In Jeff Zurowski’s My Summer Vacation, Brent Jackson was handed a composition journal from his future teacher on his last day of fifth grade and told to write daily entries so that everyone would get to know each other better as they enter their new school. Even with prompt ideas, Jackson (like all kids) wasn’t […]
When COVID-19 hit, I was laid off from my job, which I had been dedicated to and in love with for some time. The lay-off wasn’t expected, but what to do with the feelings after? I was unsure how to carry that weight. I spent a lot of time wondering where to go next. “It’s […]
When Jennifer Kandarian awoke on Cinco de Mayo, she did not anticipate meeting Vice President Kamala Harris. As manager of Books on the Square on Angell Street in Providence, Kandarian hadn’t planned to even go in to work. It was her day off, but the rainy weather wasn’t going to lend to her plans for yard […]
Every week, I’ve been doing a deep dive into cultural issues, usually theater-related, that are bothering me or that deserve a second look. But who needs another thinkpiece, right? I host two weekly programs on my theater company’s Faceboook page (Facebook.com/EpicTheatreCo) where I ask guests what has been keeping them creatively engaged or excited, and […]
Robert Isenberg fell in love with Pittsburgh. During a 16-year period of living there, and in the years following, Isenberg became a jack-of-all-trades, working as a journalist, a playwright, an actor and a videographer. His dream had always been, he said, to write the next Great American Novel. But somewhere along the way, a new […]
Your Future Is Bright, a children’s book written by local author Corey Finkle and gorgeously illustrated by Shelley Couvillion, is an inspiring piece of work that follows children discovering a world of possibilities as they explore who they want to be when they grow up. Finkle recalled that as a child, he sometimes found the […]
More than 340 million miles beyond Mars, an icy moon awaits its first close-up. Days before NASA’s Perseverance rover reached the surface of the Red Planet, the US space program announced updates to another long-awaited mission with the potential to find signs of life. In October 2024, the Europa Clipper will leave Earth on a […]
This collection of 67 environmentally themed poems can be depressing and uncomfortable to read at times, which is exactly the point publisher Notable Works set out to make with this release. Local authors all contributed work inspired by our current natural world, which is, unfortunately, a disaster (to put it nicely). The poets don’t paint […]
Ninety-nine years ago, Thomas Hardy sent a message to a dinner gathering of writers in London: “The exchange of International Thought is the only possible salvation of the world.” The collection of poets, essayists and editors, and novelists contributed their literary skills to the group’s acronym: P.E.N. Club, which celebrated the opening of organizations in […]
Every week, I’ve been doing a deep dive into cultural issues, usually theater-related, that are bothering me or that deserve a second look. But who needs another thinkpiece, right? I host two weekly programs on my theater company’s Faceboook page (www.Facebook.com/EpicTheatreCo) where I ask guests what has been keeping them creatively engaged or excited, and […]