Month: March 2013
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Sights of the City Haiku
Boston winter night— streetlight caught in the glass rim of a sun-catcher. Dark birds float to a bare tree. Underneath pages of newspaper blow. A young man reads poems by Lorca on the train, lips moving, body still. Sky of milk and slate— the sails below are whiter, the river bluer. Vs of geese fly […]
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Thinking Green
Massachus’ians are thinkers. There is scant shortage of intellectual pursuit in this state; Cambridge and Boston especially are visibly abuzz with the life of the mind, in all its variety of bloom. So it is all the more notable that the Northeastern CannaBusiness Symposium, held Saturday March 16th in downtown Boston by the National Cannabis […]
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Mary McIntosh: Founder of Feminist Review
Mary McIntosh was an intellectual, a socialist and a feminist activist. She was a woman of strong principles, combined with an abundance of personal kindness. She occupied a pioneering role in many social movements of the late twentieth century, in particular the Gay Liberation Front and the second-wave feminist movements of the 1970s. Mary was […]
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The Freedom of Love
The following series of essays have been written while teaching ESL classes to adult students from all corners of the world (this writing exercise began last month, and continues to be a part of my classes). Each morning, the first class – that began this project – was required to answer one of two questions. […]
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Detox Blues, Part Three
At the beginning of this chapter, my wife, Sascha, is in detox. I can’t get in to a detox center for two days, so I’m in the process of cashing a prescription because I’m dope-sick.) I can’t describe the feeling when you walk out of the drugstore with the stuff in your hand. It’s like […]
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Remembering Odetta
Odetta Holmes was born in Birmingham, Alabama during the Great Depression to a poor, working-class African-American family. At an early age, Odetta demonstrated a love for music, singing in church and at school. It was an elementary school teacher that noticed her singing and recommended to her mother that she begin vocal training. Odetta’s father, […]
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Living Beyond Class
We are living in a time of seemingly impenetrable race and class division. I say “seemingly” because we have seen what may have been perceived to be impossible made possible in that a surplus of minorities have gained social and economic advancement because of pioneers in political and social activism. One such pioneer is Betsy […]
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Olivia Pope & the Scandal of Representation
On April 5, 2012, Shonda Rhimes premiered yet another television drama that would entice millions of viewers to their couches weekly to watch her newest production – Scandal. In case you haven’t seen it, this drama purportedly centers on protagonist Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), a “professional fixer,” and her efforts to make political problems go […]
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Alice Rothchild: Boston's Dr. Peace
Alice Rothchild’s work bears witness to life in Israel and Palestine. Through her regularly updated blog, her book (Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience), and forthcoming documentary film (Voices Across the Divide), Rothchild offers an alternative to the biased portrayals of the Holy Land presented in the mainstream media. […]
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Women & Poverty in Bangladesh
Kalpana Rani Pal’s pottery business is modest by any yardstick, but it is small enterprises like these that are helping reduce poverty levels in Bangladesh. “I earn about Bangladeshi taka 6,000 ($72) a month from selling the earthenware I make,” said Kalpana, 34, who is glad she enrolled for a three-month pottery-making course run […]