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Archive for the ‘Reading’ Category

Jonathan Silverman’s Nine Choices: Johnny Cash and American Culture

Posted in Reading on January 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This fall, the University of Massachusetts Press not only  published my book, but also Jonathan Silverman’s Nine Choices:  Johnny Cash and American Culture.  Jonathan and I both worked in the English Department at Pace University (he as a professor, me as an editor at the Harriet Jacobs Family Papers) at early stages of these projects, so it is is nice to seem them featured next to each other on the homepage for the press.  I love Johnny Cash, so I can’t wait to read this one.  You can find about events for the book on its Facebook page.

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Maisie Dobbs Read-Along @ Book Club Girl

Posted in Reading on December 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

This doesn’t have anything to do with Harriet Hosmer, except Maisie Dobbs is also a spunky gal from an earlier era.  A fictional one though.  The Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear are currently some of my favorite mysteries.  Set in London and the surrounding countryside between World War I and World War II, they follow private investigator Dobbs as she solves crimes large and small. Dobbs was a nurse in the “Great War,” and one strength of the books is there exploration of the psychological damage the conflict caused for Dobbs herself and for England as a whole.  On a lighter note, Winspear also includes charming descriptions of Dobbs outfits, as well as those of her glamorous friend Priscilla. And I know not to judge a book by its cover, but the art deco designs of these is beautiful. (See sideshow below)

Beginning January 1, Book Club Girl is hosting a  read-along of all of the Dobbs mysteries, leading up to the release the newest book in the series, A Lesson in Secrets, in March.  I’ve read them all except the Mapping of Love and Death, and now is the perfect time to dive in.  I can’t wait to discuss these books with other fans.

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Some Links (Franco, Ginsberg, Feminist Art, 1860 Japanese Delegation to NYC)

Posted in American History, Reading, Seeing on November 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Film critic Erica Abeel recently got James Franco’s attention by revealing she actually knew Allen Ginsberg.  I don’t think I can handle 127 Hours, but I really want to see Howl.

Judith Bernstein, a pioneering feminist artist for whom I used to cat sit, will have an installation at the Alex Zachary Gallery, from Nov. 12-January 15.  You see watch an art critic John Perrault’s introduction to her talk and some of her commentary at the Drawing Center on youtube.  (Probably not safe for work.)
On Sunday, I went to the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibit “Samurai in New York: The First Japanese Delegation, 1860.”  It was the last day, or I would highly recommend going to see it.  It was an interesting look at two cultures coming in contact with each other in a rapidly changing world.   The 23rd mile marker for  NYC Marathon was  just outside the museum door.  The winners had long gone by; the clock read 5 hours and 2 minutes when I got to the museum.  So I cheered on some unsung strangers before going in and some more when I came out.

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Harriet Hosmer: A Cultural Biography in stock at Amazon

Posted in Book, Reading on November 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Harriet Hosmer: A Cultural Biography has been available to “pre-buy” on Amazon for a while, but now it is in stock.  I was weirdly thrilled to learn people who purchased my book have also purchased books by Nell Irvin Painter and Annette Gord0n-Reed, two of my heroes.  (Of course, I would love people to support great independent bookstores such as Red Fox Books, Three Lives & Co., or The River’s End, but I know sometimes Amazon is the quickest route to a book).

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Jane Austen’s Editor

Posted in Listening, Reading on October 27, 2010| 2 Comments »

A major theme in my biography of Hosmer is how she and her supporters shaped her public image and the difference between her public and private selves.  I was therefore very interested in the story on NPR about the role Austen’s editor played in her writing.  While Austen’s brother had claimed “Everything came finished from her pen,” the Oxford professor Kathryn Sutherland has found a very different story in her close examination of Austen’s manuscripts.  Sutherland suggests Austen fans and scholars stop ‘polishing Austen’s halo’ and dig into the process of how her works took on the form we know and love, for we hold few other author’s to such high standards.  A fascinating tale.

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Gareth Hinds’ The Odyssey

Posted in PW Comics Week, Reading on October 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

My article on Gareth Hinds’ graphic novel version of The Odyssey ran in PW Comics Week yesterday.  The book is a beautiful edition published by Candlewick; it is a great introduction to the story for younger (but not too young) readers, but adults with a yen for the epic or graphic novels should love it too.  I really enjoyed interviewing Hinds and especially appreciated the fact that he thanked his 9th grade English teacher, who first assigned him the poem.  In an odd little coincidence, Hinds until recently lived in Watertown, Massachusetts, Harriet Hosmer’s hometown.  (If you are interested in graphic novels and comics, I encourage you to sign up for the PW Comics Week newsletter, always jam packed with news and reviews).

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Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge

Posted in Reading on October 16, 2010| 2 Comments »

I am going to participate in the Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge, hosted by A Library is a Hospital for the Mind. I went to college with Book Club Girl, so I have been hearing about the Betsy-Tacy books for years. It was so exciting that she got to play such a pivotal role in the reissue of the high school books last year. And I was thrilled to finally read about Betsy and Tacy myself. I loved Heaven to Betsy and Betsy in Spite of Herself. Somehow the books both seem charmingly old-fashioned and surprisingly modern. And I love the descriptions of the food. I keep meaning to try onion sandwiches. I am late to the challenge, which ends October 31, but I am going to read Betsy Was a Junior and, if time permits, Betsy and Joe.

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