She misses the scent of hibiscus the most, and the gentle, tropical breezes that swept over her as she danced for her grandparents at their home in Juncos, Puerto Rico. Little five-year-old Rosita Dolores Alverio loved her mother, her baby brother Francisco, and performing for anyone who would watch. Her …
Three young Black girls in flowered dresses are pictured laying on a lawn, one gazing skyward, one looking askance and one looking straight at the camera, flowers wrapping her hair, as she seemingly dares the viewer to look away. The photo is from the series Mayflowers by visual artist Carrie …
British writer Caitlin Moran has a lot to say, and she isn’t afraid to say it. “Of course, there are lighter, more enjoyable aspects of living in London: Regent’s Park rose garden, tiny dogs, spotting celebrities, getting keys cut in Timposon’s. And the 5:2 [intermittent fasting] diet. For a brief …
With dozens of books to her name, author Denise Swanson could be forgiven for easing up on the publishing pedal a bit. After all, her cozy mystery and romance novels have sold tens of thousands of copies worldwide, and her audience on Facebook and other social media has crossed the …
“My mother wanted us to understand that the tragedies of your life one day have the potential to be the comic stories the next.” – Nora Ephron Raised in Beverly Hills, Nora Ephron dreamed of living in New York and becoming the next Dorothy Parker. Instead she became the first …
Visit the children’s room at any public library or shop any Scholastic Book Fair in any elementary school, and it’s easy to see that children’s book author Beverly Cleary is a rock star. Henry Huggins, Ramona and Beezus, Socks the Cat — each of these beloved characters are like family …
The author of Nancy Drew books, Carolyn Keene, is actually a group of 29 writers who brought this wildly popular series to life beginning in 1930. Publisher Edward Stratemeyer thought a female detective would complement his already successful Hardy Boys series, launched in 1927. Not looking to write the books …
The tiny rooms look pleasant enough, with curtains in the windows, a light overhead, a coffee cake fresh out of the oven. But look closer, because things aren’t what they seem: in one room, a body’s fallen on the floor; in another, a woman lies face-down in a bathtub. The …
Sometimes you read something that breaks your heart. Yesterday Vanity Fair magazine published an essay by Jesmyn Ward, a writer and two-time National Book Award winner (for her novels Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing), about her husband’s death earlier this year from Covid-19. Jesmyn’s husband was just 33 …
As the saying goes, when one door closes another one opens. For Anni Albers that open door led to her life as a textile designer. Annelise Fleischmann was born in Germany in 1899. She took painting lessons when she was young and hoped to become a painter. Discouraged by a …