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The 2nd Annual Lowell Writers and Publishers Winter Roundup is set for Saturday, February 23, 12.30 to 4.00 pm, upstairs at the Old Court Irish pub at Central and Middle streets in downtown Lowell. Publishers and writers attending include playwright Jack Neary, poet and memoir-writer Judith Dickerman-Nelson, Sweeney-and-Seawell creator Dave Robinson, John…
Read More »February 2 is a celebratory day with roots in ancient lore, Christian ritual and popular culture. In pre-Christian times, today February 2 was celebrated as the “Festival of Lights.” The day marked the time halfway between the shortest day of the year and the Spring Equinox. Ancient people also believed…
Read More »Martha Norkunas is a scholar, a folklorist, who was the director of cultural affairs at the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission in the early 1990s. Her book “Monuments and Memory: History and Representation in Lowell, Massachusetts” was published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 2002. In it she catalogues the various…
Read More »Congratulations to Glen Johnson, most recently the Boston Globe’s political editor, but remembered fondly here as one of the best City Hall reporters the city of Lowell was fortunate to have had, on his upcoming career change. Starting this Monday, Glen will work at the U.S. State Department for our…
Read More »Between 1990 and 1993, a very different kind of public-art project happened in the power house of the Boott Cotton Mills. This was part of the growing Lowell Public Art Collection. UMass Lowell art students and dozens of volunteers joined San Francisco-based artist David Ireland (since deceased) in his effort…
Read More »St. Brigid of Ireland ~ “Mary of the Gaels” Today February 1 is the Feast Day of St Brigid of Ireland, often called Mary of the Gael. She is one of the great patron saints of Ireland along with St. Patrick and St. Columba. Named for Druid goddess Brid, and though she…
Read More »This poem is from Matt Miller’s new prize-winning collection of poems called “Club Icarus,” published by the University of North Texas Press. Matt is a Lowell High School graduate who earned degrees at Yale University, where he also played varsity football, and Emerson College. He teaches English and coaches football…
Read More »As a follow-up to my earlier post on a Patrick Keely-designed church that was saved – unlike Lowell’s St. Peter’s Church – here’s a link to a New York Times article about the re-opend St. Brigid’s Church in New York’s Lower East Side ~ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/nyregion/st-brigids-church-on-lower-east-side-celebrates-a-new-beginning.html?nl=nyregion&emc=edit_ur_20130128 History lived in that sacred space. Immigrant families found faith,…
Read More »Record-setting NFL kicker Tom Dempsey played rough and tough in his football days, including a stint with the semi-pro Lowell Giants whose home for a few years was Cawley Stadium. The NYTimes reports that 66-year-0ld Dempsey is suffering from dementia, which may be linked to the hard knocks he took…
Read More »A reader just left a comment to a two-year old post on the origins of radio station WLLH. This comment contained a link to a 14 minute long YouTube video created back in 1986 at the studios of WLLH-WSSH which were located in the former Giant Store at the corner…
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