Mark Binder

Mark Binder is an author and storyteller and editor for Motif. He writes and performs books and stories for families, children and adults. He attended Columbia College with Barak Obama, where he studied mythology and learned storytelling from Spalding Grey. He also has run for both the United States House of Representatives and for the Rhode Island House, where he was hugely overspent and narrowly defeated by the ex-speaker, who was subsequently driven from office in shame. He lives in Providence with his family. Mark's books include, "The Bed Time Story Book" series, "Cinderella Spinderella" and "Every Hero Has a Story." His novel, THE GROSTON RULES is a best seller in contemporary YA fiction. And under the pen name of Izzy Abrahmson, he's recently re-released a new series called "The Vilalge Life. Visit his websites at https://markbinderbooks.com and https://izzyabe.com

About The Cover: Shayla in RED by Nayana LaFond

On July 5, 2004, five-year-old Tamra Jewel Keepness went missing in Regina, Saskatchewan. You’ve probably never heard of her, because she’s just one of many indigenous women who have been murdered or vanished in Canada and the United States. Unlike the media frenzy over the disappearance of Gabby Petito, the plight of indigenous women has […]

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Art on the Walk and on the Wall: A walking tour of Providence and a gallery show at Sprout

Two Art events just popped up on our feed… Providence Art Walk Gallery Night is offering a series of family friendly walking tours of Public Art in Downtown Providence on Saturday, September 25 at 11 am, 1pm and 3pm. The tour should take about two hours. Find details and links to reserve a slot https://www.facebook.com/gallerynightprovidence/ […]

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Toward Enshrining Roe v. Wade: Texas Law Backfires

Last week hell froze over as RI Congressional Rep Jim Langevin came forward in an editorial supporting a woman’s right to choose (Providence Journal, September 9, 2021). In case you missed it, the Texas legislature has enacted legislation essentially putting bounties on women who opt to terminate a pregnancy after the first six weeks. As […]

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Holiday Cheer

Bethany White hated the holidays, although she pretended to love them. She was, despite her name, the daughter of two Long Island conservative Jews. When the first Christmas carols hit the airwaves after Thanksgiving, she snarled through gritted teeth, but smiled. Her humbuggery only became an issue after college, when she moved to Rhode Island. […]

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Rhode Island: Beachier and Pavementier

After several days of controversy, Rhode Island Governor Gina “Flip Flops for Summer” Raimondo announced that the entire Rhode Island Tourism Campaign was actually an elaborate April Fool’s joke. “The media is saturated with nonsense,” Raimondo said in an early morning press conference. “We knew that we’d have to do something really silly just to stand out. “That […]

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Alex and Ani Purchase Naming Rights to State Formerly Known as Rhode Island

The name of the state with the longest name is changing, but it’s not getting any shorter.* On Wed, April 1. Governor Gina Raimondo, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President Theresa Paiva Weed announced that Cranston-based jewelry company Alex and Ani have purchased the naming rights to one of the original 13 states. Starting next week, the […]

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