To me, a young American in the ‘50s and ‘60s with a strong anti-Establishment streak and a poetry bent, Yevgenii Yevtushenko was a magnetic figure. After my six-month sojourn in the Soviet Union as a student learning Russian, his work appealed to me even more. I met him only a few times . . .
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In his 1962 poem, “A Far Cry from Africa,” Derek Walcott articulated something of the thesis statement for his sixty-year career: I who am poisoned with the blood of both,Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?I who have cursedThe drunken officer of British rule, how chooseBetween this Africa and the English . . .
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Art by Rahema Khan. Qandeel called out to me some months ago from her bedroom – through the screen of my phone, playfully offering herself to a cricketer in an uploaded video, pouting heavily without any pretense or attempt at veiling the display of her sexuality. We were all instantly captivated, compelled to . . .
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“Working for the railroad suited me. I was comfortable there; it was a supportive environment. I always liked my job. I began working for the railroad on April 1, 1982, and I decided to leave on April 2, 2007. Exactly twenty-five years. I decided to leave because, eventually, I couldn’t keep up . . .
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Jim Foley with staff and graduating students at the Care Center in Holyoke. From left to right: Irma Medina (Care Center staff), Glenda Suarez (Care Center graduate and teen mom), Jim Foley, Aimee Loiselle (English GED Teacher), and Maria Salgado (Care Center Transition Counselor).Photo courtesy of the Care Center. Editor’s note. The other . . .
Read MoreWe are grateful to UMass-Amherst professor Stephen Clingman and TheConversation.com for this personal remembrance of Nadine Gordimer, who passed away Sunday night. The passing of Nadine Gordimer is a tremendous loss, both to South Africa and to the literary world. For me, and others who knew her, it will also be an enormous personal loss. Born . . .
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Stuart Hall, a beloved cultural theorist and political activist whose work reached so many people across so many borders, died Monday in London, at the age of 82. Since then, colleagues, friends, readers and even opponents have sought to recognize his contributions to their thinking, their understanding, and their political projects. Memorial . . .
Read MoreOver the years, you’ll find the magic made by the right song at the right place at the right time. —Pete Seeger Anyone who finds themselves discovering the banjo in any way, be it as participant or observer, knows . . .
Read MoreI learned of Mandela’s death while waiting in Boston’s Logan Airport to board a flight to London and Cape Town. As my two young boys hovered on the window ledge watching airplanes maneuver in the night, a text arrived from a close friend: “What a momentous time to be traveling to South . . .
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Who knows what he would have said,if some cold winter morning they gave himthe news he died.Maybe he’d remember having written When they say “It is Roiwho is dead?” I wonderwho will they mean? Maybe he’d’ve shrugged his shoulders and mumbled, So what?He’d’ve said, Boy, I’m a long breath singer, a cantor,I sing the Orgasmic . . .
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