Benjamin Taylor

4 weeks ago | ssense.com | Benjamin Taylor |Delia Cai

My high school friends in my hometown of Dunlap, Illinois, and I always agreed on one thing: Sunday mornings were for God, but Friday nights were for shows. At the end of the week, once everyone survived the total drag of home-cooked dinner with our families, we’d pile into someone’s Camry and head off to the latest concert we’d heard about from Myspace. The venue situation was never sketchy, but it was always rough around the edges.

Nov 15, 2023 | lithub.com | Benjamin Taylor

The beautiful word “Shenandoah,” of unknown Native American origin, stands for a river and an opulently green valley. Willa Cather’s Virginia forebears on both sides had been there for four generations. Winchester township, seat of Frederick County, lies along the old turnpike between North and South and repeatedly changed hands in the course of the Civil War. Willa’s grandfather William Cather, of Welsh ancestry, had stayed resolutely Unionist. Her mother’s people, the Boaks, were secessionists.

Nov 15, 2023 | sacbee.com | Benjamin Taylor

Confession: I'd never read Willa Cather before reviewing this book. Always meant to, just never got around to it. My knowledge was mostly limited to: She wrote about the Midwest a long time ago and became well-known later in life. Fortunately, Cather expertise isn't a prerequisite for reading "Chasing Bright Medusas" and in fact, this "brief and tender biography" (in the publisher's words) is a nice introduction to her life and work.

Nov 8, 2023 | startribune.com | Benjamin Taylor |Laura McCallum

Confession: I'd never read Willa Cather before reviewing this book. Always meant to, just never got around to it. My knowledge was mostly limited to: She wrote about the Midwest a long time ago and became well-known later in life. Fortunately, Cather expertise isn't a prerequisite for reading "Chasing Bright Medusas" and in fact, this "brief and tender biography" (in the publisher's words) is a nice introduction to her life and work.

Oct 3, 2023 | local21news.com | Benjamin Taylor

YORK Pa. (WHP) — A ribbon-cutting ceremony in York on Monday welcomed students into a brand new, state-of-the-art STEM facility. Edgar Fahs Smith Elementary School says the new center will "focus on hands-on learning techniques" designed to get young people interested in science, technology, engineering and math."A local construction company, Stewart & Tate, partnered with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation to make the event possible.