Stories by Joyce Marcel

Issue of May 20, 2020 (#562)


• Walking the tightrope: County’s long-term care facilities are — so far — free of COVID-19 infections, but staff are taking no chances

Issue of Apr 22, 2020 (#558)


• Libraries go virtual — with a human touch: Doors may be closed at county’s libraries, but staff are working harder than ever to continue providing services

Issue of Apr 15, 2020 (#557)


• Some jobs you can’t phone in: Plumbers, mechanics, and other tradespeople are still working — carefully — through the pandemic

Issue of Oct 30, 2019 (#534)


• Films that reflect our times: Two themes — the environment and the lives of working-class people — emerge in 16 titles

Issue of Sep 4, 2019 (#526)


• As an art addict ages...: With more and more people downsizing their lives or thinking about their wills, a new question arises: what becomes of the art?

Issue of Mar 20, 2019 (#502)


• Counterbalancing the patriarchy: The Women’s Film Festival, featuring 36 films by women about women, will tell women’s stories, rewrite history to include feminine heroes, and provide strong and healthy role models for young women everywhere. And so much more.

Issue of Oct 31, 2018 (#483)


• Addition by subtraction: The Brattleboro Film Festival, in its seventh year, drops its shorts and concentrates on features. This year’s theme: women.

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