It’s impossible to consider Al Naylor’s album Friends without addressing the underlying fact behind its creation. Naylor — nothing short of a legend in the region’s jazz community as both an educator and a player — has been diagnosed with a health condition that will soon force his early retirement from performing. In the face of the news,
Rob Cline
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Can’t-miss events at the 2019 Iowa City Book Festival
The Iowa City Book Festival has kicked off, and the celebration of writers and readers is just be amping up. Here are six of the many authors on this year’s schedule worthy of your attention.
Posted inBook Reviews
Five authors to meet at the fourth annual I.O.W.A. book festival
This year’s edition of the I.O.W.A. book festival is set for Sept. 7 and 8 at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. The acronym stands for Imagine Other Worlds with Authors, and the writers on the slate certainly represent a wide array of literary worlds. From fantasy to mystery to romance and more, the festival offers readers an opportunity
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Jarrett Purdy — ‘Motion & Stillness’
Motion and Stillness by Jarrett Purdy Garrett Purdy is a pianist, a composer and a recent graduate of the University of Iowa’s School of Music (and through the end of July, he’s an intern at Hancher Auditorium, where I am on staff). His debut album, Motion & Stillness, is entirely made up of his jazz […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids’ Carnegie Library was one for the books
My wife believes there are too many books in our house. I, on the other hand, am quite sure there are not enough. When I imagine what “enough” might look like, I call to mind the first floor of the Carnegie Library in Cedar Rapids — my first library and the place, it seemed to me as a small child, where all the books in the world were housed.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Book Reviews: Five titles from the Indie Star Book Festival
Craig Hart is becoming something of a force on the local literary scene. A resident of Iowa City, Hart is a writer of mysteries, thrillers and more. He’s also the host of The Games & Writers Show podcast, which launched in February and features extended interviews with authors and actors. On May 18, Hart, via his own Northern Lake Publishing, is hosting the Indie Star Book Festival.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Jaime Hernandez reflects on 38 years of his influential ‘Love & Rockets’ comics series
Los Bros Hernandez — Jaime, Gilbert and Mario — self-published the first issue of Love and Rockets in 1981. Since then, they (primarily Jaime and Gilbert) have created a substantial body of work. So substantial, in fact, that it can be intimidating to new readers. But don’t ask Jaime Hernandez where to start. “I throw […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Four Iowa City-connected writers to see at Mission Creek Festival
The 2019 Mission Creek Festival includes, as always, a robust literary lineup. Many of the featured authors have a connection to Iowa City. Of these, four have grabbed my attention. Sabrina Orah Mark Visual Poetry Synthesizer Saturday, April 6, 4 p.m. — 7 S Linn St Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum Sabrina Orah Mark pushes the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Five questions with: Novelist Salvatore Scibona
Salvatore Scibona’s 2008 debut novel, ‘The End,’ was nominated for the National Book Award. Scibona, a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, now has a second novel on the shelves: ‘The Volunteer.’ Scibona will be reading from ‘The Volunteer’ at Prairie Lights on Monday, March 11.
Posted inCommunity/News
The flood of 2008 left winners and losers in Cedar Rapids
The 10-year anniversary of the devastating floods of 2008 lends itself to a certain kind of narrative — one in which we extol the resilience of our communities and shine a light on successes that seem to point toward a future filled with sunshine after the rain. And to be fair, that narrative is, in many ways, true. But it isn’t the whole story.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Sandra Allen’s ‘A Kind of Mirraculas Paradise’
Mission Creek: Sandra Allen Reading MERF, Room 2136 (375 Newton Rd, Iowa City) — Friday, April 6 at 12 p.m., Free Mission Creek Lit Walk: Sandra Allen Saint Burch (127 Iowa Av, Iowa City) — Friday, April 6 at 6 p.m., Free Sandra Allen had a fondness for her Uncle Bob, but she wasn’t sure […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Peter Heller brings his engaging protagonist Celine to Iowa City
Celine Watkins is 68 years old, suffering from arthritis and emphysema and brokenhearted over the loss of her two sisters — one older, one younger — in quick succession. She is also a private eye, a crack shot and by turns fearsome and consoling.
