Blog Post: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

Among the most enjoyable of my freelance writing gigs: I get to see live performances at the Flynn Center in Burlington, Vermont, and then write about them.

Like when the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra came to town. Check it out here:
flynncenter.tumblr.com/post/165335051693/jazz-at-lincoln-center-orchestra-is-a-metaphor-for

Book Blurb: Building a Bridge by Fr. James Martin

Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity by James Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Father Martin offers up a small, easily readable book which, for all the furor it's raised in certain sectors of the Catholic Church, is actually remarkably tame. There is nothing scandalous here, just one priest's sharing of his most effective ideas for reaching out to certain groups of marginalized Catholics.

In fact, I found myself wondering if Fr. Martin might not be offering us a blueprint for the various other deep divisions facing our society these days. All he's really advocating here is for two sides to listen to each other, make some attempt at dialogue, and to have the patience to let them work through whatever issues they have to work through. He offers no answers, only a process and a Christ-like pastoral vision.

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Book Blurb: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really a charming bit of sci-fi light space opera with an enjoyable ensemble of characters. It's been said that good sci-fi is less about predicting the future than it is about examining the present in which it's created, and this book really embodies that. At its heart, it's about a lot of very different cultures and conflicting ideologies all trying to get along -- something our own society is struggling with at the moment. This story takes the mostly optimistic view that it's possible to all get along in the end. It might not always be easy, but we can do it.

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Book Blurb: The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Connie Willis

The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Connie Willis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Connie Willis ranks near the top of my list of favorite authors. Those top spots, I've found, go to those rare and wonderful artists who quite clearly and obviously love what they're doing, and let their joy shine throughout their body of work.

One piece of advice I often hear from artists to artists for succeeding in the creative arts is to "write what you enjoy, and eventually the rest of the world will catch up." Or sentiments to that effect. And throughout this collection of stories (as with the rest of Ms. Willis's writings) you get the sense that she's doing exactly that. Her stories are fun (they tend to read like old screwball comedies) and she makes it look easy.

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Book Blurb: Cairn: A Dragon Memoir by Rebecca Ferrell Porter

Cairn: A Dragon Memoir by Rebecca Ferrell Porter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This turned out to be the second book of a series, but was easy enough to follow without knowing anything about the first book. It's a light, easy read with some engaging characters and intriguing world-building -- enough that I'm now curious about the first book.

The world presented here is a neat little subversion of normal expectations for a fantasy. Fairies are presented as aggressors; trolls are decent folk wanting to be left to themselves; and dragons are a noble race who have overcome their baser instincts.

The one drawback which kept me from fully enjoying the book was that it needs a more thorough editing. The typos and wayward apostrophes were just prevalent enough to distract me from the story being told.

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Blogging: The Spanish Harlem Orchestra

When the Spanish Harlem Orchestra came to town for the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, I did a pair of posts for the Flynn Center blog.

One before the show; www.flynncenter.org/blog/2015/06/spanish-harlem-orchestra-preview  ...
...and one after;  www.flynncenter.org/blog/2015/06/review-spanish-harlem-orchestra.

A Short Story Published

The online literary magazine WritingRaw.com has published my short story, The Virgin in the Window.

You can check it out here: http://writingraw.com/Fiction.html#Becoming%20to%20Beheld