This is the second week of “virus” diary entries by Paul Hudon of Lowell, scholar and teacher and keen observer of the locale and wider world. He is the author of The Valley & Its People: An Illustrated History of the Lower Merrimack and All in Good Time, a book…
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Optional soundtrack Kristos Anestis! By George Chigas Kristos Anestis Alithos Anestis Christ has risen! Indeed, He has risen! Saying that to people as they arrived at the house was about as religious as it got for our family at Easter. I think Aunt Filitsa was the only one who really…
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The False God of Dow by George Chigas At the height of Cambodia’s economic and military power during the Angkor Period (ninth to fifteenth centuries), when a drought or disease threatened the kingdom’s prosperity and security, the ruler, believed to be semi-divine, a deva-raja or god-king, would summon his high…
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A World Crisis Comes to a Small Town in Texas By Frank Wagner UNTIL ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, most people knew about Brenham, Texas, for the ice cream that is made here. Blue Bell Creameries quite rightly promotes their ice cream as the best in the country. The Kruse family…
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The Barbarians Have Arrived After Cavafy by Tom Sexton After a few centuries of patiently waiting outside the city, the barbarians have finally arrived and taken over the Capitol. When did they realize our Republic was rotting from the inside like an overripe pear? Who thought they’d…
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Stephen O’Connor’s new novel is This Is No Time to Quit Drinking: Teacher Burnout and the Irish Powers. A House in Carlisle by Stephen O’Connor I’ve often asked myself if I am envious of those who can afford to live in Carlisle, or if it is a better place to…
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This past Sunday I revisited notes from a writing course I attended in Ireland three years ago. At the time America was a few months into a new presidency, and with much talk at home of building a wall, the warm welcome I received abroad was reassuring. Over the past…
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We asked occasional contributor Paul Hudon of Lowell if he would consider sharing entries from the diary that he keeps. In this extraordinary time, we’ve seen other publications whose editors are encouraging certain writers to keep a journal or diary about the virus crisis with observations, reflections, reports on their…
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Stop and Render Aid by Frank Wagner . Every traveler knows about certain points along the road, where the asphalt cracks, where the broken bottles crashed, where the chicken did not make it across. This is where the sun blinds the eyes, or the rain gets too thick that it…
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From University Hospital in Waterford, Ireland, Alex Hayes of the staff sent us a poem he wrote in the midst of the virus crisis. We know Alex from the anthology Atlantic Currents: Connecting Cork and Lowell, just published this month. He has several poems in the collection. A graduate of…
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