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Tom Wolfe titled one of his books “A Man in Full,” and the word “full” came to me when I tried to think of a word to describe the story that Andre Dubus III tells us in his fiercely honest new memoir “Townie.” He grew up between two worlds, the…
Read More »Jack Kerouac was born on March 12, 1922; jazz man Charlie Parker died one March 12th. From the Barnes and Noble people, here is a literary comment on author Jack Kerouac and jazz man Charlie Parker. Thanks to Alan Crane on Facebook for the link. For the schedule of Kerouac…
Read More »On this day – March 12, 1933 – just a week after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first national radio address or “fireside chat” broadcast directly from the White House thus launching a series talks with nation. FDR relied on simple language and folksy anecdotes or analogies to explain the often…
Read More »13 TOWNIE, by Andre Dubus. (Norton, $25.95.) In this memoir, Dubus explores his attachment to violence and his relationship with his famous father. 1
Read More »Middlesex Community College is responding to the natural disaster in Japan by setting up support and information centers for students, staff, faculty and community members on both the Lowell and Bedford Campus. This morning the college posted details on its blog in the following post. Tsunami Information Center The devastating…
Read More »Last evening at UMass Lowell’s O’Leary Library, Dr. Colm Donnelly of Queen’s College, Belfast, Ireland, gave a presentation on the results of the archeological excavation that was conducted last August on the lawn in front of St Patrick’s Church. The historical dig, a joint effort of Queen’s College and UMass…
Read More »David Brooks in today’s NYTimes wonders out loud if the contemporary American behavioral trend of heightened self-approval may be weakening the national civic culture. He often asks such “community” questions as he tries to puzzle out the workings of our democratic-republic system. He makes a comment on the connection to toxic partisanship in…
Read More »Some of us have vivid memories of the “Blizzard of 1978” and the harsh toll it took on our lives, our property, our schedules and our peace of mind. Imagine back nearly a century before when another blizzard hit Massachusetts. Mass Moments remind us that on this day – March…
Read More »Mike Luciano reacts to a recent Lowell Sun editorial on domestic oil production: Tuesday’s Lowell Sun featured an editorial about how America can control and drive down the cost of oil and gasoline by producing more oil domestically. But like many Americans, the Sun’s editorial writer does not understand the…
Read More »Tony Sampas shows us that the Merrimack River continues to rise, even before the next patch of rain arrives.
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