Dust Bowl memories, and why we need to understand the past to create a healthy future
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'The story had really been around in some form or another inside me, for so long that it's just humbling to recollect,' Russell says. A research trip to Nebraska in 2012 yielded ideas and a few short stories, including one called 'Proving Up,' set in the 1870s when the
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But it wasn't until the pandemic that the novel came out. 'It's been a slow journey,' says Russell, 'but I had been thinking about this place and these people and this conceit for over a decade at that point.' Hunkered down in Portland, Ore., with a preschooler and a newborn while 'these terrible wildfires' raged outside, she adds, 'you could really feel the costs of climate emergency in your own lungs.'
Among the novel's characters is a Black woman working for the New Deal agency as a photographer (think Dorothea Lange) — another way to store painful memories, Russell points out. Contemporary photographers, writers, and others in Nebraska helped her see and understand the place from different perspectives, from Pawnee to the Polish American farmers who themselves had fled a place 'carved up by empire.'
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A large part of the book, Russell says, is about looking — and truly seeing one another: 'What if you are exchanging a gaze with someone whose land you're now living on? What if your portion of this American dream has been taken from families you live next to?'
Karen Russell will read at 6 p.m. Monday, March 24, at the
.
And now for some recommendations . . .
Maine author Ron Currie has won devoted fans for his quick-paced, darkly comic novels, and with '
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In '
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Kate Tuttle edits the Globe's Books section.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
House that Leo built: Pope delivers message of hope at White Sox park
House that Leo built: Pope delivers message of hope at White Sox park Thousands went to the first American pope's old haunt on the South Side to hear a message from the man they once knew as Robert Francis Prevost. Show Caption Hide Caption 'One of our own': Chicago celebrates election of Pope Leo XIV Chicago residents and leaders with the Archdiocese of Chicago are celebrating the election of a native to the papacy. CHICAGO – The city's favorite son delivered a fastball straight from the Vatican. Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago in 1955, spoke in a video message to tens of thousands of spectators at Rate Field, the Chicago White Sox ballpark that was a staple of his youth growing up. Leo's message was part of a celebration of the first American pope at the stadium of his beloved ball team. The South Side native's message was aimed particularly at young people. 'That restlessness you feel in your hearts, we shouldn't look for ways to put out the fire, to numb ourselves to the difficulties we feel, we should get in touch with our hearts and realize that God can work through it,' said Leo, speaking in a pre-recorded message to people gathered at the sunny ballpark. 'That light on the horizon is not easy to see and yet as we come together we discover that light is growing brighter and brighter.' The special message from Leo was part of a program at the home of the pope's beloved ball team that included words from people who knew him as Robert Francis Prevost, fourth graders who participated in a viral mock conclave and performances by a Chicago Catholic high school choir that was recently on America's Got Talent. 'I'd like to take this opportunity to invite each one of you to look into your hearts,' Leo said. 'God is present and in many ways He's calling you to look into your heart, to discover how important it is for each one of us to pay attention to God in our hearts, to that longing for love we may feel.' Chicago-area Cardinal Blase Cupich celebrated Mass and Chicago Bulls announcer Chuck Swirsky emceed the event. Among attendees were nuns from Chicago-area convents who had never been to the stadium and Saturday found themselves seated in the infield, Sox fans returning to their regular stomping grounds and Chicago Cubs fans who were convinced to cross enemy lines at last. Leo is a noted Sox fan. He was recently spotted wearing the team's ball cap and was seen in archival footage at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. The ball club honored the moment with a mural at Section 140 where Leo was seen standing to rally the team in the team's pinstripes. Alderwoman Nicole Lee of the city's 11th Ward, which includes the stadium, attended in a retro Sox shirt. 'What a great way to bring people together in a time when we need people to come together,' said Lee, noting the No Kings protests happening just a few miles north of Sox park and around the country. 'It's not that normal that we're here like this and I love that that's what we're doing right now. We could all use a dose of energy and a word of encouragement about what it'll take for the world to get on a better path.' Da Pope-mania Many showed up at the event on Saturday wearing the 'Da Pope' paraphernalia that's popped up in stores and streetside stands around the city in the wake of Leo's election at the conclave on May 8. Silvia Campos and Miguel Angel Vazquez, South Side residents and regular Sox game goers, wore White Sox-styled pope shirts they picked up at a recent game. The jerseys include the number 14 on the back. 'It's a way to get closer to him,' said Vazquez. 'We wouldn't be able to get to Rome so for us this is the closest possible for now.' The White Sox could not be immediately reached about whether they will retire the number 14. Paul Konerko, who wore the number 14 and whom Leo rooted for at the 2005 World Series, already has his name up at the stadium. Among the other paraphernalia were jerseys outfitted with the keys of the Vatican and Leo's name set against Chicago's iconic skyline. Grace and Janice Carpenter wore a pair of visors they had outfitted to look like a bishop's mitre hat. Fernando Flores, a shirt vendor outside the stadium, said his outfit had sold 10,000 shirts in the weeks since Leo's election. 'I would compare it to a championship overnight,' said Flores, 45. 'It's a phenomenon where everyone wants a piece of it.' Shirts sell for $25. Pope Leo baseball cards from Topps were for sale outside the stadium for $20. Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIII cards were also for sale. Prayers for peace The event celebrating Leo convinced even die hard Cubs fans to head to the South Side park. 'I'm in enemy territory here, where do I go,' Raul Gomez asked staff outside the stadium. The 36-year-old North Side resident said it was his first time back at the stadium in 10 years. 'A whole stadium filled with Catholics, Pope Leo the first American pope, from Chicago, I needed to be a part of that,' he said. 'That lineage from Peter somehow goes through Chicago, how amazing is that.' Gomez was satisfied with how the first-place Cubs are doing but said Leo lends a hand to other Chicago teams. 'I'm hoping Leo does some kind of prayer for the Bears because they're deep in the hole,' he said. Friendly divisions between the North and the South sides were just part of what many hoped Leo will bridge. 'As a Latina, it's very meaningful to see somebody as pope who understands the reality of Latin America, of the poor,' said Teresa Montes-Lara, a Dominican nun originally from Mexico. 'I hope he challenges us in our faith and I want o hear something about migrants, about the radical obligation the church has.' Cupich raised the issue in his homily at the Mass. 'It is wrong to scapegoat people without documents, for indeed they are here due to a broken immigration system,' he said. 'They are here not by invasion but by invitation.' Others hoped for more personal intercession. Dr. Joy Henningsen said she flew in from Nashville for the event. The radiologist said she lived in the Chicago area until 2020. Her family was devoted to Pope John Paul II and attributes a miracle to the pope that led a doctor to discover a piece of glass near his heart when he was having heart trouble. 'I believe in the power of healing via the Holy Father so I'm here asking for healing and peace in the world,' said Henningsen. 'I would not miss this for the world.' Mound is waiting Among official speakers were those who knew Leo back in Chicago. Father John Merkelis, who belongs to the same Augustinian order as Leo and was his high school classmate, said he was emailing Leo in the days leading up to the conclave. 'He said he's sleeping well because an American is not going to be pope,' said Merkelis. Days later, the priests said he was at an Augustinian house shouting 'that's Prevost, that's Prevost' when Leo was announced. The Augustinian said Leo's a guy who can change a car's oil and is an excellent Wordle player. But he remembers him best as the man who waited past midnight to share his condolences when Merkeles got home after his dad died. 'He was there waiting on the stairs,' he said. 'He's a sensitive, sensitive man.' Dianne Bergant, a former teacher, said she remembered him as an excellent student but she also took the moment to celebrate the Chicago community that raised him. 'It says something about the education he got,' she said. Many at the stadium hoped the event was a pre-season for Leo in person. Brooks Boyer, a White Sox executive, said that the 'mounting is waiting' for Leo. 'Your holiness, you've always been one of us, you wear the Sox cap like it was made for you, on behalf of White Sox fans, we'd be happy to welcome you back for a first pitch,' Boyer said. 'We'll send a ball to the Vatican so your arm is prepared.'
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
‘Felicity' actor Scott Speedman reveals his initial worry about Keri Russell's character
Dear Sally, Scott Speedman is spilling the tea. The 'Felicity' actor, 49, who played Ben Covington on the late '90s drama, revealed he didn't think his on screen love interest Felicity Porter should have been played by Keri Russell at first. 'I remember meeting you at the read-through a couple days later, and I thought clearly you were miscast,' Speedman told Russell, 49, during Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series on Friday. 'I saw you and I thought, [the character] was supposed to be this nerd. And I was like, 'The chick from 'Malibu Shores' is playing Felicity?'… How is that going to work?' Advertisement 8 Scott Foley, Keri Russell and Scott Speedman. Getty Images 'Felicity' ran for four seasons from 1998 to 2002 on the WB with Russell, Speedman, Scott Foley as Noah Crane, Tangi Miller as Elena Tyler and Greg Grunberg as Sean Blumberg. The series watched as Felicity decided to ditch premed life to follow her high school crush Ben to New York City. Along with the success of the show, the network also created a slew of other cult-classic teen dramas, including 'Dawson's Creek,' 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' 'Charmed' and 'One Tree Hill.' Advertisement 8 Season 3 of 'Felicity.' Touchstone via Getty Images 8 Scott Speedman and Keri Russell. FilmMagic Two years prior to 'Felicity,' Russell landed her breakthrough role on NBC's 'Malibu Shores.' The primetime soap aired for one season in 1996 and starred Katie Wright, Randy Spelling, Christian Campbell, and Michelle Phillips. During their sit down, Russell reflected on the Aaron Spelling drama getting canceled early on, quipping to Speedman: 'That was a f–king good show.' Advertisement And he agreed, stating, 'It was a good show.' The pair also spoke about on how they landed their respective roles on 'Felicity.' 8 WB Summer TCA Press Tour All-Star Party. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images 8 Keri Russell in 'Felicity.' ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection Advertisement 'I was living in my mom's apartment, on her couch, in Toronto,' the 'Grey's Anatomy' star recalled. 'I sent a tape down and got a call after a couple of days. They had to figure out how to get me into the country legally. Three days later I was in [the U.S.].' After touching down in America, Speedman met up with the show's creator. As he put it, 'I had dinner with J.J. Abrams that night.' ''Felicity' was such a sweet little something,' Russell mused. 'It was a really special time. We all grew up together and went through all that stuff.' 8 Keri Russell in the WB drama. ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection 'He made me audition,' Russell said of Abrams, 58. 'I think I read five times with a million other girls. He was so good to me in the auditions.' While talking to Entertainment Weekly for their 2015 Reunions Issue, 'The Diplomat' star got candid on that first audition for 'Felicity.' 'There were so many girls waiting to audition, I was like, 'Can I leave?' I got a couple of callbacks and then had a screen test and choked,' she shared. 'I'm such a bad auditioner… So I left, and J.J. and Matt chased me down and said, 'What happened? You have to come back in — you're too nervous.' I was like, 'Welcome to moi. Welcome to a life of this!'' 8 Scott Speedman, Keri Russell, Scott Foley in 'Felicity.' Courtesy Everett Collection Advertisement 'They pulled me into this copy room — because it was the WB I remember there were all these Wayans Bros. posters — and J.J. told me jokes and calmed me down,' Russell reminised. 'I still don't think I did amazing, but they let me have the part.' Foley, 52, also remembered how the audition went down for him. 'I had done the first season of 'Dawson's Creek' and the casting person knew who I was and called me in to read for the Ben role,' he said. 'Then I read for Noel. They called me back in for Ben and I tested that part two or three times. They cast me as Ben.' 8 Getty Images Advertisement 'I had wardrobe fittings and table readings and everything and then J.J. and Matt said, 'Hey we found someone we think is a great guy to play Ben.' I said, 'I'm Ben!' They asked if I would be interested in playing Noel instead, and I was so happy to have a job I said of course. Speedman showed up with a safety pin holding his shirt together and I said, 'You're right. He's perfect for Ben.''
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
New documentary reveals the triumphs and heartbreak of Sally Ride's legacy
The inspiring story of Sally Ride, the first American woman in outer space, is given its full, deserved due in a new National Geographic documentary. And it broke my heart. Not because of how 'Sally' depicts the incredibly capable, Stanford-educated physicist's efforts to break the highest of glass ceilings and be recognized for her abilities rather than her sex. Utilizing plentiful archival footage, contemporary commentary, recent interview observations from people who were there and some dramatized recreation, director Cristina Costantini gets some sly laughs, edged with appropriate anger, out of the sexist mindsets Ride deftly steered her career through in the 1970s and '80s. What makes 'Sally' so sad was the astronaut's decision to keep her sexuality secret — as her public image soared to heights few women had ever known — until her death from pancreatic cancer in 2012. This aspect of her life grows especially poignant in the film due to the participation of Tam O'Shaughnessy. A tennis buddy Ride met when they were tweens (both Southern California girls were mentored by Billie Jean King), O'Shaughnessy later became her life partner of 27 years. An erudite biology professor, O'Shaughnessy provides much of the film's insight into Ride's personal life during extensive interview stretches and, presumably, via additional input behind the scenes (she has an executive producer credit). Subjective as some of this may be, it's powerful emotional stuff that often reveals more about O'Shaughnessy's own feelings than about Ride herself, who remained enigmatic — even to the love of her life. Fellow astronaut Steven Hawley, who was married to Ride for five years, still seems baffled by what was really going on with her. But like her subject, Costantini maintains a certain rigor in the sentiment department. She doesn't come close to suggesting that Ride was riddled with personal anxieties or fears of being outed. On the other hand, the NASA legend is neither presented as emotionless, calculating nor furtive, but rather as a focused professional who could separate the joy in her achievements from the cacophony of everything else. One brief clip of her mother Carol reinforces the telling intel that Ride was not raised in a demonstrative home. 'If I knew how I felt about feelings, I would probably not tell you,' an immovable Carol says to the camera. Yet Ride's determination, boldness and courage come across palpable. This is brought home when, following her own groundbreaking missions, Ride became the only Space Shuttle astronaut on the committee investigating the Challenger disaster. As the movie frames it, she essentially sacrificed her own future at NASA to expose the cause of the post-launch explosion, and the systemic incompetence that led to it. Costantini ('Science Fair,' 'Mucho Mucho Amor') said she has been a Sally Ride fan since third grade, when she painted a mural of her hero on a school wall. With 'Sally,' she presents a portrait of a pure scientist cognizant of the example she was setting for girls and women of all generations to come. The film is indelibly triumphant in that way; its sadness is generated partly by Ride's apparent inability to fully master the science of love, and certainly by the restrictions a homophobic culture placed on her at the time. There's a clip near the end of Barack Obama presenting Ride's posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to O'Shaughnessy. It's a beautiful moment of acknowledgement too-long delayed — one that would never happen today. Perhaps the most heart-rending lesson 'Sally' imparts is that that final frontier keeps getting moved out of reach.
