In the epilogue of her book, Scattering Ashes: A Memoir of Letting Go, Charlottesville-based author Joan Z. Rough describes the process of writing about her aging alcoholic and emotionally abusive mother as “the day-by-day knitting together of a broken bone.” In this way, she says, “The writing of the book was probably the most healing […]
Even under ordinary conditions, a road trip can be the ultimate test of a relationship. But when torrential rain and tornado warnings cross the path of an already tense couple, it creates the perfect storm. Hannah Pittard’s third novel, Listen to Me, explores the interior of a marriage that has been shaken by recent trauma. […]
This week Sir Salman Rushdie, Junot Díaz and Alice Waters are among the impressive group of literary figures, activists and scholars assembling in Charlottesville for Human/Ties, a free, four-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Rushdie, the author and free speech advocate perhaps best known for his novel The […]
During the second weekend in September, members of the community will have the opportunity to view and contemplate art while enjoying the outdoors and mingling with neighbors in what local artist James Yates calls an “out of gallery” experience. “Yard Dreams” is a collective of installations in the front yards of select homes along Belmont […]
One of the earliest ordinances against cross-dressing was passed in Columbus, Ohio, in 1848, making it illegal for someone to appear in public “in a dress not belonging to his or her sex.” While police enforced such laws on public streets and jailed offenders, the impersonation of women by men, and men by women, became […]
As American citizens of all races and colors march in protest of police brutality and racial profiling this summer, the publication of local poet Patsy Asuncion’s collection, Cut on the Bias, offers a message of peace, inclusion and an account of the deep pain of growing up with two separate identities in such a divisive […]
This month, the Heritage Theatre Festival presents a unique piece in a production notable for its director’s connection to the venue in which it’s performed. Award-winning director and choreographer Cate Caplin, who has worked with the likes of David Hyde Pierce on Broadway, has directed and choreographed six different seasons of the Heritage Theatre Festival, […]
Every good story needs an indomitable force that drives the narrative forward. In Pauls Toutonghi’s book Dog Gone, that force is a golden retriever mix named Gonker, who happens to be from this area. “I first heard the story of Gonker when I went to my in-laws’ house for the first time,” says Toutonghi, the […]
Though Jean Genet’s 1947 play The Maids (Les Bonnes) is known as a sadomasochistic, cruel and absurd work, director Stephen Simalchik says he would describe his Offstage Theatre production as playful before he would call it dark. “Something that is only cruel or shocking I wouldn’t want to spend a lot of time on,” he […]
Throughout the last four centuries, publishers, editors and artists have created a vast range of textual interpretations of William Shakespeare’s works—from original printings and family-friendly versions to Romeo and Juliet translated into social media posts, complete with emojis. To commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, UVA’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library has […]