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I’m doing research for an essay about hyperlocal blogs like richardhowe.com, and I’d like to hear from people who know of similar blogs that focus deeply on a single place’s culture, politics, and history (the traditional past and moving-target history as it happens). Examples can be single-author blogs or multi-author and be…
Read More »Thoughts about a milestone from one of our Lowell-linked contributors flung not so far out into the Atlantic, namely, on the Vineyard–PM . My personal odometer spins to a big, bottom-heavy number on Monday, and it has got my attention, prompting me to write and share a few random notes.…
Read More »Political analyst Ron Brownstein has a new essay in National Journal about the “upside down” employment situation in the US, with more older people staying in their jobs out of necessity or choice and fewer younger people able to get started on the job ladder. I picked this up from…
Read More »Yesterday’s NYTimes included an article by Elisabetta Povoletto about a painting made by Jack Kerouac and Italian artist Franco Angeli in 1966 when Kerouac was visiting Italy. Titled “The Deposition,” the subject of the artwork is the removal of Jesus from the cross upon which he was crucified. Kerouac was…
Read More »Back in the spring of 1954 at the age of 11 – home from school couch-bound as was the prescription for rheumatic fever in those days – I was glued to our small television watching the Army-McCarthy hearings along with my grandmother. One of the most dramatic moments of those…
Read More »I find myself in the unusual position of defending Sarah Palin – sort of. Ever since she visited Boston, comedians and commentators have poked fun at her apparent mangling of Paul Revere’s activities of April 18-19, 1775. (By the way, the finest account of that event is Paul Revere’s Ride…
Read More »Thaddeus S. Lowe observing the battle from his balloon Intrepid. ( Library of Congress) The Washington Post reminds that on Saturday June 11, 2011 the Smithsonian will commemorate America’s first attempt at an air force. In June 150 years ago, Thaddeus Lowe flew 500 feet into the air in front…
Read More »The tropical air and jungle rain this morning reminded me of mornings on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean, when the sky would open and drench the warm air and lush countryside. These prose poems were first published in “The Offering,” a literary magazine at UMass Lowell.—PM . Hibiscus…
Read More »One of the most picturesque sites in a picturesque city is the Reflecting Pool that lies in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The pool was apparently in need of some repairs and work commenced in October 2010. The new pool will use water from the Tidal Basin rather than the…
Read More »St. William’s Church, Tewksbury, Massachusetts (1935) staffed by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate William Cardinal O’Connell, Archbishop of Boston Today is the Feast Day of St. William of York – William Fitzherbert – who was a 12th century nobleman, monk, and Archbishop of York in England. He died suddenly in…
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