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MassMoments reminds us today that the Puritans of Massachusetts led by minister Increase Mather thought the celebration of Christmas a vulgar, pagan-like and “profane and superstitious custom.” Over those early years the custom was never totally stamped-out. In the early 19th century when the revelry – especially drinking and merry-making …
Read More »I wrote the first draft of this poem in 1976, and worked on it on and off for a long time. I had in mind the extensive outdoor lighting displays in Dracut (the town) and Lowell, but, especially as it evolved, the dense array of Christmas decorations in Pawtucketville, between Mammoth Road and…
Read More »Today December 17 is the birthday of American poet and editor John Greenleaf Whittier – born in Haverhill in 1807. He was also an ardent advocate for the abolition of slavery in the United States. hittier worked in Lowell as an editor for the Middlesex Standard in the mid-1840s. During this time…
Read More »From the daguerreotype taken at Mount Holyoke, December 1846 or early 1847. The only authenticated portrait of Emily Dickinson later than childhood, the original is held by the Archives and Special Collections at Amherst College On this day – December 10, 1830 – poet Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst,…
Read More »From one of our correspondents flung not-too-far into the Atlantic off the Cape, Ray LaPorte, comes this pick-up from National Public Radio about haiku-style traffic signs in New York City. I want to know how they showed the signs on the radio? Read about it here.
Read More »I’ve been posting a haiku daily on Facebook as a poetry experiment. It’s always good to go where the readers are. The feedback has been good. This series of haiku is loosely arranged around my observations and experiences at the South Common, across the street from my home. Following are…
Read More »Here’s a poem from another November, from a weekend spent with friends in central Massachusetts. The poem first appeared in Jim Dyment’s VYU arts magazine that documented Lowell’s cultural scene at the turn of the new century and kept going. You can see back issues online at www.vyumagazine.com. Jim works at…
Read More »On this day – November 13, 1830 – a poem by Oliver Wendall Holmes, Sr. entitled “Old Ironsides” was published. The USS Constitution – “Old Ironsides” – on her 213th birthday – October 21, 2010. She is berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard in Massachusetts. Holmes had…
Read More »Last weekend, my wife, Rosemary, and I enjoyed a matinee performance of “The Verse Business” by A. M. Dolan, the one-man show about Robert Frost, starring Gordon Clapp, who is best known for his acting in the TV series “NYPD Blue.” Except for the side seats in the balcony, the…
Read More »Michael D Higgins, who will be Ireland’s ninth president. Photograph: Julien Behal/PA The Associated Press (AP) and the Guardian are reporting from Dublin that after the votes were counted – veteran left-wing politician Michael D. Higgins has won Ireland’s presidential election with more than 1 million votes and a nearly…
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