Local author and guest columnist Barbara Presnell shares her love affair with local libraries
All by Barbara Presnell
Telling your story, standing on holy ground
In April, I taught a memoir-writing class at the John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, near Murphy.
Barbara Presnell: In France, every day is Memorial Day
God bless us all, the heroes and the forgotten, the ancestors and the aggressors, the children then and now, the historians and the clueless
Barbara Presnell: ‘Tis a gift
Barbara Presnell: Completely and utterly spellbound
LOVE IS THE WAY: A personal reflection by Barbara Presnell
Columnist Barbara Presnell offers a personal reflection. Grace Episcopal Church will sponsor a community discussion of Bishop Michael Curry’s book, Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times, on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 7:00 in the Parish Hall. All are invited to participate in person or via Zoom.
Barbara Presnell: Come, thou long-expected Harry
Harry the cat took off on Thanksgiving!
Ghost walk through Lexington stirs up spirits
Barbara Presnell writes: “The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past,” wrote William Faulkner. The South is always haunted, says my Louisiana friend Penelope. We coexist with the living and the dead. We are who we have loved and lost.
Barbara Presnell "Kentucky floods: the mountains will not forget you"
Barbara Presnell writes “To live in the mountains in southeastern Kentucky is to live at nature’s mercy. Always. It’s something the people don’t forget, not for a single day, because the trees, the air, the wildlife, the water, and more remind inhabitants that they are there by the grace of those trees, that air. They know that they are not in charge, but something bigger, more powerful is. That something is the mountain, a living, breathing force.”
Op-ed: Mistakes happen by Barbara Presnell
Sometimes they come and go as swiftly as minutes. Sometimes they affect our lives in ways we can’t control. Sometimes they can do great damage.
Op-Ed: Why a small town needs an independent bookstore
Sedley Abercrombie, former teacher and librarian, had another idea. At first a pop-up bookstore, Pig City Books made appearances at local breweries, other public events, and even occasionally on street corners. Sedley grew the bookstore gradually, eventually moving into back rooms of a clothing store on Main Street and finally in June opening the first brick and mortar store in Lexington since 2014. Tucked behind buildings off Main and Center streets, it boasts a recognizable pink door and a growing clientele.
Grace Arts Academy student finds peace through music
An Arts Academy at Grace piano student since 2016, she began lessons when she was taking care of her mother, who had Alzheimer’s. Arts Academy at Grace (AAG) is located at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, and welcomes people of all ages from throughout the community.
Column: Getting caught reading will help children succeed
May is Get Caught Reading Month, and what a perfect month to pick up a book. Begun in 1999, Get Caught Reading Month, sponsored by the Association of American Publishing, was designed to kickstart a summer of reading for adults and children.