Remembering My Illness-Caused Separation, a Semi-Social Distancing By Marie Sweeney (March 25, 2020) Marie Sweeney, photograph by Kevin Harkins THIS MORNING A TWEET from Dan Rather took me way back in time to Spring 1953. I was in the fifth grade—in Sister Mildred’s class—a double-grade that included some sixth graders…
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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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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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In normal times, some of us would be watching the Bruins late in their season, looking forward to the playoffs. This ain’t normal time. So, we have something else. Mike McCormick sent this essay from Alaska. He grew up in the Merrimack River Valley, Haverhill, and soaked up the Boston…
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art and Emanuel a tale of Fort Wood, Missouri by Michael Casey . when you are making seventy-six dollars a month the idea of spending one hundred dollars on a wall poster when you don’t even have a wall sort of stupid but he sees a leaflet on my…
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We are cross-posting this report from “The Body Politic: A View from Lowell, MA,” the blog of poet and community activist Emily Ferrara. A past contributor to this publication, Emily is allowing us to share her observations on the crisis at hand and other city matters. We are grateful. Watch…
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Anyone who has been watching the UMass Lowell Art Department in the past few decades knows the name Arno Rafael Minkkinen, a world-class photographer who has been anchored there as a teacher and artist since 1987. He lives in the region, but works the world as an acclaimed photographer who…
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One of our occasional contributors, Bob Hodge, has a new book about his adventures in running, Tales of the Times. Bob finished third in the Boston Marathon in 1979 and won the 1982 Beppa-Oita Marathon in Japan. His memoir is filled with rich and lively accounts of an elite athlete’s…
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