I love reading Charles Dickens. Not just because I have a Ph.D. in literature. I’m actually an Americanist. When I was earning my doctorate at Emory University, my focus was on 19th century American and African-American literature with a sub-speciality in African literature. I love reading Charles Dickens because his novels are so compelling. I think Charles Dickens is one…
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My friend Meagan Francis just started blogging about her 5th pregnancy. She’s the mother of four boys and an excellent writer. Her most recent post is about boob changes, which got me thinking about breastfeeding past three and how, when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter I didn’t read anything about breastfeeding. I knew I wanted to nurse my…
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TravelSavvy Mom recently published my review of the McCloud River Mercantile Hotel. McCloud is a quaint, friendly town in northern California. Close to Mount Shasta, it boasts lots of hiking trails, some nice restaurants, and boutique shopping. You can read more a little more about McCloud here and here. My writerly friend Jody Mace (who had a hilarious piece recently in the…
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Oregon Writer Pens Cover Story in Smithsonian Magazine October 24, 2008-Ashland, Ore.–Time spent with free-roaming giraffes on the plains of West Africa landed Oregon writer Jennifer Margulis the cover story of the November issue of Smithsonian Magazine, one of the country’s most respected publications. Margulis first observed the giraffes 15 years ago, according to Smithsonian Magazine’s Executive Director Carey Winfrey….
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Well, that’s part of the subtitle of my Smithsonian Magazine November cover story, which is available to read on the Web (I’m not sure if the print magazine is out yet), though with a herd of giraffes that is so small — there are less than 175 peralta giraffes left in the world today — too much optimism is foolhardy….
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I’m working on a travel story about McCloud, California and I spent Thursday through Saturday in McCloud. About 10 miles from Mt Shasta, McCloud is a former company-owned mill town. The company used to control the electricity (and shut all the power off to the town around 11 p.m., creating a new definition of “lights out”) and decide the color…
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