…when reviewing the many published remembrances written on behalf of Sischy in the Summer of 2015*   *It must be asked: Why would Als highlight this period? It could simply be preference, considering Baron’s short stint at Interview. Sischy: “With…

When we read this for Bridgett’s class last year and re-reading it again now, I am struck by Bridgett’s ability to weave history and memoir–grounding the piece in time and making it seem larger than just a story of herself…

Confession, first: Whenever I find an instance where Black isn’t capitalized, I want to take a pen and copy edit my library book. Yes, I know it was written before June 2020. I want to email the author, dead or…

I wanted to write about The Site of Memory. I’ve always been fascinated with Morrison’s staging of “fiction” — as the image that comes to tell her what her memory’s about. She can’t write about her father but she can…

 In 1969, Leonard Motsinger traveled to St. Anthony-on-Hudson, a Roman Catholic seminary in Rennsselaer, New York run by the Franciscans. For one year he studied the first tenant of religious life, Postulancy – The practice of acquiring solace in religious…

Along with Phillip’s Room, Timmy’s Tower serves as another monument to Butcher’s grief within the Precious Moments Chapel. The bell tower was constructed in 2014, two years after the death of his other son, Timothy Butcher. A mourning room accompanies…

I was captivated immediately by the story of Davis’ teacher questioning how she could possibly have so many shoes. Fannie’s essence was captured in her sheer audacity and pride in buying an additional pair of yellow shoes for her daughter.…

What really stood out to me while reading this biography was the relationship between mother and daughter and the respect and admiration one had for the other. From the very beginning it was clear how much pride, though a secret,…

“The exercise is also critical for any person who is black, or who belongs to any marginalized category, for, historically, we were seldom invited to participate in the discourse even when we were its topic.” – Toni Morrison p 191…

I’ve rewritten this a few times and my response to this is still a big hot steaming run-on mess…here goes.  This felt more to me like a biography of Fannie Davis told in parallel with the autobiography of Bridgett Davis…