And of Clay Are We Created

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

“A Small Needful Fact” by Ross Gay

• 2015 poem written in memory of Eric Garner
• connects to themes of Mortality, Memory, and Humanity’s Place in the Natural World
• Compare the interconnectivity of humanity and nature (especially earth or “clay”) in the poem and short story; consider what this interdependence implies about the nature of life, death, and remembrance.
• “A Small Needful Fact” on SuperSummary

Wit by Margaret Edson

• 1995 play about a literature professor diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer; won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a 2001 film of the same name
• connects to the theme of Acceptance of Mortality
• Compare not only Azucena and Vivian’s responses to impending death, but also the difficulty those around them have in accepting it.
• Wit on SuperSummary

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Women, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• 2013 nonfiction work about the interdependence of humanity and the natural world and its implications for sustainability
• connects to the theme of Empathy and Humanity’s Place in the Natural World
• Braiding Sweetgrass on SuperSummary

“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

• poem first featured in Oliver’s 2004 collection Wild Geese
• connects to the theme of Empathy and Humanity’s Place in the Natural World
• Consider the speaker’s invitation to share “despair” with the reader in light of the poem’s depiction of nature; what does the poem suggest about the nature of empathy, and how does this compare to empathy's depiction in “And of Clay Are We Created”?
• “Wild Geese” on SuperSummary

“A Pulitzer-Winning Photographer’s Suicide”

• 2006 NPR discussion of Dan Krauss’s documentary The Death of Kevin Carter, which tells the story of the journalist who won a 1994 Pulitzer for his photo of a vulture stalking a starving Sudanese child but killed himself shortly afterwards (content warning: link contains a reproduction of Carter’s photo, and the interview discusses topics such as famine and suicide)
• connects to the theme of Empathy
• Consider the story's depiction of both Rolf and the media generally in light of Carter’s story; what responsibilities does this kind of journalism entail?

“Memories of fear could be permanently erased, study shows” by Nicola Davis

• 2017 video and article from The Guardian
• connects to the theme of Memory as Agency and Helplessness
• Consider the implications of the research the article discusses for Rolf’s traumatic memories, given that those memories both isolate him and cause him to identify with Azucena.

Other Student Resources

"Volcanologists Who Cried Wolf – The Armero Tragedy”

• clip from the 2009 episode of Naked Science “Volcano Alert”
• elaborates on the Colombian government’s reasons for ignoring warnings about a possible volcanic eruption

“The Agony of Omayra Sánchez” by Frank Fournier

• This is the famous photograph of the girl who inspired Allende’s story; it was named World Press Photo of the Year in 1986 (content warning: Omayra’s injuries caused her eyes to become extremely bloodshot, creating an effect some may find disturbing).

“Benchmarks: November 13, 1985: Nevado del Ruiz eruption triggers deadly lahars” by Bethany Augliere

• 2016 EARTH article explaining the science of the eruption and its effects

Teacher Resources

“Isabel Allende”

• official webpage for the author, including a biography, FAQ, interview excerpts, and media appearances.