Doug Sparks

Richard Burke Jones may wear many hats — city clerk, artist, husband, father — but over the years, his obsession with painting never waned.

What is it we once did for fun before the pandemic? It’s hard to remember. I think it had something to do with beer.

My relationship with language remains constant. It can be rocky, but anything you care about requires tending, and fertilization. 

At first glance, the poems and sketches in Chath pierSath’s “On Earth Beneath Sky,” betray an old-fashioned reverence for literary figures.

In “Cummiskey Alley” the poems echo the thoughts of a solitary wanderer searching for moments in which the present dissolves into a past.

Editor-in-Chief Doug Sparks reflects on writing in coffee shops, introversion and a nostalgic tune by The Smiths.

There’s something strange about feminism. After all, it’s impossible to think of any 20th century social movement that was as successful or influential.

“Scipio’s Dream” tells the story of a Roman general who dreams of standing above Carthage one night and begins to perceive the sweet music of the spheres.

Tuscan opens winter garden, Red Sox talk Lowell and Baker rolls back COVID plans. All this and more in this week’s NoteWorthy.

Are you one of those people who hates the winter? You might want to check out this week’s Wellness Wednesday, in which we discuss ways to embrace the cold and all its challenges.

This week in the Merrimack Valley: Jeanne D’Arc goes Kind, Amazon goes to North Andover and Lazarus House goes virtual. Read all about it in Sunday’s edition of NoteWorthy.

Doug Sparks remembers his first winter in New York … The snow, the homesickness and of course, the Christmas Peanuts special.