Offering residents diverse literary talent
Hundreds of authors, including Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners and poet laureates, have visited Howard County because of one organization’s quest to make literature accessible to everyone. The Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (motto: “Let there be lit”) was established in 1974 by Ellen Conroy Kennedy to bring art to the newly formed city of Columbia. Since then, the... READ MORE
Winter garden offers unusual sights
Do you notice more details in your garden in the winter when you’re not distracted by green leaves and showy blossoms? Here are some explanations for those unusual winter sightings: Q: It’s February. Why are brown leaves still hanging from some trees? A: You are observing marcescence, the term used to describe leaf retention. The dried leaves of certain hardwood trees hold fast,... READ MORE
Never too late to make beautiful music
Ric Bergstrom began playing banjo several years ago, when his wife gave him one as a birthday present. “At 47, I decided to pick up a stringed instrument, and the last time I’d touched any instrument was literally in ninth grade,” said Bergstrom, the owner of a Richmond insurance agency. Almost everyone knows the joy of listening to music, the way it can transport you to... READ MORE
Creativity: it can get better with age
Alexis Bentz is a senior at Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland. She has been writing this intergenerational column for the Beacon since middle school. I’ve been writing about issues that impact both the older and younger generations for The Beacon for six years. But I’ve been a short story writer almost from the time I could hold a pen. My first story was about a butterfly... READ MORE
Change is hard, so this habit may remain
Another year has recently slipped into the books, and for me, it brought a reckoning. Should I bow to the realities of the 21st Century? Or should I plow ahead with a project that had been born and nurtured in the 20th? Should I be a stubborn old guy and refuse to recognize which way the winds are blowing? Or should I fold my tent? For more than 25 years, I have regularly,... READ MORE
Play’s characters grapple with life’s end
As we age, we all face mortality — our own, that of a parent, a friend, a lover…someone close to us. Some face the reality head on. Others avoid it, ignore it, make bargains with it. In actor Michael Cristofer’s play The Shadow Box, each character provides a unique perspective on death in ways that are neither judgmental nor maudlin, but ring true as distinctly human. The play... READ MORE
Alice McDermott on life and faith
On a gray afternoon this winter, novelist Alice McDermott paused for a pint of Guinness at the Irish Inn in Glen Echo, Maryland, to chat with a reporter about, among other things, life, literature and what it means to be an American. “What makes all Americans Americans, regardless of the hyphenation, is that they are from someone, or are someone, who left [their home], whether for... READ MORE
Amateur art competition closes March 20
Amateur artists 50 and over are invited to enter their best works in a variety of media in the Beacon’s 2020 Celebration of the Arts, an online art competition. The Beacon held its first Celebration of the Arts competition in 2018, when it attracted more than 900 entries in four categories. This year’s competition has expanded to seven categories. Winners in each category will... READ MORE
Even kings struggle to speak
By the 1930s, British monarchs could no longer rule simply by appearing in public, brandishing medals on their military jackets. Instead, they communicated with their people by radio. But Prince Albert, second in line to the throne, was unable to speak without a stammer and subsequent public humiliation. The King’s Speech, at the National Theatre through Feb. 16, delves into the life... READ MORE
A career journalist reflects on his field
These days, the news doesn’t always resemble what old-school journalists would call reporting: the who, what, where, when, why and how. “Much of what passes for news today is actually people telling us what they think about the news, or worse, how they feel about the news,” said veteran journalist Peter Copeland. “Journalism is when reporters get out of the office, see things... READ MORE
Arts 2024
#Theatre #Artist #Books #Bob Levey #Independent Living #Art #Americana #Diner #Wheaton #Baltimore #Bibliophile
