Singular SensationIf you were around during the '80s, chances are you remember spandex, tube socks and a limber group of big-haired dancers from "A Chorus Line."
The Go-To GuyEvery town has that guy, the one you go to who gets things done. He's the man everyone turns to when they have problems. In Seville, he happens to be the barber.
No Easy AnswersWhen a black sergeant dies at Fort Neal, La., near the end of World War II, a complicated murder mystery begins. Was it a lynching or something more? The segregated Army of 1944 is the backdrop for Charles Fuller's 1982 …
Poets Changing Human SystemLike Halley's Comet, it might happen at most twice in a lifetime, where two of the most widely recognized names in poetry come together at the same time and place to enlighten and inspire. That time is this weekend. Get …
Jackson EmergingAs I walked through the parking lot in front of the Mississippi Museum of Art on a cold, wet Monday morning, it was hard at first to visualize the same space as a vibrant garden with water fountains, blooming flowers, …
Crossroads Film 2011 ReviewsThe Crossroads Film Festival is screening dozens of movies April 1-3 at Malco Grandview Theatre in Madison, in addition to holding workshops, after-parties and other related events all over town. The Jackson Free Press reviewed a few films to give …
Teresa NicholasI've never met writer Teresa Nicholas, but I'm getting to know her quite well. My buddy JoAnne Prichard Morris (who is also an editor of the Jackson Free Press) strongly suggested several weeks ago that I get her new book, …
Cultural RemodelingArtist Jennifer Dixon's life-size tree installations fill the interior Bergen Park in Seattle, Wash. The five trees, made of various materials such as clay, metal, fossils and glass, are attached to tall cedar posts that originally served as reference points …
Attract Creative Class With ArtThe city of Jackson took a significant step forward last week when City Human and Cultural Services Director Michael Raff announced a public-art initiative. Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. has committed 1 percent of all eligible capital-improvement funds for public …
Breaking The RulesLike many 12-year-old girls, DeAsia Scott tries to maximize the amount of hot pink she can wear on a daily basis. She loves oatmeal-raisin cookies, has a crush on Justin Bieber and knows every word to Beyonce's songs.
Mystical Alligator WrestlingWhen I first picked up "Swamplandia!" (Knopf, 2011, $24.95), I was skeptical at best. As a Florida native, I was excited to read a book set in my home state, but a book about a 13-year-old girl who is an …
Poet's ProgressPlain spoken and impassioned, poet Nikki Giovanni's body of work is a testament to the power of words to fulfill and inspire.
A Mind/Body BookshelfWellness is more than just the absence of illness. It incorporates the whole being, body, mind and spirit. Physicians and psychiatrists have studied and written about wellness for decades (at least), so we know their interest in wellness is far …
Etude of an ArtistWhen he was 5 years old, Lorenzo Gayden loved cars. He played with and drew them and, eventually, imagined designing them. But unlike most of us who abandon our childhood love for art, casting it off as simple doodling, Gayden, …
Drifting in the GrooveYou've probably never heard of Daniel Lanois, but you've certainly heard his work. He has quite an impressive resumé: producer of CDs recorded by Bob Dylan, the Neville Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, U2 and Peter Gabriel, to name a …