Tracker Pixel for Entry

Fiction and folklore along the Red River

Writer's Block | October 17th, 2018

“My dad would say something when we’d see the river really low. I was raised in Colorado along the South Platte. In German he’d say, ‘The river he is so dry -- he is crying for rain. He is rain poor.’ ‘He’ it wasn’t an ‘it’ and the earth was not an ‘it,’ the earth was ‘die erde’ which is feminine because it was full of life.” said retired NDSU professor and author Dr. Timothy Kloberdanz.

“I’ve always been fascinated by rivers. It’s going to sound like I’m anthropomorphizing but I’m guilty as charged. It’s better to anthropomorphize a river than to see it as an ‘it.’”

His areas of expertise are expressive culture and folklore, but now he’s exploring fiction with his new novella titled, “One day on the River Red” but his fiction is rife with folklore.

“One day on the River Red” follows Raymond an Norwegian widower. The story follows Raymond as he walks along the Red River where he encounters a mysterious young woman with flowing red hair. Was she real? Was she a sprite or other otherworldly being? The novella is dedicated to his Aunt Margaret and maybe even inspired by her. She died before Kloberdanz was born but his family had their own folklore surrounding her spirit.

River culture is in Dr. Kloberdanz’ blood. Raised on the South Platte River and now living along the Red River, his family migrated to the Red for the sugar beet harvest in the 1920s. Yet his river roots extend farther. He is a descendent of the Germans from Russia who lived along the Volga River in Ukraine. He attributes all this to his fascination with rivers.

Kloberdanz has done extensive research on the culture of the Germans from Russia as well as the ethnic makeup of the Midwest. He, along with North Dakota state folklorist Troyd Geist, co-edited and compiled the award-winning book, “Sundogs and Sunflowers: Folklore and Folk Art of the Northern Great Plains.”

His foray into folklore started around the age of ten, when he would record the stories of the elders in his family. He was conducting interviews before he even really knew what an interview was. “I still have more questions than answers. I wish I could go back and ask all this stuff, you know what? You can not tap it all. A culture is way too big and too complex. You can write all the books you want. Volumes and volumes. The best you’re going to do is have a slice, so we do what we can and here I am into fiction! Who would have thought. I’ve always dealt in nonfiction, in some ways it’s easier --You talk to people you go to the archives…”

“Once I got into Raymond’s shoes the story just flowed and I let the character take me where it would, which is a scary thing because you have your ideas and you have your outline.” said Kloberdanz. “One day on the River Red” is the first in a series of fictional books with a river as their focal point.

IF YOU GO

Author event: Dr. Tim Kloberdanz

Sunday, October 21, 2pm

Zandbroz Variety, 420 N Broadway, Fargo

Recently in:

By Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu Dr. Stephen McDonough researched why North Dakota had the highest COVID death rate and cases in the fall of 2020. His investigation accumulated into a 1,000-plus page book titled…

By Michael M. Miller michael.miller@ndsu.eduOne of the most important books published about the Germans from Russia in North Dakota is “Along the Trails of Yesterday: A Story of McIntosh County” by Nina Farley Wishek, published…

photo credit: Jessica GavinSeptemberOktoberfest: Now-October 3Wurst Bier HallStein-holding competition, happy hour Mon-Fri from 4-6, wear your dirndl or lederhosen, German music.https://wurstfargo.com/Papa’s Pumpkin…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Thank you, Reader readers, for 29 fulfilling yearsChugging along, The Little Newspaper That Could commences its 30th volume and year with this issue. Simply getting here speaks volumes. Just…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comEighty Million Eligible Voters Did Not Vote in the DSA in 2020. Why Not?In the first week of February, 2023, Deborah Daub, 59, shot and killed her husband James Daub, 62, Morgan Daub, their…

We are looking for 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels, do you have ideas or connections?We use these barrels to teach our resilient yard workshop series including Make Your Own Rain Barrel and Make Your Own Compost Tumbler. If…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comMy new venture as a master’s degree student has got me thinking…again about food. Although I’m in an online program with the University of North Dakota, I thought it would be handy to list and…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comThe Melvins formed in 1983 Montesano, Washington, founded by singer/guitar player Buzz Osborne. The group is known for its heavy sound mixed with a dose of punk, forming its own subgenre.…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comFilmmaker Jacqueline Castel’s “My Animal” premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January, but its vibes are better suited to the rising blood moon of autumn’s spooky season. Now…

By HPR Staffsubmit@hpr1.comThe Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists’ much-lauded neighbor lovin’ Studio Crawl is just around the corner – October 7 and 8, noon to 6pm. During the free event, the people who add culture and vibrancy…

By Eric Dallmanericd@hpr1.comWe recently watched “The PROM” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and it was an experience that left a lasting impact on us. The story, a heartwarming yet familiar one, follows a group of Broadway stars…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On the first day of the month I ask people to thank a journalist they know or someone who contributes to papers in some meaningful way. When I grew up, my best friend's father was a journalist…