I will finish, or die trying.

My book (working title: Searching for the American Dream in Frog Hollow, and yes, the title needs work, as does the rest of the manuscript) is due to Wesleyan University Press on Wednesday, but I’m dedicated to turning it in on Tuesday because if I don’t, I will run over my own head. I cannot emphasize …

Have you read “The Warmth of Other Suns?”

That wonderful book (full name: “The Warm of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration) by Isabel Wilkerson charted the movement of Southern African Americans to economic opportunities in the north, in Detroit, in Chicago, and yes, in Hartford (particularly to the Frog Hollow section, the subject of a book-I’m-finishing). This says that gun …

So how was YOUR week?

I stepped away from the blog to accomplish some writing. In the 10 days since I left my last post, I Wrote a column for the Courant (unlike my usual stuff, it’s light and fluffy, like nougat) Wrote a column for CT Health Investigative Team, but that’s not posted yet Wrote an article for WNPR, also …

Spring break, bitches!

Today starts my spring break from University of New Haven, and in between beer pong and the beach, I will be taking a break from this blog. Actually, I will be working on my book about one of Hartford’s coolest neighborhood,  Frog Hollow. I’ve told myself I’ll write 50 pages in one week. Wish me luck, …

What I know so far about Frog Hollow, USA

I am working on a book for Wesleyan University Press on the Hartford neighborhood known as “Frog Hollow,” which is in sight of the state capitol, and it’s slow-going because I am easily distracted by the little anecdotes I keep coming across: During Prohibition, there was a neighborhood speak-easy named “The House of Three Knocks,” …

Pray for me, won’t you?

Tomorrow, I’m giving the Cremins Lecture at University of Hartford, which is an honor and I’d be over the moon  to be asked if I wasn’t so damn nervous. I’m not usually nervous. Give me a mic and I’m happy as a clam, but this time, I’ve agreed to talk about Frog Hollow, as in …