Menu
‘Patterns of a Prayer Town’
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 Lowell’s Pawtucketville…
Read More »Lowell Summer Music Series banner
Photo by Tony Sampas
Read More »Google Zeitgeist 2012
Here’s Google’s excellent year in review video: [youtube]xY_MUB8adEQ[/youtube]
Read More »‘Oranges at Christmas’
This essay was first heard as a radio essay on the “Sunrise” program of WUML, 92.5 FM, at UMass Lowell. Executive producer Chris Dunlap assembled writers in the area for the daily essay feature, a popular component of the morning public affairs show. I shared this essay with rh.com readers…
Read More »Another Irish Tradition: Candles in the Window at Christmas
This is a repost of an article I did last year about the tradition of candles in the window at Christmas time along with some personal comments. It’s a tradition with deep roots in my Irish heritage. I’ve added a photo of the Sweeney house on St. James Street –…
Read More »Some Irish Christmas Traditions
With so many Americans – especially in this neck of the woods – having Irish ancestry on the family tree, I thought our blog readers might enjoy this list of Irish Christmas traditions – some old and some new. This was posted today by writer Jane Walshon the Irish Central…
Read More »Pat Mogan on Lowell
Dr. Patrick Mogan was buried this week. He is best known as the Father of the Lowell National Park but he was much more than that. Is there anyone else in America who served as a city’s Superintendent of Schools and as the community’s chief urban planner? Mogan more than…
Read More »‘Boott Cotton Storage’
“Venice of the North: Boott Cotton Storage” by Richard Marion (c) 2012 See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
Read More »Kerouac Book Discussion @UMass Lowell: Open to Public
The UMass Lowell Libraries will host a free five-part reading and discussion series focusing on three of Jack Kerouac’s Lowell-centric novels: “The Town and the City,” “Visions of Gerard” and “Maggie Cassidy.” The series, which begins Jan. 29, will feature UMass Lowell English Prof. Todd Tietchen leading discussions of each…
Read More »