Category Archives: biography

May 12, 2017

Hirum Cronk Remembered

Posted by rkcunningham
in american history, biography | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Hirum Cronk Remembered

He fought for his country at a time when Native Americans still played a major role in New York’s military conflicts. He died when film could be taken of his funeral. On May 13, 1905, the War of 1812 passed finally out of memory, … Continue reading →

April 29, 2017

200 Years of Illinois: The Artful Pose

Posted by rkcunningham
in art, biography, Getting to know Champaign-Urbana, Illinois / regional | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 200 Years of Illinois: The Artful Pose

Today marks the birthday of famed sculptor Lorado Taft, born in 1860 in Elmwood, Illinois. A graduate of the Illinois Industrial University—forerunner of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—Taft studied in France before returning to Chicago to make his reputation and … Continue reading →

April 4, 2017

Happy Birthday, Muddy Waters

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in Best of Illinois, biography, music | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Happy Birthday, Muddy Waters

Longing for that down home music? Looking for a shot of brilliance? Tryin’ to forget that you asked for water and your woman/man gave you gasoline? Then you must be celebrating the 100th birthday (or it might be the 102nd birthday) of McKinley Morganfield, … Continue reading →

March 20, 2017

200 Years of Illinois: Archaea, the third kind of life on earth

Posted by rkcunningham
in biography, Illinois / regional, local authors | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 200 Years of Illinois: Archaea, the third kind of life on earth

Today we turn over the 200 Years of Illinois feature to Steven Lenz and Nicholas Hopkins, authors of an essay (reprinted below) in the new UIP book The University of Illinois: Engine of Innovation. Lenz and Hopkins look into the life and … Continue reading →

March 1, 2017

Anatomy of a Peggy Seeger classic

Posted by rkcunningham
in biography, music, women | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Anatomy of a Peggy Seeger classic

Excerpted from Peggy Seeger: A Life of Music, Love, and Politics, by Jean Freedman Peggy had written some mildly feminist songs, such as “Darling Annie,” about an equal partnership between a man and a woman, and “Nightshift,” about a woman’s … Continue reading →

February 27, 2017

Jose Angel N. on undocumented immigrants and negative growth

Posted by rkcunningham
in biography, immigration, politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Jose Angel N. on undocumented immigrants and negative growth

Today at The Point, José Ángel N. contributes an essay drawing on his experiences as an undocumented immigrant to ponder American progress, the idea of home, and today’s fraught immigration atmosphere. When I am invited to share my experience as … Continue reading →

January 31, 2017

Backlist Bop: Betrayal of the Spirit, by Nori J. Muster

Posted by rkcunningham
in biography, religion | Tagged , | Comments Off on Backlist Bop: Betrayal of the Spirit, by Nori J. Muster

Book Riot recently released a list of 100 must-read books on life in cults and oppressive religious sects. Author Elizabeth Allen moved across the tragic, weird, and terrible landscape of misused faith to guide readers toward everything from the Heaven’s … Continue reading →

January 25, 2017

Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, and political words

Posted by rkcunningham
in biography, literary studies, politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, and political words

Excerpted from Orwell: Life and Art, by Jeffrey Meyers. The chapter deals with George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The past is one of the dominant themes of the novel. The Party confidently believes: “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls … Continue reading →

January 17, 2017

Release Party: May Irwin, by Sharon Ammen

Posted by rkcunningham
in African American Studies, biography, music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Release Party: May Irwin, by Sharon Ammen

May Irwin reigned as America’s queen of comedy and song from the 1880s through the 1920s. A genuine pop culture phenomenon, Irwin conquered the legitimate stage, composed song lyrics, and parlayed her celebrity into success as a cookbook author, suffragette, … Continue reading →

January 12, 2017

Backlist Bop: Tiny Kline and the Circus of Life

Posted by rkcunningham
in biography, women | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Backlist Bop: Tiny Kline and the Circus of Life

When people ask me about life in a circus, all I can think is that it must be drafty in those tents. Fortunately for all of us, longtime circus performer Tiny Kline (1891-1964) provided a somewhat more detailed look at big top … Continue reading →