PICK: The Life of William Faulkner

Writer’s digest: Notable biographer Carl Rollyson has covered a range of remarkable lives in his work, from Marilyn Monroe, Lillian Hellman, and Norman Mailer to Susan Sontag, Sylvia Plath, and Walter Brennan. He completes a two-part bio with The Life of William Faulkner Volume 2: This Alarming Paradox, 1935-1962, and celebrates Faulkner’s birthday with a […]

PICK: Blue Ridge Mountain Maze

Way to unwind: It’s an amazing maze of maize, and it only gets cornier. The Blue Ridge Mountain Maze is five acres of corn stocks that are organized into a new and cornfusing design every fall (this year’s theme is “get outside”). Navigate by day or try a spooky challenge, and take on the night […]

In brief: Bob’s not so good, COVID’s on the rise, and more

Tossing it around Bob Good, the 5th Congressional District’s Republican candidate, released a bizarre campaign advertisement this week. In the spot, Good draws on his experience as a wrestling coach—everyone’s favorite kind of authority figure—and shows how he’ll “put liberal ideas in a headlock.” As Good grapples on the mat with his son, the candidate […]

PICK: The Lavender Scare

Seeing purple: As the Cold War and McCarthyism were dominating headlines in the mid-20th century, another cultural persecution was taking place covertly in tandem with the Red Scare. Jefferson-Madison Regional Library and the University of Virginia’s LGBT Committee present a screening of The Lavender Scare, a documentary narrated by Glenn Close that tells the story […]

PICK: Tuesday Evening Concert Series with David Shifrin

Listen to the wind: When considering Mozart’s vast body of work, the clarinet may not be top of mind. Yet, in 1789 the composer “had the wonderful idea of combining a clarinet with a string quartet. The result was one of the greatest musical masterpieces of all time,” says David Shifrin, who will perform the […]

PICK: Zoiree

Moving through it: Edwin Roa of Zabor Dance is not letting the coronavirus get in the way of getting together. The dance instructor is, from a distance, teaching couples who are distanced from other pairs at Zoiree. Partners can move to salsa, bachata, cha-cha and tango in a safety-minded outdoor setting with limited numbers. $40 […]

Something to Grouse about

Foodies rejoice! Charlottesville’s high-end dining circuit just got a little larger with the reopening of The Pink Grouse, the signature restaurant at the Quirk Hotel. Initially unveiled along with the hotel in March of 2020, The Pink Grouse’s launch was short-lived due to widespread shutdowns in April. The extra time was used to fine-tune the […]

Poem on the Removal of the Statue of Johnny Reb

By Gregory Orr   I won’t miss the way Your bronze body Froze History into bitterness.   That spot you occupied No longer radiates Shadows In every direction Like a malign sundial Designed to thwart The slow Progress of time.   Your absence: a form Of hope, a flat And empty space Where citizens stand […]

In brief: Richardson steps down, Johnny Reb goes down, and more

One down Johnny Reb, the bronze Confederate soldier who has stood, musket in hand, outside the Albemarle County Courthouse since 1909, has been replaced by a patch of hay. After the Unite the Right rally accelerated the national debate over Confederate monuments, Charlottesville finally took down one of our own. The Albemarle Board of Supervisors […]