With Good Reason

Poetry has long been used to celebrate love and family, but it has also always documented the dark times in human life.  Bob Hicok (Virginia Tech) worked for twenty years in the automotive industry.  His poems explore the lives of family and friends coping with economic devastation in Michigan.  Also: Many scholars have believed that [...]

Whether it’s a traditional hymn or a rock and roll Christmas song, many people say Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the music that marks this season.  The sense of joy, comfort, or spiritual uplift comes in classical, popular, jazz, and even world music.   Poet Tim Siebles (Old Dominion University), ethnomusicologist Ann Rasmussen ( [...]

America has elected 44 different presidents, but more than 12,000 people have served in Congress.  Matthew Wasniewski (James Madison University alum) was recently appointed as the fourth official historian of the U.S. House of Representatives.  He says that while much has changed in the House since its first session (members no longer carry weapons on [...]

You’re not wrong if you’re noticing men and women sporting clothing influenced by 1950s styles.  Yes, the popularity of the TV program “Mad Men” has a lot to do with it, but Karen Videtic (Virginia Commonwealth University) an expert on fashion forecasting, says it also reflects changing roles of men and women in the workplace.  [...]