Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
A girl growing up alone in a Southern marsh, forgotten by a lover who goes away & accused of killing another, succeeds as an author.
Mister Owita’s Guide to Gardening–A Good Read
I became interested in reading this book while reviewing the documentary film The Book Keepers. The book is a memoir of an unusual friendship between a white Southern woman, Carol Wall, and Giles Owita, a Kenyan holding several jobs, including gardener. Ms. Wall, a writer for 20 years for Southern Living magazine had struggled …
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Celebrating Vincent van Gogh
This is a shortened version of an article that will appear in the July issue of VP. I am posting this now because I want to urge you to take in this expensive yet thrilling exhibit while it is still in your area. VAN GOGH: The Immersive Exhibition is wowing audiences in 14 cities across …
Cyrano (2021)
The musical version of classic romantic drama of a poet writing love letters for a man to the woman they both love, but of whom he is not worthy because of his physical ugliness–with a twist, in that Cyrano is a dwarf, rather than possessing a large nose.
Passing (2021)
Irene’s upper-class life is set into turmoil when after years she is re-united with her friend Clare who has married, passing as white,
The Underground Railroad (2021)
Set in an imaginary South where the Underground Railroad sends real trains through tunnels, this is the story of Cora who boards it in Georgia in her quest for freedom.
One Night in Miami (2020)
On the 1964 night when Cassius Clay won the World Heavy Weight Boxing Championship in Miami Malcolm X hosts a small party that includes the Champ & their 2 friends singer Sam Cook & football player Jim Brown, their conversation ranging over issues of racism & their part in fighting it.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
An eventful day in 1927 racist Chicago where Blues singer Ma Rainey records a song and faces off against her rebellious horn player & White producers.
Self Made: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker (2020)
This 4-part Neflix series chronicles the rise of Madame C.J. Walker from laundress to sales woman to the head of a national cosmetics business.
Call of the Wild (2020)
Jack London’s story still makes for good cinema. Click the title to read my entire review.