A spirit of fair play and a desire to do justice to the stranger within our gates - words that make me nostalgic and maybe a little optimistic, too.Read More

Two welders ready to get to work? Not so fast. Here's an update on my most recent interview.Read More

For local literary news, here's what I read.Read More

This month is a potpourri of comments about past newsletters on legacy and books.Read More

Last month I asked how you choose books to read. This month I'm sharing what I learned.Read More

Do you keep a list of books to read? Or are you the spontaneous type, preferring to land on a book while browsing a bookstore? I'd like to hear from you.Read More

Humans have been human for many millennia. Our gods, in many ways, resemble us.Read More

This summer, I was on a mission to see how real places come across in fiction.Read More

Here are five biographies of families who were shaped by, and who helped shape, regional history.Read More

As we celebrate women around the world, here's a look at soccer-playing women from South Africa.Read More