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This article originally appeared in the Summer 2021 edition of The Epitaph, the quarterly newsletter of Lowell Cemetery. Dr. Gilman Kimball (1804-1892) During the second half of the nineteenth century, Lowell became the center of the lucrative patent medicine business. Three of the primary purveyors – James C. Ayer, Charles…
Read More »For my fellow Lowell, Mass., nerds, please note the fabulous cover on this new collection of poems by the late Michael McClure. The editor is Garrett Caples of the City Lights Books team in San Francisco, who has roots in Lowell. Here’s what he writes about the cover: “When [Michael]…
Read More »Nina MacLaughlin of The Boston Globe (6-6-21) reviews Matthew W. Miller’s new book of poems, cover-to-cover about the Merrimack River and Lowell: “In his hewn and forceful new collection of poetry, “Tender the River” (Texas Review), Matthew W. Miller makes a coursing book-length portrait of the Merrimack River, its…
Read More »WEARING A FEATHERED WIDE-BRIMMED GRAY HAT, Bob Dylan could’ve been a Mexican balladeer with a new Durango song, bouncing on stage and stamping his whole leg in time to the drum. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot dedicated “Me and Bobby McGee” to Jack Kerouac, who as a kid had played King of…
Read More »One more in my series in the spirit of “Lowell Walks” from the days when I hit the trail each weekend, usually in the morning. Lotta water under the canal bridge since 2009. — PM Scenes From an Urban Redevelopment Zone by Paul Marion Garcia-Brogan’s (web photo courtesy of mami-eggroll.com)…
Read More »The recent death of Academy Award winning and Lowell-born actor Olympia Dukakis at age 89 got me thinking about Lowell’s contributions to American movies and television. There are many. Dukakis, the cousin of former Massachusetts governor Mike Dukakis, was born in Lowell in 1931. Her parents, Constantine and Alexandra (Christos)…
Read More »Dive Into Matt W. Miller’s New Book of Poems, Tender the River Prize-winning writer Matt W. Miller has a new book of poems in which he drills deeply into the bedrock of the Merrimack River and City-of-Lowell on its banks—as deep as any writer springing from the local watershed…
Read More »City Walk: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Market Basket By George Chigas A funny thing happened during my city walk a week ago Sunday. It started off like any another day during Covid. After several chilly days of rain, the temps had warmed up and the…
Read More »Poet Anthony Febo did his best work in Lowell for a long time, but has moved on with a family and new goals as a teacher and writer. Kudos to “Febo” for publishing his first book, “Becoming an Island” (Game Over Books, 2021). Please consider ordering a copy. He may…
Read More »The city of Lowell recently announced that the School Committee districts for the 2021 Lowell City Election have been set. Under the settlement of the Voting Rights Lawsuit brought against the city, the method of electing councilors and school committee members would change from the all members elected at large…
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