Blog
Utopian and Dystopian Visions: Sicily and Engaging Italy
Monte Argentario, off the coast of southern Tuscany Emeralds in a sea of sapphire—gems among gemstones—to a romantic dreamer. To those...
A Sicilian Memoir: Simeti’s On Persephone’s Island
Mandarins and pears at an open market in Sicily. Photo: Andrew Malone , Wikimedia Commons via Flickr Mary Taylor Simeti’s memoir of...
A Past January Inauguration Day in Sicily Spurs Hope for Future
Gray skies above Catania, Sicily, in January A few years back--twelve, to be exact--I was adjusting to an unfamiliar climate and...
Riding the Winter Waves: Reading for Health
Elizabeth Blackwell writing on happiness in 1845 Here’s the second part to a post from just after Thanksgiving 2020, “Riding the Holiday...
Coincidence or Signs? Waldensians in the News
Twice in less than 24 hours—actually, within about 12 hours—I received notice from two friends* of two recent but very different news stories about the...
Riding the Holiday Waves: Writing for Health
Hello, friends. How have the first of the holidays been for you? Have the emotions of 2020's elections and COVID caused these past few days...
The Past Hauntingly Repeats Itself? National Elections of 1844
George Perkins Marsh portrait engraving by H. B. Hall, reprinted in Life & Letters (1888) Title Page of Life & Letters...
Coffee Passions: One of These Things is Not Like the Other
Double espresso and breakfast cookie in Rome Cappuccino from Starbucks, small One afternoon this week my desk...
Food Memories: Utopian Visions?
I missed June's blog. I'm making up for it by referring here to a short blog that appeared elsewhere last month. I wrote "Koulourakia Cravings"...
Cancelled!
As Italy crawls back to life, many of us mourn the loss of trips planned and cancelled. This week-after-semester's-end at the university often finds me...
