W.E.B. DuBois traveled the world in his lifetime. He helped to shape ideals of independence in Africa and freedom and democracy in America. And I have begun to get to know him in the Berkshires, where he was born.
Read articleAt Mass MoCA new artists reclaim land and languages
The word for a spring and an eye are the same in Arabic, says Nasser Alzayani in his new work at Mass MoCA, a lament for a historic water source now gone dry. As I come back for the first time after the shut-down, new artists across the museum are offering a determination to preserve something beautiful, and human, and natural.
Read articleParable of the Sower — science fiction feels current
Octavia Butler wrote The Parable of the Sower as a novel set in a world on the edge of collapse, in 2024, and Toshi Reagon has written an opera based on the book. I remember the nnight her music came here.
Read articleHow do we respond as Massachusetts starts to reopen?
The governor’s announcement this week allows some local places to begin to reopen, and it raises questions for all of us as. And as I talk with you about the community, it raises questions for me.
Read articleLocal shops and makers are moving online
At the holidays, my sister and I were talking about the challenges of finding local businesses online— but we didn’t expect this kind of trial by fire. The coronavirus pandemic has suspended local shops in the Berkshires, but they are adapting.
Read articleJacob’s Pillow adapts to the coronavirus pandemic
Jacob’s Pillow has had to adapt to the coronavirus, like many creative places who are doing what they can to care for their artists, staff and communities.
Read articleMass MoCA cuts back to weather the pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic is putting a strain on many artists and museums and creative spaces. Last week Mass MoCA laid off 120 of their 160 staff. It shakes me as a writer in the Berkshires, and I’ve been thinking about why.
Read articleHolding on in a time of coronavirus
Why am I remembering those afternoons, baking in the old kitchen and singing along to Hair — why am I remembering that tonight, in a pandemic, when I and everyone around me are stunned and scared?
Read articleWhile we’re home: The Berkshires in a time of coronavirus (BTW column)
In a few days, the world has changed. The streets are quiet. Colleges, libraries, courts, museums, public spaces have closed. This is the Berkshires in a time of coronavirus.
Read articleThe Berkshires navigates concerns over the corona virus (BTW column)
This rambling website is all about getting out and finding people. And now, with the concern over illness spreading daily, the prevailing wisdom is to stay home, sit quietly, wash your hands. What is responsible, when all of this is new to us?
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