It’s been the year of the pandemic, yes—but it’s also been the year of the book. Since the world shut down 12 months ago, we’ve turned to books to escape our stressful surroundings and also to explain the cataclysmic shifts outside and inside our homes. Last year’s Virginia Book Festival was cancelled as the pandemic first […]
It’s been the year of the pandemic, yes—but it’s also been the year of the book. Since the world shut down 12 months ago, we’ve turned to books to escape our stressful surroundings and also to explain the cataclysmic shifts outside and inside our homes. Last year’s Virginia Book Festival was cancelled as the pandemic first […]
S.A. Cosby set out to be the next Stephen King. But he soon turned to a life of crime writing, and his latest noir caper, Blacktop Wasteland, may have pulled him in too deep to let him out. “I love writing about crime because it’s something everyone can understand,” Cosby says. “The platform makes it […]
Everything is falling apart—and I don’t mean that metaphorically. In Texas, a winter storm recently caused the power grid to fail, leaving millions without heat and icicles dropping from ceiling fans. In Jackson, Mississippi, 96 broken water mains in a 100-year-old system of municipal pipes have dirtied the water for three weeks and counting, and […]
Between 1980 and 1994, Christian/gospel music sales grew from $190 million to $390 million. And some folks in the business were uncomfortable with that success. Because gospel music is different. “Were the contemporary gospel artists who experimented with the rhythms of funk, disco, and hip-hop more concerned with selling records than with saving souls?” wonders […]
Tiffany Jana doesn’t like the term microaggression. “The very nature of the word puts people on the defensive,” says the diversity and inclusiveness expert. “It definitely is not a place from which people grow very readily.” Jana and co-author Michael Baran both took umbrage with the term and set out on a mission to rebrand […]
With the one-year anniversary of hunkering down in our houses approaching, it’s easy to forget about the beauty of the natural world that we still have access to. Ross Gay and Aimee Nezhukumatathil are here to remind us. Poets Gay and Nezhukumatathi will discuss their essay collections—The Book of Delights and World of Wonders, respectively—during […]
Writer Sadeqa Johnson was walking the Richmond Slave Trail when she came across a shocking piece of local history. She’d heard of Robert Lumpkin, a notorious figure who ran a slave jail known as the Devil’s Half Acre, where thousands of Black people were brutally tortured and mercilessly auctioned off. But Johnson hadn’t known that […]
French connections: In his four years as the United States minister to France, Thomas Jefferson came to love all things French, especially the cuisine—and the sophisticated culinary palate he developed is still serving us today. In The Art of French Brasserie Cooking at Monticello, the newly appointed Chef David Bastide teaches us about the fine […]
Pickin’ back up: Looks like we’ll need to celebrate another St. Paddy’s Day with a pint on the couch. But lucky for us, We Banjo 3 will be streaming live from Dublin, Ireland. Since 2012, the Irish quartet has been wowing critics and crowds with its innovative take on traditional Celtic, bluegrass, and American music, […]
Star power: Can you feel it? That change in the air? If you follow your weekly horoscope faithfully (p. 29) and align your moods with celestial bodies, local astrologer Ilana Khin’s guided meditation Feeling Into The New (Moon) may be the gentle assist you’re looking for to connect with the cosmos. Khin offers “ritual suggestions […]