The Cloak of Invisibility – By Dustin Pickering
Poets often reflect that poetry emerges from the character of the poet. As Americans are awash in the forces of contemporary life, there is...
It’s Diwali…Kali Puja…Deepavali…Let’s Celebrate! By Mitali Chakravarty
When I was a child - way back in the 1970s - I was entranced by festivities on Diwali. On one hand, there were...
Where has all the laughter gone? – By Mitali Chakravarty
There was a time when limericks and humorous poetry made us laugh, when ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine!’ brought tears of merriment to multiple...
My Journey as an Artist & Art Instructor – Cynthia Yatchman
I was lucky enough to grow up in a household that supported and practiced the arts. I went to elementary school at a time when art was still...
Old Iron – By Peter Barrett
The routine was always the same. Winters, usually; summers occasionally. The search for a new car always occurred in the extremes of each season.
Dad,...
I’ve Come to the End – By Kenny Chumbley
With this essay, I conclude my series on fairy tales. I’ve not discussed everyone I could have (E. Nesbit and P. L. Travers, for...
C. S. Lewis and Narnia
By Kenny Chumbley
It is often the case that children are introduced to the genius of C. S. Lewis through his fantasy series, The Chronicles...
J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of Fantasy
By Kenny Chumbley
In October 1936, a manuscript for a children’s book arrived at the office of the London publisher Allen & Unwin. Stanley Unwin,...
L. Frank Baum and the Wonder of Oz
By Kenny Chumbley
He saw his story as a “modernized fairy tale,” but he put no fairies in it. He meant it to be without...
Andrew Lang, The Master of Fairyland
By Kenny Chumbley
In the late 19th century, fairy tales had fallen out of favor with the general public; some educationalists even attacked them as...
