Kusama: Infinity — A Tale of Perseverance
(and Polka Dots)
Yayoi Kusama waited most of her life for the recognition, fame, and fortune that she sought when she first came to New York in 1958. Today, at age 89, she is the top-selling female artist in the world.
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Menopause is Never Old News
A frank discussion about making the right choices in the menopausal transition and the belief that management of symptoms is certainly possible are great life lessons that mothers can give their daughters.
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Poetry Sunday: “Goodbye, New York,”
by Deborah Garrison
This quotations expresses what I love about “Goodbye, New York” and Garrison’s other poems that use everyday language to make art.
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Two New Explosive Books Go Inside the Opioid Crisis
Harsh as the portraits presented by these two books are, they leave us with a much deeper understanding of the ills that are sickening our nation.
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PBS Brings Books to Life in September
As so many programs demonstrate, PBS has always had success in adapting literature for television.
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Lichen Planus and Menopause:
Diagnostic and Treatment Differences
I am writing because I feel that my symptoms were never taken seriously by my primary care health care provider. Because I was in “menopause,” I think my symptoms were attributed to hormonal change and not evaluated properly.
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Poetry Sunday: “Good Bones,” by Maggie Smith
This brief lyric poem captures a moment familiar to most parents experiencing dismay at the state of the world and the need to grapple with that in the context of having children they want to protect.
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Aging Can Teach Us To Leave Negativity Behind
As we age we are more likely to recognize the signs of a lost cause and move on.
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Glenn Close is Riveting (and Oscar-Worthy)
as ‘The Wife’
"The Wife" insists that the old saying "Behind every great man there's a great woman" ignores a more disturbing variation of the story. In this case, it would be more apt to say, "Behind every great man there's a far greater woman who has given up who she was and what she did to ensure his greatness."
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Rebellious Women: A Labor Day Toast
The bravery of our foremothers is too often unsung. On this, our national day off, won for us in 1894, we toast the heroines who took to the ramparts to help end the era of starvation wages and 60-hour workweeks.
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Poetry Sunday: “As Imperceptibly as Grief,”
by Emily Dickinson
I’ve been wanting to feature a poem by Emily Dickinson for some time, and this one seems perfect for this time of year.
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Yes, Illness is a Feminist Issue
When women complain of pain and/or illness we are less likely to be taken seriously than when men do. Consequently, many illnesses have been slow to gain medical attention, especially those whose victims are mostly women.
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‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’
Coming of Age in Conversion Camp
The film is a powerful protest against any dogma (in this case, fundamental Christian) that is quick to brand people and their behavior as either righteous or sinful.
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Anxiety In America’s New Political Climate
The American Psychological Association found that more than half of all Americans cited the political climate as a very or somewhat significant source of stress.
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Poetry Sunday: “Me Too—The Fall of Man,”
by Cynthia Neely
Cynthia Neely’s “Me Too—The Fall of Man” gives me the opportunity to consider multiple ways poets use imagination as craft.
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The Future is Female
By speaking out against sexual exploitation, women are not just fighting sexual oppression, they are fighting against male domination itself.
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New Historical Dramas, Old Familiar Faces
Two delightful new imports from England are available to view at home on-demand. The film "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" on Netflix and the three-part miniseries "A Very English Scandal" on Amazon.
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Calypso :
David Sedaris and the Loss of Two Women
Fans of David Sedaris will have noticed how his writing, always bitingly funny, has become more infused with pathos over the years. It has only improved in "Calypso."
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Poetry Sunday: “When rivers river to the edge,”
by Arisa White
Poems like this one that demand more of the reader’s attention and effort risk being passed over by readers unwilling to make the investment. But they reward readers who do.
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Sexual Abuse of Children—Holding Those Who Know Responsible
While we can argue that child abusers must be psychologically disturbed, what excuse do their superiors have—men who don’t abuse children yet cover up for those that do?
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All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned from the Bradys
The Bradys taught us that family comes first. Perhaps this is why so many parents, as well as kids, still love the show.
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Widowhood:
On Becoming An Elder Stateswoman of Grief
Writing helped me to understand what I was feeling. At first it was a lament: I gave free voice to the turmoil, grief, anger, and fear. Writing this way, without restraint, helped me experience the depth of my loss. And from that deep despair I was able to accept and begin the slow transition to my new life as a widow, and to explore what that was like for me.
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Poetry Sunday: Selena Anne Shephard
aka Andy Plumb, Four Poems
Bravo to Selena Shephard for these unique, sensitive, and brave poems.
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Social Wealth, Part Two:
The Power of Positive People
Some of us may have lots of connections, but they are the wrong kind.
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