Okay, I admit I am bias about New England. It’s my favorite part of the country. There’s a quaint historical feel to almost everywhere you go. It’s in the architecture, the landscape, the air and the people. Adding to my bias is the fact my wife was born and raised in Marlboro, MA. Over the years, we have travelled to every state that makes up the geographical area known as New England. Some states like Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine are particular favorites, but I have found something fascinating and stimulating in all of them. So when I came across Jacqueline T. Lynch’s collection of essays on what it means to be a New Englander I knew I had to read it. Lynch writes in her introduction, “This is not about New England the place as it is about New England the idea…” She focuses on ideas that came out of the nineteen century and moved us into the twentieth century.
We meet many well-known figures like Annie Sullivan, Louisa May Alcott, Lizzie Bordon and other historical figures. There are also articles about lessor known individuals particularly women who became an important part of the workforce during the Industrial Revolution. We also learn about historical landmarks such as Norman’s Woe, a small uninhabited island just off shore from Gloucester, MA. The island and its waters are noted for a series of shipwrecks over the years. Maine poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, immortalized it in his poem, The Wreck of the Hesperus.
Lynch writes passionately about her subjects and New England in general. Her love for New England shines through on every page. Anyone interested in the history of New England and its influence will find these essays an absorbing read.
It was back in 1962 when Michael Bloomfield heard Bob Dylan’s first album. He didn’t think much of it. A year later, Bloomfield met Dylan and watched him perform when the folk singer was appearing in a Chicago club. This time he was knocked out by him. They spent some time jamming and evidently got along well. They met again in 1964 when Bloomfield was in New York for a recording session with John Hammonds Jr. In June 1965, Bloomfield received a phone call from Dylan saying he’s making a new album. Would he like to play on it? Bloomfield, at the time, was part of the still unrecorded Paul Butterfield Blues Band quickly agreed and flew to New York. The album would turn out to be Highway 61 Revisited. He didn’t play on all tracks, but his guitar was featured on Like a Rolling Stone, Tombstone Blues and Maggie’s Farm. It was the start of a personal and professional relationship that lasted on and off almost until Bloomfield’s death in 1981.
Ivan G. Shreve Jr. of Thrilling Days of Yesteryear gave a fabulous review of my e-book. You can read it here!
Author Carol Balawyder left a wonderful five star review of my book, Murder with a Twist on Amazon.
Michael Herr passed away on Thursday at the age of 76. His book, Dispatches was and remains one of the premiere books examining what it was like to be a soldier in Vietnam. Herr was a war correspondent with the eyes and ears of a poet. In late 1967, Herr, working at Esquire, convinced his employers to send him on assignment to Vietnam. This was right before one of the deadliest and bloodiest battles of the war, the Battle of Khe Sanh. It was almost ten years until the book was published in 1977. After its publication, Herr worked on two of the most important films about the Vietnam war. He contributed to the narration on Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Apocalypse Now (1979) and co-wrote the screenplay, with Stanley Kubrick and Gustav Hasford, on Full Metal Jacket. The film was based on Hasford’s novel, The Short-Timers. Herr had met Stanley Kubrick in 1980 during an advance screening of The Shining. They became friends which evolved into a creative and artistic relationship.
The more I looked at this photograph of James Dean, the more fascinating I found it. It looks like it was shot in New York City, most likely in the early to mid 1950’s before Dean made any of his three iconic films. Unfortunately, I do not know who the photographer is but it could be Dennis Stock, (please see comment below from Peter. L. Winker who clears this up. Peter is the editor of the forthcoming book, The Real James Dean: Intimate Memories From Those Who Knew Him Best, to be published later this year). Stock became a friend of Dean’s early on and was one of several photographers who photgraphed Dean during those early times. The painted ad in the background for the 1948 film Brute Force reflects it’s age.
James Garner and Julie Andrews made a great team. Garner confesses in his blunt memoir (The Garner Files), the lovely Ms. Andrews was a great kisser and he really enjoyed doing their love scenes. They would reunite on-screen some eighteen years later in her husband’s (Blake Edwards) Victor, Victoria.
John Greco Author/Photographer 