The payoff for good, mindful work is a return to our senses. More than this: the labor that often goes unseen or unrecognized itself has many virtues, many hidden stores of knowledge the like of which the rest of us can only imagine. Nina MacLaughlin examines this often unseen work, and her book, Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter, offers insightful glimpses into mentorship, craftsmanship, and the rewards and difficulty inherent to learning.
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Food is legacy, history and culture – both personal and generational. It’s an invitation to link to other human beings across lines of difference: “breaking bread together” is as powerful an image of peace as the extension of the olive branch (wait … an olive branch?). But food (and its preparation) is work – real work – that connects the heart, the hands and the soul in the most essentially human of activities.
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Katherine Paterson, winner of two Newbery Awards and two National Book Awards, wrote, “When I read . . . John Fowles’ Daniel Martin, I hear a symphony orchestra. When I read my own Bridge to Terabithia, I hear a flute solo unaccompanied.” These flute solos are valuable material–entertaining, inspiring, uplifting and thought provoking–in and of themselves. This week, board member Karen Nestor writes about the 10 children’s books she would bring to a desert island.
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The work of art helps us see the world anew–this is no less true for books than it is for a painting or sculpture. Our Marketing and Communications Director picks 10 books that are rich in detail–books that think about flowers and bees, as well as human relationships. These novels will make you laugh as well as reflect on the harder points of being human. And they will certainly entertain you.
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Books do a lot for us. They entertain us and make us feel less alone. They illuminate larger truths about the human story. They are a connection to and depiction of those combined qualities–magic and messiness–that make humans, well, human (and wonderful). Our Operations Coordinator picks 10 books to befriend, to reread, and to help you appreciate what it is to be a person.
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What would you read if you were stuck on the proverbial desert island? What would make you laugh? What would sustain you? What speaks to your experience and reminds you who you are? Program and Curriculum Director Jessica Isaac lists her picks.
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In this week’s Required Reading, Jessica tells us about the new anthology ‘Rust Belt Chic’ and Ann discusses ‘New American Stories,’ while Cecily cites a few articles on the health and brain benefits of walking. We share some of our favorite historic footage released by the AP, discuss a favorite television show, and share a fantastic recent article on the liberal arts in tech.
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Clémentine is demanding in her professionalism–she insists upon cooking good French cuisine with fresh ingredients. At the same time, her work ethic is dynamic and flexible. She transforms challenges into opportunities and overcomes the limitations set by American food practices in the 1940s.
It’s not all fun and escargots, however. The shadow of war looms as the family and Clémentine worry over loved ones left behind in France. But the artistry that typically goes into Clémentine’s cooking helps here, as well.
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To say that we spend time reflecting on our reading experiences would be an understatement. But, when, at the beginning of the month I asked about experiences with audiobooks, everyone was surprised. Like myself, they hadn’t given much thought to their experiences with this medium, though, upon reflection, nearly everybody had something to say about it. For most of us, audiobooks were road trip staples, a necessary part of a family vacation that, in retrospect, seemed as integral to our experiences as the destination itself.
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