Offerings for Alcott at Sleepy Hollow

Here's more on my March visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, "Where Concord's Legends Lie." Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) According to Alcott's obituary in the New York Times, March 7, 1888: For a long time Miss Olcott [sic] had been ill, suffering from nervous prostration. Last Autumn she appeared to be improving and went to the … Continue reading Offerings for Alcott at Sleepy Hollow →

Offerings for Thoreau at Sleepy Hollow

On March 13, I visited Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, MA. The weather was fair and mild; the snow was melting into rivulets; the mud was copious. As Emily Dickinson wrote: Dear March - Come in - How glad I am - I hoped for you before - Put down your Hat - You must … Continue reading Offerings for Thoreau at Sleepy Hollow →

Repurposing Twain: We Need Another Film Version of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”

There are very few film versions of Mark Twain's works. Given the quality of the existing crop, we should probably consider that a blessing. Connecticut Yankee has been filmed a few times. There's a version from 1921, only 11 years after Twain's death, and a televised version from 1978, starring Richard Basehart, Bill Bixby, and … Continue reading Repurposing Twain: We Need Another Film Version of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” →

U.S. Grant and H.G. Wells

I've been reading through Grant's Memoirs again, this time focusing more on the Conclusion. It's classic Grant: dry and to the point. Here's the opening sentence: "The cause of the great War of the Rebellion against the United Status will have to be attributed to slavery." It can't be put any more plainly than that, … Continue reading U.S. Grant and H.G. Wells →