Arts & Life
Singular jazz duo comes to Amherst College: PVJS concert will showcase renowned improvisational trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith
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...
Remembering Leilah: Northampton exhibit a memorial to young artistic woman gone too soon
By STEVE PFARRER
In March 2020, just as the pandemic was about to force the country into lockdown, Lynn Marcus was dealt a much more serious blow: Her daughter, Leilah Cohen, took her life.It’s hard to imagine anything more painful for a parent than to lose a child,...
The different sides of James Baldwin: Mead Museum exhibit showcases writer’s artistic connections
By STEVE PFARRER
It’s mostly a lesser-known footnote to his career: From 1983 to 1986, James Baldwin was based at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he was part of the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies and taught students from across the...
EarthTalk: Is it bad for the planet to upgrade my phone every two years?
Dear EarthTalk: Is it really bad for the planet to upgrade my phone every two years? – A.J., Darien, ConnecticutSmartphones have certainly become ubiquitous, with some 85% of Americans and 67% of adults worldwide possessing one. Manufacturers sell...
Speaking of Nature: Conflict — The fight for survival
By BILL DANIELSON
We’ve reached that point in the school year when my biology students have learned about Gregor Mendel, his experiments with pea plants and the general concepts of genes and heredity. We’ve also taken a look at the structures and basic functions of DNA...
A piece of the Oscar action: Three ARHS graduates have hands in Academy Award-nominated documentaries
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...
Another ARHS graduate helps write the script for the Oscar-nominated ‘Elvis’
By STEVE PFARRER
AMHERST — The three Amherst High graduates who have had a hand in two Academy Award-nominated documentary films are not the only former students to shine at this year’s Oscars.Sam Bromell, a 2004 ARHS graduate, is one of the screenplay writers for...
Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner is Laura Frogameni, Florence
This week’s winning photo is of a warm, apple, lattice top crust-only dessert made for a recent chilly evening from Laura Frogameni of Florence. How to enter: Snap a pic of something delicious-looking and send it with your name, town and a sentence or...
Let’s Talk Relationships: What do happy couples do?
By AMY NEWSHORE
Do happy couples have a secret for lasting fulfillment in their relationships? The answer is “no.” It is never one thing that they all have in common. It is a bunch of things. Researchers have determined that certain habits and ways of communicating...
Earth Matters: Rewilding is letting nature take the lead
By CHRISTINE HATCH
In his book “Rewilding North America,” the late conservationist Dave Forman wrote about how in North America, rewilding began with large-scale efforts to reintroduce and restore populations of apex predators such as wolves. It included provisions for...
The Beat Goes On: Kimaya Diggs launches new album in Amherst, hot blues in Florence and more
By STEVE PFARRER
The official start of spring is less than three weeks away, though it’s anyone’s guess when the weather will really warm up. But as if she’s anticipating that time, Kimaya Diggs has a new single out that could serve as a wonderful soundtrack for that...
Around & About: A fashion plate for a whole minute
By RICHARD MCCARTHY
Once when I was walking on a main drag in Toronto, I turned to the woman I was with and said, “The guys here dress differently than I do.” Without missing a beat, she said, “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. You’re equally out of fashion...
A bright splash of color: Carle Museum tries on special glasses for visitors with vision issue
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....
Book Bag: ‘Once We Were Home’ by Jennifer Rosner; two talks by writer and Native historian Margaret Bruchac
By STEVE PFARRER
Once We Were HomeBy Jennifer Rosner, Flatiron Books Northampton author Jennifer Rosner made a strong debut in 2020 with her first novel, “The Yellow Bird Sings,” a story set in Poland during World War II, in which a Jewish mother and daughter are...
Powerful ‘Dreams’: Pelham native’s film about a driven bodybuilder turns heads at Sundance
By STEVE PFARRER
The idea first came to Elijah Bynum about four years ago when he was exercising in a California gym and noticed an ultra-serious bodybuilder, a guy who was “radiating intensity” as he went through his paces.“There was this really intense energy about...
New leadership, new season at Chester Theatre: Intimate stage company to offer four new productions and a work in development
By STEVE PFARRER
Chester Theatre Company, which like many arts organizations struggled through the pandemic, came back last summer to offer its first season at Chester Town Hall since 2020.Now the company is preparing for its 2023 season, and they’ll do it under the...
Arts Briefs: Book launches in Amherst, jazz in Goshen, collage art in Holyoke and more
Launch those booksAMHERST — Spring is still more than three weeks away, but the days are lengthening, temperatures are mostly creeping up, and it’s not too early to think about what you might plant in your garden this year — or to think about healing...
Where authors take center stage: Amherst College’s Litfest returns this weekend
By STEVE PFARRER
February has its national landmarks: Presidents Day, the Super Bowl, Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day.In the Valley, February also means it’s time for Amherst College’s LitFest.Now in its eighth year, the college’s literary festival brings acclaimed and...
Illustrator’s ‘Alice’ making surrealistic splash: Barry Moser’s work at heart of French exhibit
By STEVE PFARRER
Barry Moser needs little introduction in these parts, or across much of the U.S., for that matter. The Hatfield artist has won enormous praise and recognition over the years for his detailed wood engravings and his limited edition prints of classic...
Fight the power: Northampton writer's novel profiles a Black academic's frightening battle with a white supremacist
By STEVE PFARRER
When Barack Obama was elected president in November 2008, Ousmane Power-Greene recalls having a terrible thought: that a racist might try to assassinate America’s first Black president, or maybe his whole family.Perhaps that was an overly morbid...
