Literature

Man at Bar with Notebook By David Daniel She watched him walk in. Medium height, ruddy skin. Suit coat, tie loose. She angled herself slightly on the barstool. She knew before he did. He saw her. Tawny hair, like the pale wine in her glass. Nice curve of lower leg…

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 42 By Louse Peloquin Ch. 42 “If you really want to hear about it” After a fitful night haunted by visions of rectangular-shaped birds flapping their ivory wings and swooping into the hands of ponytailed teenagers in navy blue uniforms, squinty-eyed Blanche stoically executed her morning…

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 41 By Louise Peloquin “Anywhere out of the world” Blanche’s head was in the moon during classes. Lively dining hall conversations failed to pierce through the stupor. Friends gave up commenting on her lethargy as they watched her swallow the “plat du jour” of alphabet soup…

Congratulations to our frequent blogging colleague David Daniel who has a column in the Ideas section of today’s Boston Globe print edition. (The column with photos of Dave in action is on the Globe website). “The blind courage of the book signing” perfectly captures the highs and lows of author events at bookstores.…

 All the Way By Stephen O’Connor When somebody loves you It’s no good unless he loves you, all the way. Happy to be near you When you need someone to cheer you, all the way. —Frank Sinatra, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn Michael and Sarah are not their real names. But…

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 40 By Louise Peloquin “Wistful and admiring” Straw-colored twine secured the last box of Monsieur Dubé’s books. As soon as Blanche pulled on its lopsided bow, the top eased open and dust bunnies took flight like little genies happy to be released from confinement. Blanche watched…

Time Tales By David Daniel   Past: 7 P.M. Sharp At 6:00 P.M. the ship is waiting at the pier, music rising over the burble of diesel engines. The college is holding a sunset harbor cruise for its adult education grads, a last big hurrah on a fine spring evening.…

Love after Sixty-Five or Life with a Trophy Granny By Malcolm Sharps It hurts writing this; for many, it must hurt to read it. But it’s a hard fact to be faced that we fall in love far less often later in life not because of some dimming of an internal…

Boarding School Blues: Chapter 39 By Louise Peloquin “I’m into something good.” It was day three of her sentence and Blanche had already spent nine recreation periods in the library. Sister Claudette had acknowledged her cleaning skills and decided supervision was not required. Blanche handled the old books with the…

The “Friday Night Lights of Hockey”: Jay Atkinson’s Tale at Twenty By David Daniel “Hockey gets in the blood—you develop an intense passion for the game, and either you leave it—too many early mornings, bus rides, urine-smelling rinks—or you just love it.” Jay Atkinson is author of eight books, including…