![]() ![]() ![]() A perfect storm of bacterial infection, political greed, and religious intolerance sparked this catastrophe. Measured in terms of mortality, the Great Irish Potato Famine was the worst disaster in the nineteenth century-it claimed twice as many lives as the American Civil War. It started in 1845 and before it was over more than one million men, women, and children would die and another two million would flee the country. ![]() A magisterial account of one of the worst disasters to strike humankind-the Great Irish Potato Famine-conveyed as lyrical narrative history from the acclaimed author of The Great Mortalityĭeeply researched, compelling in its details, and startling in its conclusions about the appalling decisions behind a tragedy of epic proportions, John Kelly's retelling of the awful story of Ireland's great hunger will resonate today as history that speaks to our own times. ![]()
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![]() After Monk spent a few more years in penniless obscurity, suddenly, most of New York City went to the Five Spot, where he was in residence for multiple months in 1957. To help generate publicity, the Blue Note label dubbed him “the high priest” for his first records, as a bandleader, in the late nineteen-forties. For those who couldn’t tell he was an unusual musician simply from listening, the visuals were a helpful guide: outrageously idiosyncratic percussive piano techniques and long, spastic dances, not to mention a wardrobe of impeccable flash and taste.Īt the beginning, Thelonious Monk was a shadowy figure known only to fellow-innovators. ![]() The blues that were an unchanging constant. The memorable melodies that sat atop a virtuosic harmonic conception, emphasizing unexpected dissonances. The avant-garde music that verged on conceptual art but was delivered at a relaxed and buoyant foxtrot. There was always something to talk about. ![]() ![]() ![]() Yet Hansberry was writing from personal experience. And there's always this tone of 'Who does she think she is?' " "There was a real resistance and intolerance of it," said Gresham. ![]() But when The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window – a critique of white liberalism that takes place in Greenwich Village – debuted in 1964, critics were not as enamored. That play, which realistically depicted a Black family on the South Side of Chicago, took Broadway by storm, became a popular film in 1961 and has subsequently become part of high school curriculums. "She was like the 'It' girl coming out of A Raisin in the Sun," said Joi Gresham, director of the Lorraine Hansberry Literary Trust. Writing A Raisin in the Sun was both a blessing and a curse for its young Black playwright. ![]() Now, the first major New York production in almost 60 years is getting a first-class treatment at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) – it stars Oscar Isaac, of Star Wars fame, and Rachel Brosnahan, best known as the marvelous Mrs. ![]() The show had a short Broadway run and has rarely been revived. Brooklyn Academy of MusicĪfter playwright Lorraine Hansberry rocketed to stardom in 1959 with A Raisin in the Sun, she followed it up, five years later, with The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan star in a rarely revived Lorraine Hansberry play. ![]() ![]() He’s a passionate person (meaning he cares deeply). He’s not a Mary Sue by any stretch of the imagination, but some might argue how quickly he learns. Some may think he’s too good at too many things, but I like a skilled character. When everything in his life should start looking up, it all takes a turn, and Mort must figure it all out before the secrets that led to his unusual upbringing come back to haunt the kingdom of Lothion.Ĭharacter: Mordecai is a fun character. Just as he learns the truth of his birth, he also discovers his magical ability and makes a powerful enemy. Mordecai was raised as a humble son of a blacksmith with some rather affluent friends. I started this series up right away via Audible because I loved Embers so much. Manning takes place 2,000 years after Betrayer’s Bane, which was December Book Cover of the Month, which I reviewed and you can find here. Spoiler Free Summary: The Blacksmith’s Son by Michael G. ![]() ![]() Images taken from the Amazon buy page for review purposes. ![]() |