Interwoven Book review by Jude Joseph Lovell A short way into Stella’s Carpet, a heartfelt and lovely novel by the Canadian writer (and Silver Sage contributor) Lucy E.M. Black, a primary character who has become fairly obsessed with the ancient art of carpet weaving, is shown pondering a striking Persian sample: “Its otherness intrigued him; Read more
The Cool Teacher Book Review by Jude Joseph Lovell It feels apt to title this review with that debatable oxymoron. Especially because Peter Kravitz, a retired educator from the New York Public Schools system and a contributor to this magazine, has produced a new memoir that vacillates freely between opposing poles: funny to serious; emotional Read more
Hadestown: An Old Song Made Brand New By Jude Joseph Lovell The singer-songwriter turned composer Anaïs Mitchell has not been satisfied with a conventional singer’s career path. Since the early 2000’s she has been toiling on a “folk opera” called Hadestown, based on the Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone. First Read more
Hilary Mantel’s Triple Play Book commentary by Jude Joseph Lovell I decided early while reading The Mirror & The Light, the third volume of Hilary Mantel’s challenging but remarkable trilogy of historical novels about Thomas Cromwell, a statesman and minister to the English king Henry VIII, that I could not write a conventional review. I Read more
The Fellowship of the Mountain by Jude Joseph Lovell Several weeks ago, I woke up very early one morning alone, and found myself staring out through huge glass panels at a broad, dark expanse populated by slumbering, snow-dusted mountains. Indeed, the entire world seemed to be asleep, awash in the last vestiges of moonbeams. In Read more
Dagger of a Film Film Review by Jude Joseph Lovell The new film version of the 416-year-old play called The Tragedy of Macbeth (its full title) is an exceptional cinematic experience by any yardstick, for almost any age group. But for readers of this magazine, which celebrates the ongoing potential of persons over the age Read more
My Two Favorite Books of 2021 by Jude Joseph Lovell It is hard to believe yet another year has come and gone. Seems like only just last week I was sitting in a similar place scribbling about my favorite books of 2020. One of those was called Love in the Time of Cholera, and I Read more
The Year I Fell from the Sky by Jude Joseph Lovell The summer of 1991, my big brother was visiting from the Midwest with this crappy, brown pickup truck that he was rather proud of. Having been raised in the comfy New Jersey suburbs by a neuroscientist and a busy working mom, we were not Read more
Once Upon A Time in the West Book review by Jude Joseph Lovell Here we are in the U.S.A. in “the evil of its winter,” to lift a phrase from the celebrated Irish fiction writer Kevin Barry’s brand-new book of stories, That Old Country Music (Doubleday). “But then,” he notes, “I suppose January is a tough Read more
Home for the Holidays This year, many of our writers and contributors will have a new tradition of sorts for the holidays, no thanks to COVID19. In honor of our fabulous family of writers, I asked them to send a short sentence or two on how they will be spending Thanksgiving this year. Remember that Read more
