Welcome to Poetry, Etc. Welcome poetry lovers and curious souls (ha, ha … didn’t you know you can’t write “souls” in poetry, or “soul” they say)! Welcome to my new poetry blog at Illinois Times. I’ll be writing about all things poetry including what I find poetic in life. If it weren’t so hokey I […]
central Illinois
Posted inMusic
20 years of the FTQ
Oh, how we love to measure time, indeed, we live by that desire, but that’s the human way of observing and commemorating movement through our lives. Important events in our travels are designated by counting the years and creating anniversaries. Please join us for one of these milestones as we celebrate 20 years of the […]
Posted inMusic
The Emerald Underground
Always a busy band during the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, The Emerald Underground goes for the pot o’ gold at the end of the Irish rainbow with three shows this weekend. Now into their second decade of performance, the group fluctuates from a TEU-lite on Friday to a full-blown eight members on Saturday. Now featuring […]
Posted inNews
Phone a friend
Karen Zangerle dials the number and waits expectantly as a young man answers with a gentle tone. Zangerle explains that her husband has lost his job and the family won’t be able to pay an upcoming utility bill. As the young man on the phone tells her where she can find assistance, a knowing smile […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Creative kin
An intriguing new exhibit opens at the Springfield Art Association on Thursday, July 12 that spans generations. It’s in the Genes celebrates the work of 26 central Illinois creative families and others from across the country, by presenting multiple family members’ works. For example, Kansas artist Wes Dewey has work in the show (“Look of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Huge FALLowing
One of the premier fall festivals for families in central Illinois, Lincoln Memorial Garden’s Indian Summer Festival is the place to be the weekend of Oct. 8-9. Immerse yourself in the exhilarating smells, sounds and sights of autumn in the outdoors while supporting the garden. Cawley Meadow fills with bluegrass and folk music by Ken […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Great taste
The Ethnic Festival has a reputation as a place for fun and great food in central Illinois, with the chance to sample world culture. All Labor Day weekend taste the food, listen to the sounds and watch entertainment from other countries at the Ethnic Festival. Food from eleven different countries will make your palette water. […]
Posted inOpinion
Going against the flow
My advice is, don’t ever invite the executive director of the Springfield Metro Sanitary District and a carp to the same party. Springfield, you see, is one of dozens of Illinois cities and towns that have a combined sewage system in which the same pipes that carry untreated sewage to the treatment plant also are […]
Posted inOpinion
Here are better ideas than a casino
Recently I was a panelist for a meeting of the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago youth summit on the question of casino expansion. The premise was that gambling expansion would bring more money for Illinois education services. One reason the high school students called for new money was because their sports teams may disappear. They […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Country titan
Willie Nelson performs for central Illinois fans as his Country Throwdown tour moves through Springfield stopping at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. If Nelson could be called the anything of country music – the most appropriate might be – the titan of country music. This singer/songwriter is legendary; his fame is so widespread and fine-aged, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Ed Martin’s new studio
It was a nice surprise to get an email from my old friend Ed Martin letting me know that he and several other local artisans have recently opened a new studio/gallery (cleverly called Ed Martin Fine Art ) at 1515 South Fifth Street in Springfield. Ed has been selling his beautiful jewelry and glass work […]
Posted inOpinion
The great tradition of central Illinois oratory
The political speech in all its forms — from the stump harangue to the platform oration — figures significantly in central Illinois literature. Lincoln and Douglas are only our most famous Ciceros. William Jennings Bryan came to the attention of the nation because of his famous polemic against the gold standard delivered in Chicago at […]
