Literature and Poetry

Henry James and American Painting, an exhibition that is the first to explore the relationship between James' literary works and the visual arts, is appearing at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. On view until Jan. 21, 2018, it offers a fresh perspective on the master novelist and the significance of his friendships with American artists John La Farge, John Singer Sargent, and James McNeill Whistler, and close friend and esteemed arts patron, Isabella Stewart Gardner. more »

Jo Freeman writes: Constance Baker Motley was the first black woman to be appointed as a federal judge. But it was what she did before becoming a judge that warrants this biography. For twenty years she was on the front line of the legal assault on segregation, arguing dozens of cases as the only female attorney on the staff of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. I knew Pauli Murray and I met CBM, at a conference in 1998. I would love to hear a debate between the two of them on race and gender. Ford does an excellent job of describing CBM's impressive life and work. Maybe he should write his next book on Pauli Murray. more »

During the recent UK broadcast, The Telegraph (London) was delighted to find that "Corfu was still sun-drenched, the titular family of lovable eccentrics remained in perpetual chaos and ... the tone was, as before, one of warm nostalgia and deep, abiding silliness." And The Guardian (London) hailed Season 2 as "sweet, and charming, and pretty, and funny…. [It's] that rather nice thing: Sunday night family drama entertainment." more »

Rose Madeline Mula writes: I must admit, though, that whenever I pass the bedroom door to go into the bathroom or to access my laundry, my spirits (and any drive I may have had) plummet when a glance reveals that crumpled bed. And I can’t erase that vision for the rest of the day. It remains emblazoned on my brain when I sit at my computer and try to finish that essay I started a week ago (the last time I made my bed) or go into the kitchen to cook dinner (which I hadn’t done since that day last week when I last made my bed).       more »