words Memoirs—such a hot genre in the current book biz that a certain James Frey was willing to pass off fiction as fact in his notorious A Million Little Pieces—tend to come in two forms: 1) dramatic personal events that demand expression, and 2) ordinary personal events made dramatic through description and analysis. Beatrix Ost […]
For facile or recklessly daring musical minds, “fusion” is just another word for “confusion.” For Brennan Gilmore and his bandmates, however, intelligently mixing together two distinct genres of music creates a potent potion. Kantara plays “Arab-Appalachian music,” and if that conjures up an image of Mohammed and Jesus dancing a jig on a prayer rug, […]
“I can’t sleep,” says Ronda Hewitt, thinking about her upcoming performance as Blanche DuBois in Live Arts’ production of Tennessee Williams’ classic drama, A Streetcar Named Desire. Looking up to Tennessee Williams: Ronda Hewitt is excited about conveying her respect for A Streetcar Named Desire to local audiences. Nervousness? Nah. Hewitt, a graduate of American […]
“Bellair is a very desirable location,” says Realtor Jim Duncan with no hesitation. No hesitation whatsoever. Bellair’s lake is a picture-perfect finishing touch in a well-groomed landscape. No wonder. The entrance—just past the 250 Bypass as you drive away from UVA along Ivy Road—looks a bit like the entrance to a national park. Once inside, […]
words Eclectic, heterogeneous, multifarious—spiffy words that, either by themselves or lined up like cherries on a slot machine, can’t truly capture the range of material in any given issue of The Virginia Quarterly Review. Trying to absorb it all seems to produce a mass of tiny bubbles in the brain, and the only way to […]
What in the name of Bill Gates is the Internet? The man himself wrote in 2000 that it’s “the center of attention for businesses, governments and individuals around the world.” Well, that’s a stab at describing its function. But what is it? Is it an actual entity, like a shoe or a file cabinet or […]
A little thing known as The Big Read, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, began in 2006 with several communities around the United States encouraged to “read a great book together.” This year, the program is nationwide, and the Virginia Foundation Center for the Book is one of 72 organizations to receive […]
To those not in the know, Fifeville sounds like one of the remote towns outside the pearly gates of Charlottesville, where you can’t get a $3 coffee drink if your life depended on it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fifeville is an old Charlottesville neighborhood named after the Fife family, whose farm once […]
music A few hundred people were drawn to the Gravity Lounge last Friday night by The Voice. Iris DeMent, born in the northeast corner of Arkansas, burst onto the country/folk scene in 1992 with the album Infamous Angel, 11 songs sung in a toned-down version of The Voice. Over the years—whether because of evolution or […]
Turn right off heavily trafficked Park Street as you’re heading away from Downtown, or cross the always-bustling 250 Bypass at the base of Pantops Mountain and continue up River Road, and suddenly you’re within the hushed confines of a real estate mecca known as Locust Grove. “This place has a lot to offer,” says Realtor […]