Emily Dickinson’s (1830-1886) spare poems, with their dashes, singular punctuation, capitalization, and original ideas—were “trailblazers” for their time. She would confide to a friend: “There is always one thing to be grateful for—that one is one’s self & not somebody else.” Yet her poems were deemed too unconventional by the publishing community of the mid 1800’s, not to mention that she was a woman!   Even Emily’s devoted friend and confidante Thomas Higginson, with whom she … [Read more...] about Figuring

Abolitionist and feminist Lucy Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. Just before graduation at Oberlin College in 1847, she was awarded a great honor—to write a speech for commencement. The only caveat? She had to choose a man to read it. She declined. But she would make her voice heard as she traveled throughout the country speaking out publicly against slavery at a time when it was considered verboten for women to speak in public. Her speeches would … [Read more...] about Leaving Coy’s Hill

Sister Corita Kent’s (1918-1986) artwork and philosophy inspired people to observe life up close, like a microscope, or to look at something upside down. She encouraged people to find joy, reject criticism, and to keep on creating whatever is in your heart and mind—to see beyond what is and to imagine all that could be.  She made bold art pieces that spoke out against injustice, poverty, and war, and inspired others to stand up for their beliefs. But at the age of 51, she broke away from the … [Read more...] about Make Meatballs Sing

Eddie Gallagher was the poster boy for the Nay SEALs. He led the Alpha platoon to Mosul in 2017 to help dismantle ISIS. The Navy was going to give him a Silver Star for heroism. So when Eddie was arrested in 2017 just after returning from Afghanistan, a different story began to emerge about who this SEAL icon really was. David Philipps’ compelling book sheds light on the courage of the SEALs who risked their careers and lives to tell the truth about Gallagher’s mismanagement, disregard for … [Read more...] about Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and The War for the Navy SEALS