The very first Mother’s Day was celebrated in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia when Anna Jarvis’s held a memorial for her late mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who had died in 1905. Her campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday in the United States found success years later when Woodrow Wilson signed a
The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization will be a ten-volume collection of 3,000 years of Jewish literature, artwork, and artifacts. We sat down with Felix Posen, who conceived the project, to ask about his hopes for the anthology, his perspective on secularism, and his thoughts on technology and preservation.
Michael Coogan— In 2001, Roy Moore, the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, installed a massive monument featuring the Ten Commandments in the courthouse rotunda. When ordered by a federal judge to have it taken away because it violated the establishment clause of the U. S. Constitution, Moore refused, and
In Why Poetry Matters, the gifted poet, novelist and biographer Jay Parini gives us a deeply felt meditation on poetry. He explores its language and meaning, and its power to open minds and transform lives. Parini ponders Aristotle, Horace, and Longinus, and moves on through Sidney, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Eliot,
Olivier van Donselaar— As an international transfer student coming from London, a city famous for its vibrant and diverse cultural scene, I experienced culture shock and serious disorientation during my first couple of weeks in New Haven. There was, however, one place I could go to that felt at least
This weekend is an important one for many as Jews give thanks for their freedom from slavery and Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you’re attending a Seder, going to church, enjoying both religions’ traditions, or skipping the observances entirely, you might enjoy reading up on the histories
What drives us to learn? How do books help us understand the world? How does language fail us? We sat down with reader and writer Alberto Manguel to satisfy our, well, curiosity. Yale University Press: How much do your personal experiences affect what you write about? Alberto Manguel: I’m not a scholar,
Roberto González Echevarría— It now seems certain that Cervantes’ remains have been found in Madrid; for four centuries they had been given up for lost. What does this mean and what does it reveal about the author of the Quixote. Cervantes died in relative poverty and obscurity on April 23,
In Why Acting Matters, respected and insightful writers on movies and theater David Thomson examines the allure of the performing arts for both the artist and the audience member while addressing the paradoxes inherent in acting itself. Thomson reflects on on-stage versus film acting, and on the cult of celebrity. He scrupulously
Mary Ann Caws— Happy birthday, Stéphane! Everything about Symbolism’s great poet makes him ours too. His strangeness, for example, while writing about the latest fashion using all those pseudonyms in La Dernière Mode: Madame de Ponty, Mademoiselle Satin, Olympia la négresse, le Chef de Bouche de chez Brabant, and IX