Bloomsday in NOLA.

 

 

Bloomsday features a marathon reading of James Joyce's 'Ulysses' at The Irish House

Stately, plump Buck Mulligan will begin the party by shaving. Stephen Dedalus will join him, trailed by his deceased mother. Mr. Leopold Bloom will wander through the event, along with his wife, Molly, and her lover Blazes Boylan.

Secession and Ascension in St Louis.

Secession and Ascension in St Louis

St. Louis also experienced how religious allegiances could complicate the already complex border-state politics. The city had been founded by French Catholics, and it had been a beacon to Catholic, Protestant and Jewish immigrants from Germany for decades by the time of the Civil War. In St. Louis as elsewhere along the new national divide, Catholic clergymen preached an immediate peace — which was interpreted by some as a concession to the cause of the South.

Natasha Trethewey.

Natasha Trethewey is the new Poet Laureate of the Library of Congress. Read this intriguing mini-bio.