[Mother’s Day]: “Dusk” by Tracy K. Smith
I chose “Dusk” by Tracy K. Smith for its frank expression of the double-edged sword that is motherhood (parenthood, really): We adore our children more than life itself, and if we do a good job of raising them, they one day will abandon us.
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Olympia Dukakis: A Life Well Lived On Stage and Screen
Olympia Dukakis will be remembered fondly by millions of movie fans — and for good reason. But it’s all that she brought to the stage as well as screen that can really be described as her life’s work.
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M. Soledad Caballero: “The Myths We Live”
Though themes and narrative evolve, “The Myths We Live” is not about just one thing, and this expansiveness is enhanced by a form that inherently offers at least twenty perspectives—kaleidoscopic indeed.
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2021 ACADEMY AWARDS: #OSCARSSODIFFERENT
History was made as Yuh-Jung Youn became the first Korean to win in any of the acting categories for her supporting role in 'Minari.'
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Monica Youn: “Study of Two Figures (Pasiphaë/Sado)”
In Monica Youn's “Study of Two Figures (Pasiphaë/Sado),” the longing of a speaker who seeks to connect and make sense of so many threads, lessons, myths, and messages is stirring.
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Andra Day: A Star is Born in
‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’
As Billie, Andra Day is tough on the outside, shattered on the inside. She is raw and honest and unendingly courageous.
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Annie Kim: “More Words for Snow”
Snow had fallen all throughout the manuscript, but I wasn’t done. I wanted more. I wanted to understand why this stuff coming down from the sky had such a hold on me, how it could be at once cruel and divine, corruptible and hope itself, both infinite and made to disappear.
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Worn Stories Wears Its Hearts on Sleeves
(And Other Places)
'Worn Stories' is divided into eight half-hour episodes, each held together with an emotional theme and showcasing four items and their wearers.
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Shirley Geok-lin Lim: Ars Poetica for the Day
Shirley Geok-Lin Lim’s poems are set in the circumscribed worlds of home and Academia, but this is merely the way the author accesses larger issues of exile, identity, and artistic inspiration.
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Oscar-Nominee Vanessa Kirby in ‘Pieces of a Woman’
Losing a baby before or immediately after birth is a profound and deeply personal experience. And it’s one that playwright and screenwriter Kata Wéber has dramatized powerfully in 'Pieces of a Woman.'
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Anna Yin: “The Path”
“The Path” may appear simple, but its ending moves me, every time. Fairy tale, love poem, ars poetica—“The Path” is all of these and more.
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‘Tina’: Thank You and Farewell
With excerpts from exhilarating performances that span her career, 'Tina' gifts the viewer with a front-row seat to experience a live performer like no other.
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Women Voters say U.S. Health Care and Workplaces Must Change Post-Pandemic, Poll Shows
Most women are worried about both racial and economic disparities in vaccine rollout, as well as the toll of the pandemic on low-income workers.
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Janée J. Baugher: “Public Sale, 1943”
and mini-review of The Ekphrastic Writer
Learning how to read art by way of “deep-looking” can lead to a more creative way of seeing that could be applied to a number of other areas of human endeavor, and maybe, even to a way of life.
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‘Til Kingdom Come’: Fundraising for the Apocalypse
‘Til Kingdom Come,' which has been nominated for awards in both Israel and the U.S., examines the unlikely partnership between Evangelical Christians and Israeli Jews.
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Florencia Milito:
“Villanelle for Henry Darger/Oda a Henry Darger”
Florencia Milito’s poem paints a sympathetic portrait of the complicated artist and his work as “a celestial housekeeper” whose mission was “to pleat the folds of sky” and “stitch its gems,” in lines that communicate tenderness and awe.
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‘The Barbizon,’ 700 Rooms of One’s Own
'The Barbizon, The Hotel That Set Women Free' traces the history of the storied residence from its jazz age, prohibition beginnings to its eventual demise and rebirth. Along the way, she analyzes New York’s social, political, and economic environment.
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Susan E. Gunter: “Sestina for Esther”
You could call this poem an elegy to a lost mother, but I read it more universally as an elegy to the lost kingdom of childhood.
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Promising New Director and Her
‘Promising Young Woman’
In 'Promising Young Woman,' the mind-blowing feature film debut of director/screenwriter Emerald Fennell, there are lots of “good men” willing to do a bad thing.
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Three Erasure Poems from Sarah J. Sloat’s
‘Hotel Almighty’
The careful balance S.J. Sloat strikes between elements of erasure and visual art in each poem reveals new depths upon multiple readings. The compressed lyrics sing of introspection and offer wisdom, and they are richly enhanced by the inspired variety and ingenuity of erasure modalities and concrete imagery.
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Golden Globe-Winner ‘Nomadland’:
On the Road to Nowhere
'Nomadland’s' willingness to shine a light on a shadowy alternative lifestyle and its use of non-actors make the film uniquely relevant and emotionally affecting.
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My Experience Getting Two Doses of
the COVID-19 Vaccine
I’d like to share my experiences getting the two doses of the vaccine because I’m like most people—a typical patient who has never lived through a pandemic. I want to demystify the process.
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Yona Harvey: You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love
Yona Harvey’s 'You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love' is an astounding book that reminds us that we don’t have to undertake extraordinary measures for love or realization.
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Sisters for Life: Common Problems That Persist Into Adulthood
Siblings are our longest-lived and often among the most complex relationships. No matter how old we are, the template of our early family stays with us throughout our lifetime.
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