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…
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…
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…
Corona Virus Wedding By Fred Faust This past Friday was spent respecting social distance. But on a sunny afternoon, at the end of a tense week, I decided that it would be a good thing to take a bike ride along the river. My destination was the Boott Mills and…
The public health-related postponement of recent Lowell Walks led me to post a Virtual Tour of the Acre two weeks ago. Last week, I wrote about the courthouses of Lowell that served as a virtual tour. Today, we visit the South Common. I’ve broken this tour into two parts and…
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…
Stop and Render Aid by Frank Wagner . Every traveler knows about certain points along the road, where the asphalt cracks, where the broken bottles crashed, where the chicken did not make it across. This is where the sun blinds the eyes, or the rain gets too thick that it…
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…
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…
Writer and painter Chath pierSath, a regular contributor to our blog, works on a farm in Bolton, Mass. The Saddest First Day of Spring By Chath pierSath . The saddest, grayest first day of spring I’ve seen, Watching for the virus that has gone viral, Invisible particles unleashed in space On…
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