuits that now seem trivial. I
think my initial interest in folklore was that it seemed to be the “glue” that held communities
together; yet I only intermittently participated in such communities myself. I have found those
kinds of friends and community bonds at Mata Ortiz and greatly cherish them; I regret the
opportunities I let slip by because I was too busy.
12. How do you define a “good life” or a “successful life”?
I once thought “success” had to do with having a “career”; I now think that a “good life”
is one that is lived according to one’s own dictates and passions; not selfishly, but informed by
self-knowledge. As a “recovering academic” and retiree, I am now trying to rediscover the
things that gave me joy -- I gave up too much along the way. I am striving to learn to live in the
moment and “give back” to the people in my life who matter. I want to pay attention to such
moments and people. I find that the intangible is much more important than the tangible; the
process more important than the product.
13. Do you have any goals that you are still working towards?
I am struggling to be a fluent speaker of Spanish, to learn for the sheer joy of learning, to
make more room in my life for music and art. Most of this answer is embedded in the previous
one.
14. Can you describe any turning points you have had in your life?
I have had a number of turning points in my life; generally they were generated by new
experiences that have awakened me and given me new perspectives on old patterns (frequently
this led to changing those patterns permanently), new ways of thinking about myself and the
world. Going to St. John’s College (a small liberal arts college in Annapolis, Maryland based on
reading the Great books of the Western world) was a marvelous experience because its emphasis
was on learning for the sake of learning. Students were taught that all subjects were equally
important in the process of learning how to think; this strengthened my previous interests in
diverse subjects and led to a lifetime of interdisciplinary interests. St. John’s provided me with a
pattern for what it meant to be educated and to educate – a pattern that has guided my life, even
though I never encountered that pattern at any other educational institution.
Deciding to study folklore was a turning point, even though I did not realize it at the time.
It reawakened my interest in the importance of community and my knowledge that such a
community was lacking in my childhood (I grew up on an isolated farm and did not have the sort
of friends that one might make growing up in a small town or other sort of “peopled”
environment). Doing fieldwork at Zuni and Mata Ortiz were both turning points, partly because
I became deeply involved in both communities and also because I held their values in high
esteem. Retiring was a turning point because it led me to give up a pattern of stress and
“workaholism” and awaken (or perhaps reawaken) different sorts of values in myself.
15. Looking back over your entire life story, can you discern a central theme, message, or
idea that runs throughout the story? What is the major theme of your life story? Explain.
Perhaps the need for community is one such central theme. Others include rejecting the
patterns and values (abuse, rage, bitterness) of my parents and seeking to develop my own
patterns and find joy in being alive each moment (this is, of course, a lifelong process).