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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,”...

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...

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...

By STEVE PFARRER

It’s a long way from Boston to the Appalachians, but you wouldn’t know it for the number of top bluegrass players and string bands that seem to come out of The Hub.Consider Molly Tuttle, for instance, the award-winning guitar picker who studied at...

By STEVE PFARRER

April in Amherst in an odd-numbered year: It must be time for the Bach Festival & Symposium at the University of Massachusetts.The biennial event, begun in 2015, offers a wide range of J.S. Bach’s music, from solo performances to expansive pieces with...

By STEVE PFARRER

‘Labor of love” might be a cliche. But when it comes to her new film, “Four Winters: A Story of Jewish Partisan Resistance and Bravery During WWII,” Julia Mintz says the expression is very much appropriate.Mintz, a documentary filmmaker who splits her...

By STEVE PFARRER

America Challenged: The NewPolitics of Race, Education and CultureBy Rosalie Pedalino Porter; Hamilton Books Amherst resident Rosalie Porter, who earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and later taught and...

By STEVE PFARRER

Spring is here — or at least the calendar says it is. And as the weather (hopefully) warms, there’s more incentive to get outside and check out what’s on view at local art galleries. Here’s a look at some selected shows this month. PULP Gallery,...

By STEVE PFARRER

Day-night doubleheaders have been the standard for Major League Baseball for some time now: the same two teams facing off in two games played before successive crowds.This weekend the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence is offering its own...

By STEVE PFARRER

He’s been hailed as one of the best songwriters around, a troubadour of small-town America and the hardscrabble lives of its citizens.But James McMurtry has always taken a low-key approach to his music, and he did it again last week when he played a...

By STEVE PFARRER

Five years ago, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, already an acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator, took his career to the next level with “Hey, Kiddo,” a graphic novel/memoir in which he shared poignant and often painful details from his childhood and...

By STEVE PFARRER

High BridgeBy Michael Miller; Köehler Books Fayetteville, New York is not exactly a well-known locale. But in the mid-19th century, this village outside Syracuse was home to two people who would later make significant marks in U.S. history: President...

By STEVE PFARRER

Who says you can’t merge a Ph.D. and rock and roll?    As Florence Dore explains, she spent a long time traveling on seemingly disparate tracks. On one hand she was the professor who’d devoted years to studying American literature and teaching...

By STEVE PFARRER

Writing the Land: Windblown IEdited by Lis McLoughlin; NatureCulture LLC The beauty of nature has inspired countless writers and other artists for time immemorial. That beauty has also inspired any number of people to try to preserve the natural world...

By STEVE PFARRER

The Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts has continued to rebound from the pandemic with an expanded program this year featuring a range of shows in music, dance, theater and movement.As spring officially arrives, the schedule is...

By STEVE PFARRER

When she was an undergraduate at Antioch College, Amber Bemak studied film before moving on to get an MFA in film, video and new media from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.But Bemak, 45, who grew up in Amherst and now teaches film and media...

By STEVE PFARRER

Unless you’re planning to drink yourself into a stupor with a borg (blackout rage gallon) or some other kind of booze preparation, you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day weekend by listening to any number of Celtic groups that will be playing in the...

By STEVE PFARRER

For Will Schneider, putting on this pair of glasses opened up his vision to a depth of color he wouldn’t ordinarily see.“The blue is so much more textured,” said Schneider as he peered at an illustration at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art....

By STEVE PFARRER

Over the years, Glenn Siegel has worked with a huge number of jazz musicians and composers, both as the founder of the former Magic Triangle concert series at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and with his Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares program.But...

By STEVE PFARRER

The Academy Awards are almost upon us, and with it comes the endless handicapping and speculation on who will win best actor and actress, who’s likely to be voted best director, and which film will score an Oscar for best picture of the year.But...