States of Swing: The History of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, 2003-2023, by Libby Hanssen, details the organization's past two decades of preserving a Kansas City art form.
We Did It, (KC)JO!
For the Love of Kansas: A Reading List
I've only lived in Kansas for about 8 years, but my heritage in this state goes back a ways--mother, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on--some prime pre-Civil War pioneer stock. My husband is from Kansas, too, so between the two of us, our kids can trace their Kansas roots back about 6 generations. However, since suburban... Continue Reading →
MUSIC•PAINTING•MUSIC
Panels for a display I made for the Music/Media Library.
Wish List: Małe Instrumenty
Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands. Sometimes you order a bunch of stuff from Poland and your far-more-budget-conscious spouse gives you the stink-eye and says dismissively, "Do you even know how to read Polish?" And sometimes, after he looks through the books you are so happy to now own (happy early birthday to... Continue Reading →
“Your Song Changed My Life”
I joined a great discussion on Bob Boilen's book "Your Song Changed My Life" (yep, NPRMusic/Tiny Desk Concert/9:30 Club Bob Boilen) for The Kansas City Star FYI Book Club, organized by Kansas City Public Library's Kaite Stover. Or rather, I didn't join the discussion. Stover had collected a great line up of Kansas City folks... Continue Reading →
Zeltjes Gezellig Verjaardagsfeestje
Pardon my Dutch! No, really. You see, I wrote this book in Dutch (and English) and I have no doubt there are glaring and hilarious grammatical errors, which I hope to a true Dutch speaker will read as endearing, but I hadn't time to find a Dutch editor and just went with the most... Continue Reading →
The Last Byline
I gotta admit, even though I have less than a decade of regular contributions to The Kansas City Star, I get a little ... itchy ... when I don't have a byline in Monday's paper from a weekend review. As a freelance contributor, my office is my home, more specifically my couch. I've never set... Continue Reading →
Proust Eats a Sandwich 