🤦🏼♂️ After last week’s #EpicSkaFail (my apologies to music-lovers everywhere), I’ve chosen a song that I can perform adequately. Composed by Ritchie Cordell, “I Think We’re Alone Now” was a big hit for Tommy James and the Shondells in 1967. The song was again a major hit for Tiffany in 1987 – the singer’s biggest hit,
This week’s #PlagueSong is a cover of Prince Buster’s “Enjoy yourself” (1963). But I first heard the Specials’ cover version (1980). That said, Prince Buster’s version is itself an adaptation of Guy Lombardo’s 1949 version, which reached #10 on the US pop charts in 1950. Prince Buster retains the chorus of the 1949 song (music
I’m back with 5 more things I am doing to keep myself going during the pandemic. (If you haven’t watched “What’s Your COVID-19 Routine?” before, may I recommend starting with Part 1?) How are you keeping yourself going? Anything working really well for you? How has your routine changed? Let me know in the comments
This week’s #PlagueSong is dedicated to my mother, Gloria Hardman. This is her favorite song, her motto, and very good advice. The song is funnier when sung as Eric Idle’s “Mr. Cheeky” character (as it is in The Life of Brian). I suspect the song’s mixture of irony and sincerity is one reason it resonates
Welcome to the second in my series of #PlagueSongs! As I say in my inaugural #PlagueSongs post, Each Tuesday, I will post a video of me performing a “plague-themed” song, very broadly defined. It is my way of standing on my balcony and singing to you…. I am also inviting you to sing and post
Hi there, fellow quarantiner / social-distancer! I made a video for you. These are 5 things I am doing to keep myself going during the pandemic. (There are other things I’m doing, obviously. But I’ve limited myself to 5 here.) What are you doing? How are you keeping yourself going? Anything working really well for
Inspired by videos of Italians singing to or playing music for each other, I am starting a new feature on this blog: #PlagueSongs Each Tuesday, I will post a video of me performing a “plague-themed” song, very broadly defined. It is my way of standing on my balcony and singing to you. Since I do
Last June, on rather short notice, the Artistic Director for the Adventure Theatre Company asked if I would write a program note for their upcoming production of The Cat in the Hat (June 18-August 21, 2019). They had read my work on Seuss and racism, shared these concerns, and asked if I could provide something,
Comics and Graphic Narratives for Young Audiences Co-sponsored by the MLA Forum on Comics and Graphic Narratives and the MLA Forum on Children’s and Young Adult Literature. This panel for the 2021 MLA Convention in Toronto (Jan 7-10, 2021) explores intersections between children’s literature and comics (including manga and graphic novels). All periods and nations welcome. Children’s
As last week’s failed attempt at diversifying classic literature recedes in your memory (the pace of news can overwhelm, I know), over at Oxford University Press’ blog today is a piece I turned in on Friday. I offer five better ways that publisher might bring diversity to the classic novels. Here’s an excerpt: Publishers and
