Lowell-linked poet Joseph Donahue and his poems are examined in a dense and cerebral essay-review by Jeanne Heuving in the Seattle-based literary magazine “Golden Handcuffs Review” (Winter-Spring 2008). Read Heuving’s take on Donahue here. Joe has new fiction in the current issue of the magazine (Summer-Fall 2010), but unfortunately his selection is…
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The NYTimes continues its series on the Civil War with “The Road from Secession to Sumter.” Read the latest installment here, and get the NYT if you want more.
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Lowell resident, historian, and sometimes contributor to this site Jim Peters, sent along this essay urging readers to get behind the effort to save the Textile Avenue Bridge (formerly known as the Moody Street Bridge and now known as the University Ave Bridge) from destruction: I have been spending a…
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A stereoscopic view: The Ladd and Whitney Monument and burial site in Lowell Massachusetts decorated in remembrance. As the nation is about to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War, E. J. Dionne, Jr. sounds a warning in his Washington Post column. Don’t spin the story –…
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Poised to become the longest serving woman in Senate history, Barbara Mulkoski elected in 1986 has served for 24 in the U. S. Senate representing the state of Maryland. She invited CNN for to her Senate office for an interview to reflect on her tenure — especially her efforts to empower…
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In December 1961, “Glamour” magazine published a prose sketch by Jack Kerouac called “Home at Christmas” in which he recalls a blizzardy holiday scene from his youth in Pawtucketville. The writing is loose and lyrical in his spontaneous prose mode. Following is an excerpt from the sketch, which is available…
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This poem comes from my days living in Pawtucketville in the 1980s. It was first published in “The Spanner,” the news bulletin of the now-Independent University Alumni Association at Lowell, related to UMass Lowell.—PM . 214 Sixth Avenue Bright snow at midnight in the shut-down neighborhood, Mute homes of folks I can’t…
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A group of orphans receiving gifts in East London, 1921 (Topical Press Agency / Getty) Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26 in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a few other places. It has nothing to do with the sport of boxing. While the exact origins of the holiday…
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See www.weather.com for the latest on the “big one” due to hit our region about noon. Read the latest forecast here. Here’s the Weather Channel’s Lowell page that you should be able to update. Here’s the link to the forecast at the UMass Lowell Meteorology Department’s Met Lab. Here’s the latest…
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On the evening of December 25, 1776, George Washington led a ragtag group of Colonial soldiers across the ice-choked Delaware River and successfully attacked the Hessian garrison at Trenton, New Jersey. Coming after a string of crushing defeats and after the colonial army had shrunk in size by 90%, the…
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