With Good Reason

Poet Lucille Clifton is widely acclaimed for her powerful explorations of race, womanhood, and spirituality. This June she was honored by the Furious Flower Poetry Center (James Madison University), which brought together more than 40 teachers and scholars to examine the National Book Award-winner’s lifetime of contributions to American poetry.  Also: Hilary Holladay (Virginia Foundation [...]

Wilbur and Orville Wright won a place in history for unraveling the secrets of heavier-than-air flight, but their charismatic sister, Katharine Wright, deserves a lot of credit.  Cindy Wilkey (University of Virginia’s College at Wise) says the brothers, who never married, were shy and reserved and that Katharine devoted her life to running their home [...]

Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald (left) had a celebrity marriage during the Jazz Age of the 1920s.  However, from 1930 until her death in 1948, Zelda was in and out of mental hospitals.  Karen Tatum (Norfolk State University) is exploring the possibility of a link between the medication Zelda took for eczema and her debilitating [...]

Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, presents the Jim Crow south through the eyes of a young girl.  Mary Badham, the actress who portrayed “Scout” in the film, shares memories of her fond relationship with actor Gregory Peck.  Gary Edgerton (Old Dominion University) and Ted McKosky (Radford University) explain why the film is [...]

Are the days of the big newspapers numbered?  Jeff South (Virginia Commonwealth University) says the demand for news and information is higher than ever.   In order to survive, newspapers need to change the business models of both their on-line presence and how they gather the news.   And, if Mike Marshall’s Crozet Gazette is any indication, [...]

A special episode of With Good Reason recorded live at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville.  NPR book critic Alan Cheuse (George Mason University) discusses his recent novel, To Catch the Lightning, about photographer Edward Curtis who documented Native Americans in the early Twentieth Century.  See a collection of Curtis’s photographs here Also: [...]

For centuries, “Shakespeare’s Sonnets” languished in obscurity, but now the collection is considered a masterpiece.  Robert Matz (George Mason University) reveals that the more famous lines from the Sonnets, such as “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” were written by Shakespeare to a young man.  Also Featured: Toni-Leslie James (Virginia Commonwealth University) has [...]

Poet Lucille Clifton is widely acclaimed for her powerful explorations of race, womanhood, and spirituality. This June she was honored by the Furious Flower Poetry Center (James Madison University), which brought together more than 40 teachers and scholars to examine the National Book Award-winner’s lifetime of contributions to American poetry. Also: Hilary Holladay (Virginia Foundation [...]

In 1862, poet Walt Whitman went to Fredericksburg, Virginia, searching for his brother George who had been wounded in a Civil War battle. Whitman was so moved by the carnage he found that he worked as a nurse for the rest of the war.   Mara Scanlon and Brady Earnhart (University of Mary Washington) say [...]

Wilbur and Orville Wright won a place in history for unraveling the secrets of aviation, but their charismatic sister, Katharine Wright, deserves a lot of credit. Cindy Wilkey (University of Virginia College at Wise) says the brothers, who never married, were shy and reserved and Katharine devoted her life to running their home and business.  [...]