{"id":5257,"date":"2019-03-05T16:26:41","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T21:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=5257"},"modified":"2021-06-23T12:27:37","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T16:27:37","slug":"sounding-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/sounding-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Sounding Off"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2011, millions of children around the world fell in love with a Spix\u2019s macaw named Blu, the lead character in the animated film Rio<\/em>. The movie tells the story of Blu, the last known male of his species, as he is brought from captivity in Minnesota to his native Brazil to mate with the last known female of his species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What viewers might not have realized was how that fictionalized story, which ends happily with the birds returning to the wild to carry on their species, forewarned of a grave reality. Last September, the Spix\u2019s macaw was officially declared extinct in the wild. The news hit Monmouth communication professor and nature-lover John Morano particularly hard.
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\u201cI wanted to cry\u2014I really did,\u201d says Morano, who is the author of a series of critically acclaimed eco-adventure novels. His newest book in the series, Flocks of One<\/em>, which was published by Grey Gecko Press in February, focuses on some of the planet\u2019s most endangered bird species, including the Spix\u2019s macaw. \u201cI\u2019m not Bill Gates, you know; I can\u2019t throw a hundred million dollars at the Spix\u2019s macaw. I want to\u2014I can\u2019t. So, what can I do? I\u2019ll write a story. I\u2019ll be that guy.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This avocation\u2014to effect change for imperiled species and endangered habitats through storytelling\u2014began 25 years ago with the publication of the first book in what\u2019s come to be called The John Morano Eco-Adventure Series, A Wing and a Prayer<\/em>. Inspired by a news story about the last hamster of its kind, Morano became determined to tell the stories of endangered animals through the perspectives of the animals themselves.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about our loss, what about their loss? We think of everything through our viewpoint,\u201d says Morano. \u201cBut, what\u2019s it like to not\u2014forget about selecting a mate, what about not being able to find a mate? Forget about not liking your community, what if you don\u2019t have a community? What if your habitat\u2014your world\u2014is shrinking?\u201d
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Each book in Morano\u2019s series features a different cast of characters, both human and animal, in settings ranging from the Cambodian coral reefs to the volcanic Guadalupe Island, and tackles issues ranging from climate change and pollution to captivity and overfishing.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flocks of One<\/em> intertwines new and old characters with a focus on birds, such as the critically endangered Ivory-billed woodpecker. It features scenes set in New Jersey, with both the Pine Barrens and Monmouth University\u2019s campus making appearances (see sidebar below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Morano admits that the books in his series focus on highlighting imperiled species and their stories, which can be emotionally taxing, he does try to inspire hope.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose are some depressing, dark stories, and you can capture that \u2026 but write a story that\u2019s still hopeful, that says the glass isn\u2019t necessarily half empty, and have characters that might model the ways things should be,\u201d says Morano. \u201cThat\u2019s what I tried to do. The books are funny. They\u2019re fun\u2014like Disney for the environment.\u201d
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Morano\u2019s eco-adventure series has been endorsed by the World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy, the ASPCA, the Ocean Conservancy, and Oceana. Even the Grateful Dead have lent its support, giving him permission to use its lyrics for free: His second book, Makoona<\/em>, features a psychedelic octopus named Molo who only communicates through the band\u2019s lyrics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A proponent of thinking globally and acting locally, Morano travels to college campuses and holds book signings where he tries to provide a voice for the voiceless. Already at work on the next book in the series, he says he\u2019s grateful for a life which has afforded him the ability to work on subject matter that he is passionate about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been, honestly, for me, it\u2019s been a magical life. Magical,\u201d says Morano. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t know why or how, but I\u2019m taking the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n

Monmouth Cameos<\/h2>\n\n\n

Early in Flocks of One, the new eco-adventure novel by John Morano, a group of scientists and conservationists convene an international bird conference at Monmouth University. It\u2019s not the first time Monmouth\u2014or some representation of it\u2014has appeared in print or on screen. Here are a few other fictional works that featured Monmouth-related cameos: <\/p>\n\n\n

Annie<\/h3>\n\n\n

Wilson Hall served as the setting for Oliver \u201cDaddy\u201d Warbucks\u2019 Park Avenue. mansion in the 1982 movie musical, which was shot partially on campus over the course of six weeks. According to The New York Times, Roger Paradiso, a former Monmouth student who was the location manager for Annie<\/em>, suggested using the iconic building as the setting for Warbucks\u2019 home. <\/p>\n\n\n

Fall of Giants<\/h3>\n\n\n

The first book in Ken Follett\u2019s The Century Trilogy includes multiple references to Shadow Lawn, the estate that once stood on the grounds where Wilson Hall now does, and that served as the \u201csummer White House\u201d for President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. In one passage from Follett\u2019s historical novel, the main character, Gus Dewar, picks up a ringing phone and is told, \u201cA call from Shadow Lawn. The president wants to speak to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

30 Rock<\/h3>\n\n\n

In the season four episode \u201cAnna Howard Shaw Day,\u201d Jon Bon Jovi \u201901HN touts his Hawk credentials. Playing himself, the singer reprimands Tina Fey\u2019s character for blindly signing paperwork. \u201cWoah, woah, woah, woah\u2014you shouldn\u2019t sign anything without reading it first,\u201d he warns Fey. \u201cI made that mistake once and ended up NBC\u2019s artist-in-residence. Give me it,\u201d says Bon Jovi, adding as he takes the papers from her, \u201cI have an honorary degree from Monmouth University.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

Back to School<\/h3>\n\n\n

Forty-three minutes into this 1986 Rodney Dangerfield movie, the comedian jumps on stage at a bar to sing \u201cTwist & Shout.\u201d As the camera cuts back and forth between patrons dancing and the band, you can see an old Monmouth College pennant on the wall behind the backup singers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know of any other Monmouth \u201ccameos\u201d in fictional works? Write us at magazine@monmouth.edu<\/a> to let us know. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professor John Morano\u2019s eco-adventure novels give voice to the voiceless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currents"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Currents","issue":"Spring 2019","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5257"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5994,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5257\/revisions\/5994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}