Arts & Life
Railroad connected region to the world
By MICHAEL CAROLAN
Dwight resident Walter Jenks, 82, remembers the railroad station that once stood down the street from his home, halfway between the Amherst and Belchertown commons.“The locomotives would come and pick up the milk cans on the platform,” Jenks said of...
13 Valley writers longlisted for Massachusetts Book Awards
By STEVE PFARRER
Valley writers have had a strong run of major awards in recent years, from poet Martín Espada winning a National Book Award in 2021 to novelist Ruth Ozeki claiming Great Britain’s Women’s Prize for Literature last year.Now. over a dozen area writers...
Aging with Adventure with Eric Weld: Return to the Appalachian Trail
By ERIC WELD
It wasn’t how I planned it. Then again, what in life, or adventure, ever goes exactly the way it was originally planned?I never planned to return to finish hiking the Appalachian Trail because my intention was to complete the entirety of it in one go...
As nature intended: Group exhibit ‘Engaging Nature’ in Leverett features landscape paintings made outdoors
By STEVE PFARRER
Until recently, it hasn’t seemed like much of a spring: a lot of damp or rainy days, overcast skies, and cold nights.But the weather has warmed up, just in time to be a fitting backdrop to an art exhibit designed to celebrate the outdoors.“Engaging...
Valley Bounty: Pioneering Amherst CSA farm is a produce powerhouse
By JACOB NELSON
This week at Brookfield Farm, a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm in Amherst, spring crops continue to take root in freshly tilled fields. Just as they grow — slowly at first, then exploding with life as the weather warms — so too will social...
Discovering who you are: ‘Authentic Selves,’ a new book and photo exhibit, celebrates trans and non-binary people
By STEVE PFARRER
When it comes to transgender rights, the headlines across many parts of the country have become increasingly ugly in the last several months.At least 15 states, all controlled by Republicans, have banned or restricted gender-affirming medical care for...
Get Growing: Seeing emerging beauty with fresh eyes
By MICKEY RATHBUN
Earlier this week my friend Lisa, a demon flower-designer, mentioned to me that she had agreed to provide the floral decorations for her cousin’s birthday party in New York. She lamented that there weren’t many flowers for sale at this time of year...
From schism to civil rights: “The Niagara Movement” explores debate over how Black Americans could best overcome
By STEVE PFARRER
In the United States, the early 20th century has often been portrayed as a time of hope and excitement, in which the nation’s growing industrial power, improvements in mass communications, and advances in technology and science heralded a new era of...
These singers know something about love: Young@Heart Chorus gets ready to present its spring concert, ‘The Love Show’
By STEVE PFARRER
NORTHAMPTON — They’re back. And they’re in love.The Young@Heart Chorus, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last November at a sold-out concert at the Academy of Music, will return to the Academy on Sunday, May 7, with a new program dubbed “The Love...
Book Bag: ‘The Fairest in the Land’ and I Can Be … Me!’ by Lesléa Newman; ‘Once There Was’ by Corrine Demas
By STEVE PFARRER
The Fairest in the LandBy Lesléa NewmanIllustrated by Joshua HeinzAbrams Books for Young Readers I Can Be … Me!By Lesléa Newman; Illustrated by Maya Christina GonzalezLew & Low Books Holyoke poet and children’s author Lesléa Newman, who’s written some...
Delving into uncomfortable past: Nora Krug exhibit at Rockwell Museum explores family history from Nazi era
By DON STEWART
Discovering the works of illustrator and author Nora Krug is an enlightening revelation. The German expatriate, a professor at New York’s Parsons School of Design, has written and created art for three books and provided drawings for as many more for...
The Beat Goes On: A folk legend in Florence, a young cellist in Holyoke, blues in Amherst, and more
By STEVE PFARRER
A couple years ago, Loudon Wainwright III passed a milestone: The venerable folk singer, known for his sardonic wit and autobiographical songs, turned 75.The number, on one hand, feels kind of arbitrary, because Wainwright has seemingly been around...
Book Bag: ‘The Fairest in the Land’ and I Can Be … Me!’ by Lesléa Newman; ‘Once There Was’ by Corrine Demas
By STEVE PFARRER
The Fairest in the LandBy Lesléa NewmanIllustrated by Joshua Heinz;Abrams Books for Young Readers I Can Be … Me!By Lesléa NewmanIllustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez; Lew & Low Books Holyoke poet and children’s author Lesléa Newman, who’s written...
Three in Valley with Guggenheim Fellowships
By STEVE PFARRER
NORTHAMPTON — A University of Massachusetts professor, a filmmaker who grew up in Amherst, and a Northampton philosophy professor are among nine people in Massachusetts who have won Guggenheim Fellowships.Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, who teaches English...
Earth Matters: Five ways to enjoy dandelions this spring
By KATIE KOERTEN
In these next few weeks, dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) will be blooming in earnest. There’s usually one week — the last week of April or the first week of May, depending on the year — in which dandelions (from the French dent-de-lion, or “lion’s...
New twist on a successful series: Edo Mor looks to bring international music to Valley based on the Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares model
By STEVE PFARRER
When he and his wife moved to the Valley in 2005, Edo Mor says he found much to his liking: good bread, good bicycling country, nature and more. But for some time, the kind of eclectic music he liked, from North African guitar sounds to Middle Eastern...
Book Bag: ‘Sleeping as Fast as I Can’ by Richard Michelson; ‘Stay’ by Howard Faerstein
By STEVE PFARRER
Sleeping as Fast as I Canby Richard Michelson; Slant Books Richard Michelson has long made a name for himself as a children’s book author, winning a number of honors in the process, including a National Jewish Book Award for “The Language of Angels,”...
Come Together: New album by Valley musical ensemble TapRoots draws on a wide range of contrib
By STEVE PFARRER
Like millions of other Americans, Matthew King spent much of 2020-2021 in lockdown after COVID-19 arrived on the scene.But like other artists, King, of Amherst, also used that downtime to keep busy with his music, writing a number of new songs and...
Slam it: Academy of Music to host its first Youth Poetry Slam
By STEVE PFARRER
There are poetry readings, the workshop leader said, and then there are poetry slams — and it’s important to know the difference.“Slam poetry,” said Lyrical Faith, “is about winning. It’s a very competitive sport.”Faith should know. She began...
Arts Briefs: Author talks in Northampton and South Hadley, a musical at UMass Amherst, and more
AMHERST — The 1987 musical “Into the Woods,” with music by Stephen Sondheim and a plot based on selections from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, has won a number of awards and has had several successful revivals over the years.Now the UMass Amherst...
