My ex-boss and I used to have the same discussion every year on this date. April the fifteenth was a historic day for both of us for different reasons, neither of which had to do with taxes. Both were watershed events with long-term ramifications and my boss and I would debate which one had the greater historical impact. I wish I agreed with my boss: Jackie Robinson’s debut as the first African-American player on a Major League Baseball team is a thing worth celebrating because it marked progress toward real democracy in America. Unfortunately, thirty-five years before Mr. Robinson walked onto the field, April fifteenth dawned over a flat, cold Atlantic and a handful of huddled lifeboats where a magnificent ocean liner should have been. Taxes and baseball are national but the world changed with the sinking of the Titanic.Titanic’s tragedy was a world-wide event. Although almost half of the souls on her board were either American or British, the rest came from every corner of the globe. Citizens from every inhabited continent set sail in Titanic and when she went down families in twenty-seven countries lost loved ones. (Japan’s sole passenger, Masabumi Hosono, survived the wreck but was ostracized…
Not all monsters are hideous or born to evil. From no less an authority than Wikipedia, the term monster comes from a Latin word that means an aberrant occurrence or creature. Well, a significant number of people have defied society’s expectations and as a result, were judged as monstrous by their peers and brave by later generations. One example is Beryl Markham, the subject of Paula McLain’s Circling the Sun. Beryl Markham is usually remembered as the first aviatrix to fly from Europe to America alone. Her dramatic crash-landing on the bare edge of the Nova Scotia coast and her tremendous good looks made her accomplishment extraordinarily good copy for 1930’s magazines and newspapers.The interesting point is that Ms. McLain’s story doesn’t dwell on the flying accomplishments that put Markham on the pages of aviation and gender studies textbooks; instead she looks at the events that led to this woman creating history. McLain’s novel focuses on the Kenyan upbringing that shaped so much of Markham’s character. As the daughter of a British horse-trainer in Africa, Markham witnessed the European land-grab/colonization drive of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. She knew both the native African tribes-people trying to maintain their culture…
I love stage musicals. We were raised on a collection of cast albums from classic Broadway shows and my sister and I learned every song by heart. We’ve continued the tradition, to the present and both of us admire this form that combines the best aspects of art and entertainment. While we both love being entertained (who doesn’t?) it is the experimental side of this form that really draws me, how directors and playwrights and composers alter or recombine the elements of a musical to tell a new story or get the audience to view an known one from a new perspective. That’s probably why I admire Stephen Sondheim’s work so much and why I’m glad Meryle Secrest’s biography, Stephen Sondheim: A Life is a discerning review of his life and accomplishments. This composer of cerebral entertainment deserves an intelligent biography, even if he makes a living in show business. Some would believe Mr. Sondheim was pre-ordained for a life in theatre, given his New York background, a talent for music and the teacher-student relationship he developed with Oscar Hammerstein II. Ms. Secrest’s well-researched biography suggests otherwise. Rather than developing a relationship with Mr. Hammerstein because of his interest in…
It’s started getting warmer here. Oh, my poor sister is still in the land of ice and snow but I saw my first bumblebee yesterday, hovering around the forsythia and ready to go into business. It’s time to start thinking of sandals and sunscreen, vacations and fireworks. It’s time to start thinking about summer and books to read at the beach. Beach Lit is, from what I’ve seen , a well-known but under-appreciated genre. Yes, the book must be light enough in tone and weight to fit with life by the surf and it needs to be entertaining but, most of all, it needs to remind the reader why life and living are precious. There should be some lessons learned, some perspectives changed and, to be perfect, it should have something to do with the natural world. Do you want to stretch out on your towel and imagine yourself in the stock exchange? Of course not! At any rate, a novel is coming out next month that will fit perfectly into this category. If you are looking for a new take on some traditional escapist fare, tuck a copy of Karen White’s The Sound of Glass into your beach tote,…
It’s started getting warmer here. Oh, my poor sister is still in the land of ice and snow but I saw my first bumblebee yesterday, hovering around the forsythia and ready to go into business. It’s time to start thinking of sandals and sunscreen, vacations and fireworks. It’s time to start thinking about summer and books to read at the beach. Beach Lit is, from what I’ve seen , a well-known but under-appreciated genre. Yes, the book must be light enough in tone and weight to fit with life by the surf and it needs to be entertaining but, most of all, it needs to remind the reader why life and living are precious. There should be some lessons learned, some perspectives changed and, to be perfect, it should have something to do with the natural world. Do you want to stretch out on your towel and imagine yourself in the stock exchange? Of course not! At any rate, a novel is coming out next month that will fit perfectly into this category. If you are looking for a new take on some traditional escapist fare, tuck a copy of Karen White’s The Sound of Glass into your beach tote,…