My father was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1928. His was not the “typical” childhood: he spent the 1930s and ’40s performing on radio and in the Yiddish theater, where divas starred in ingenue roles even after their daughters were old enough to play their mothers, and the actual…
The Public Nature of Private Journals
(A version of this post was originally published on Nov. 13, 2013 on the Late Last Night Books blog.) I write journals. Year after year, the stacks of filled notebooks on my closet shelf grow taller, leaning into each other until I’m forced to start another pile. This stash doesn’t…
Victoria Woodhull as Muse
Hillary Clinton’s historic turn as first woman presidential nominee of a major U.S. political party has sparked renewed interest in Victoria Claflin Woodhull. Victoria who? Back in 1872, when Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to run for President of the United States, nobody would have asked that question. Considered…
Beyond “Mom”
This is my third Mother’s Day without my mom, although I don’t need a special day to think about her. Not a day passes where she doesn’t cross my mind. There is always something I want to share with her, because she always wanted to know. We were her favorite…
Who Tells Your Story?
My husband’s godmother passed away last night at the age of 100, and attention should be paid. Here are some facts: Madeleine Alena Hebert entered this world on August 22, 1915, in Montpelier, VT. She was number 10 of 13 children born to Alexandre and Alouisia Berube Hebert. She served…