Happy Birthday, Margaret Walker
This month there are several chances to see Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story on the Smithsonian Channel. (Check here for times.) Today would… Read More »Happy Birthday, Margaret Walker
This month there are several chances to see Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story on the Smithsonian Channel. (Check here for times.) Today would… Read More »Happy Birthday, Margaret Walker
My early memories of reading take me back to the library at Washington Mill Elementary, where in third or fourth grade I spent hours… Read More »School Libraries Under Fire
Last Saturday at the AIW Writers’ Conference held at The Writer’s Center, a trio of fine authors — Barbara Esstman, C.M. Mayo and Natalie Wexler… Read More »Three Writers Tackle History
Okay, forgive me first for pointing out Library Journal’s glowing review of Soul of a People. They call it a “touching, straightforward, and well-paced look” at this slice… Read More »Footsteps at Night: 1930s California
The other week I had the great opportunity to speak with the Malian duo Amadou and Mariam as they headed to China on their concert… Read More »Amadou and Mariam: Storytellers for Change 3
For World Malaria Day, here’s my conversation with Yacine Djibo, country director for Malaria No More, from my recent trip to Senegal. There as… Read More »Music Against Malaria: Storytellers for Change 2
In Bamako on Sunday, I got to a wedding event (they spread through the weekend) where the families gathered and griots sang their praises. Griot… Read More »Storytellers as Change Agents in West Africa?
Now in West Africa for a month with an IRP reporting fellowship, and just getting my bearings in Mali’s capital with a walk through the… Read More »Now for Something Completely Different
An amazing exhibit at the International Center for Photography in New York captures the images of three photojournalists as they peered through their lenses at… Read More »Reporting on Civil War in the Mediterranean
In her wonderful memoir Just Kids, Patti Smith honors inspiration she gained from another writer during her formative time living in the Chelsea Hotel: I… Read More »Patti Smith and Mari Sandoz, Kindred Spirits