Stories by Joyce Marcel

Issue of Aug 22, 2018 (#473)


• For state colleges, a ‘measured but change-oriented approach’: Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Jeb Spaulding confronts shrinking enrollments, higher expenses with fresh plans for meeting the needs of a declining and changing student body. But first, consolidation.

Issue of Mar 7, 2018 (#449)


• Women tell their stories: In this brave new world of #MeToo and ‘Time’s Up,’ these films are revelatory

Issue of Feb 14, 2018 (#446)


• Hollywood gets crafty in Brattleboro: Film crews from ‘The Bachelor’ quietly take over a local studio to film segment for TV show

Issue of Jan 17, 2018 (#442)


• Sweet torments: In Stile Moderno returns to BMC with a concert full of romance, 17th-century style

Issue of May 17, 2017 (#408)


• Learning from the pros: Maple Leaf Writing Project gives young students a chance to work with professional writers to produce top-level fiction

Issue of Apr 12, 2017 (#403)


• The argument vs. the fight: Bill McKibben, environmental journalist, activist, and scholar, finds in Vermont a strong community — a saving grace when climate change becomes a disastrous reality

Issue of Mar 29, 2017 (#401)


• For 40-plus years, he’s advocated for single-payer health care: Robert Backus M.D., now retired, blames the pharmaceutical companies, the insurers, and the government for interfering in the practice of medicine

Issue of Mar 22, 2017 (#400)


• Proud to be a ‘nasty woman’: Samirah Evans puts together an all-female lineup of jazz stars for Planned Parenthood benefit concert

Issue of Mar 15, 2017 (#399)


• BUHS student’s novel takes gold medal in national competition: Seven other Vermonters garner awards

Issue of Mar 8, 2017 (#398)


• Immediacy, fear, and sadness: Women’s Film Festival features 13 documentaries, 10 features, and 17 shorts in a difficult year for women
• Act 46, trash-disposal debates heat up Town Meeting

Issue of Feb 15, 2017 (#395)


• A legacy of loving care: Dr. Robert Backus is ready to retire after nearly four decades serving the West River Valley

Issue of Feb 1, 2017 (#393)


• Getting social at the Legion: Dozens of area nonprofits get together for an evening of fun and networking

Issue of Jan 18, 2017 (#391)


• On the march: Windham County residents join hundreds of thousands at Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington

Issue of Dec 14, 2016 (#387)


• More than words: Poetry Out Loud competition seeks to keep the oral storytelling tradition alive for a new generation

Issue of Nov 2, 2016 (#381)


• For fifth year, a series of films focuses a lens on humanity (and inhumanity): At this year’s Brattleboro Film Festival, more dramas appear on the schedule, but documentaries still predominate

Issue of Jun 15, 2016 (#361)


• Sweet benefit for Mahalo Center: Bill Shontz’s new group, Sweet As Sugar, to perform at 118 Elliot

Issue of Jun 8, 2016 (#360)


• State of the arts: NEA Chair Jane Chu visits Windham County to survey its creative scene

Issue of Mar 9, 2016 (#347)


• The rich world of women’s lives, in 38 films: Stories about real women are so missing from the popular culture that watching as many films as you can — and discussing them — makes this festival so vitally important

Issue of Dec 23, 2015 (#337)


• Starr light, Starr bright...: LaTronica ready to shine as new director of Brooks Memorial Library

Issue of Dec 16, 2015 (#336)


• Where Western civilization marches on: Notes on the Miami Book Fair as a snapshot of our times and our culture

Issue of Sep 30, 2015 (#325)


• Seeing the forest, and the trees, and the people who make their living from them: New BMAC exhibit uses words and imagery to show the woodlands of southern Vermont

Issue of Sep 9, 2015 (#322)


• Ending a chapter: After nearly four decades at Brooks Memorial Library, Jerry Carbone is moving on

Issue of Mar 4, 2015 (#295)


• Festival gives voice to filmmakers missing from the mainstream: Women’s Film Festival features 47 films, all by and about women
• Town rejects increase for farmland protection: Voters closely scrutinize the town budget

Issue of Feb 4, 2015 (#291)


• ‘What a metaphor for life, for my life’: Goodbye to the bright light and magical way of Maggie Lake

Issue of Nov 19, 2014 (#281)


• Multiplier effect: For years, a bursting-at-the-seams creativity has made Brattleboro and Windham County an exciting place to live and work. And, finally, all indications are pointing to a true creative economy growing here

Issue of Oct 29, 2014 (#278)


• Seeing the world we live in, and our own selves: Festival will screen 31 works to astonish and amaze us

Issue of Oct 1, 2014 (#274)


• A comeback for the ages: How determination and resourcefulness brought back a cherished downtown landmark after a disastrous fire

Issue of Aug 27, 2014 (#269)


• Thanking a very great man

Issue of Jul 2, 2014 (#261)


• My road trip with Mara: Gathering up the pieces for the latest BMAC exhibit offers a backstage look at the contemporary art scene

Issue of Jun 4, 2014 (#257)


• Two great storytellers: James McMurtry, Dave Alvin to headline two area music festivals

Issue of Apr 23, 2014 (#251)


• Why does genocide keep on happening?: We must all be watchful about the dehumanization of a people — any people

Issue of Apr 16, 2014 (#250)


• The unbearable lightness of daffodils

Issue of Oct 30, 2013 (#227)


• The reality of where you live and love: Brattleboro Film Festival will offer 30 films selected by locals who demand and recognize the best in filmmaking

Issue of Oct 9, 2013 (#224)


• Saturday night with Red: Painter/sculptor Red Grooms talks about his art before a full house at BMAC

Issue of Jul 31, 2013 (#214)


• A place of their own: Natalie Blake and Randi Solin struggled for seven years to find a site for their art, and have the scars to prove it. Now, they are poised to begin a new chapter with the Fulcrum Arts Center.

Issue of Jul 17, 2013 (#212)


• The reluctant shoemaker: Joe Famolare built a family business into a $90 million worldwide phenomenon

Issue of Apr 10, 2013 (#198)


• Ping Pong balls: A model that explains the relationship between the people and the powerful

Issue of Mar 20, 2013 (#195)


• The unbearable lightness of daffodils

Issue of Mar 6, 2013 (#193)


• Dummerston voters approve higher town, school taxes: Bodett honored for service, gravel obsession

Issue of Jan 2, 2013 (#184)


• Cleaning out the attic: When I say my life passed before my eyes, I meant my life and the lives of three generations before me

Issue of Dec 12, 2012 (#182)


• Becoming his admirers: Through their books — which contain our interests, our intimate thoughts, our insights, our activities, information about our friendships, even parts of our lives — we get to meet the Galbraiths

Issue of Dec 5, 2012 (#181)


• A poet chronicles her ‘sudden eden’: A pile of loose poems turns into a snapshot of the 40-year grassroots literary life of Verandah Porche

Issue of Jul 11, 2012 (#160)


• Happy birthday, Woody!: A centennial celebration for a musical legend

Issue of Jun 13, 2012 (#156)


• ‘An audacious project’: In committing to a state-of-the-art grocery store — and partnering with a nonprofit to provide new apartments in town — the Brattleboro Food Co-op and its member-owners look toward major future gr

Issue of May 30, 2012 (#154)


• Moving beyond the ‘Fredfest’: In 13th year, Roots on the River keeps expanding its lineup

Issue of May 23, 2012 (#153)


• Art and the 1 percent: Their wealth might be obscene, but people like Henry Clay Frick kept artists in business and creating

Issue of Apr 25, 2012 (#149)


• Kunin calls for a truce in the war on women

Issue of Mar 28, 2012 (#145)


• Trees as a metaphor for life: Curtain goes up on new exhibits at BMAC

Issue of Mar 7, 2012 (#142)


• Mourning Melinda: The death of one person who touched so many brings disparate communities together in a time of grief

Issue of Jan 18, 2012 (#135)


• Town comes to circus: A day learning the ropes — in some cases, literally — with the New England Center for Circus Arts

Issue of Jan 4, 2012 (#133)


• The death of Rose Kagan: An opera without music in six acts

Issue of Nov 23, 2011 (#128)


• Celebrating creativity at the Cotton Mill

Issue of Oct 26, 2011 (#124)


• On cats, baseball, and loneliness

Issue of Sep 28, 2011 (#120)


• The Game is Afoot

Issue of Sep 7, 2011 (#117)


• We were lucky: ‘I think we're just had a run of bad luck. We’re not so important that we deserve a curse’

Issue of Aug 17, 2011 (#114)


• The Ladder of Death

Issue of Jul 6, 2011 (#108)


• Of jellybeans and journalists

Issue of Jun 1, 2011 (#103)


• We fought the bear, and the bear won: Hungry bears eye bird feeders, trash cans, around Windham County

Issue of May 11, 2011 (#100)


• On the cutting edge of art: ‘In The Zone III’ exhibit at BMAC shows depth of talent in Windham County
• Remembering ‘Al’ Moulton: The man they called Mr. Vermont

Issue of May 4, 2011 (#99)


• Shumlin: I’ve got ‘the best job in America’: Commons reporter gets a up-close look at governor on a typical morning

Issue of Apr 20, 2011 (#97)


• The next day: From behind the police tape, uncertainty and sadness

Issue of Apr 6, 2011 (#95)


• Different drummer, different drum: Part of living in an arts town means loving %u2014 and sometimes mourning %u2014 our eccentric artists

Issue of Mar 23, 2011 (#93)


• The unbearable lightness of daffodils

Issue of Mar 2, 2011 (#90)


• A wealth of interesting stories at 20th annual Women’s Film Festival
• Cry out like Cassandra: Films shine spotlight on worldwide crimes against women

Issue of Feb 9, 2011 (#87)


• Bruce Talbot: The man who brought the joy of gospel music to Brattleboro

Issue of Feb 2, 2011 (#86)


• This column is being recorded for quality assurance

Issue of Jan 5, 2011 (#82)


• Sadly, hate always has a home here

Issue of Dec 1, 2010 (#78)


• A thousand cuts: A 93-year-old mother bravely goes from doctor to doctor, procedure to procedure

Issue of Nov 24, 2010 (#77)


• Cotton Mill artisans open their doors for annual holiday event

Issue of Oct 20, 2010 (#72)


• Vermont monsters to watch out for!

Issue of Oct 6, 2010 (#70)


• A celebration of apple pie in Dummerston : Pancakes, crafts, bikers and more than 1,400 pies make this town the place to be each October

Issue of Sep 8, 2010 (#66)


• Putting it together: An ‘arts corridor’ takes shape in Brattleboro

Issue of Sep 1, 2010 (#65)


• Is Middle East peace possible? Anna Baltzer says yes: Jewish author talks about Israel-Palestine conflict in Brattleboro on Sept. 10

Issue of Aug 11, 2010 (#62)


• Film, food come together in festival celebrating Israeli cinema
• Music center leader to leave for job in Virginia: Richard Riley raised funds for BMC’s new building

Issue of Aug 4, 2010 (#61)


• Lisa McCormick leads another edition of Brattstock: Third annual concert helps to fill shelves at area food banks

Issue of Jul 21, 2010 (#59)


• Strategies for survival: From moonlighting to the hard sell, local artists do whatever it takes to get by

Issue of Jul 7, 2010 (#57)


• A river of creativity: Rock River Open Studio Tour set for 18th year of eclectic art

Issue of Jun 23, 2010 (#55)


• Marketing art: BDCC’s Lewis: Business acumen as important as talent for success