The web isn’t called “the web” for nothing. Like no other tool, the internet both displays and helps us plug in to the vast connectedness of daily life. In recent days the writers on this blog have put their words around the economy, the future of cities, university happenings and faculty, and so forth.

Today’s NYTimes offers a special section on the Op-Ed page with four writers from around the country sharing personal takes on the quicksand of a recession from which we can’t extract ourselves. One of the writers invited to contribute today is Ann Hood, a Rhode Island native, who writes about a restaurant in Providence. Author of “The Red Thread” and other books, Ann will be in Lowell on October 2 for the Jack Kerouac Literary Festival, an expanded version of the Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! festival that has been produced annually since 1988. The bigger, better festival will have Kerouac programs at the core, but will now include a variety of writers and literary programs, such as the Children’s Book Illustrators exhibition at the Brush Art Gallery, which opens the same weekend (Sept. 30 – Oct. 3 are the Kerouac Festival dates).

Ann Hood

Ann was invited to be part of a panel discussion by Andre Dubus III, who has been helping to “grow” the Kerouac Festival. On Saturday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m.,  Andre will moderate a panel discussion about “Art and Commerce”  with Ann Hood, Anita Shreve, and Tom Perrotta. The three authors will be around after the panel to sign books and meet with people.

Read Ann Hood’s essay here, and consider subscribing to the NYT if you appreciate the writing.