Articles on PR for People

Book Review: Get the Picture

Get the Picture is a delicious romp through the New York City Contemporary Art World. Bianca Bosker draws in the reader from the onset with her tone that is equal parts confidential and confessional. From small time gallery owners and rising artists to outrageous performance artists and madcap collectors, she consorts with anyone who will reveal the answer to an age-old question: What is Art?


Book Review: Powers of Arrest by Jon Talton

Cincinnati homicide detective Will Borders is a wounded hero living out every day as though it might be his last. He leaves no stone unturned in his pursuit of a bald-headed villain who has a penchant for sharp knives that are used to slice women from the inside out. The author paints us a craggy picture of Will Borders—as a man in recovery from a spinal tumor that has left him partially crippled. His shuffling gait and reliance on a cane is a sharp reminder that the deadly tumor would have killed a less resilient man. Sacked from being a detective and relegated to a desk job as the P.R. spokesperson for the police force, Borders is intent on nabbing the bald-headed villain.


NOTES FROM THE WORKING CLASS: The Third Candle

Katherine Sheedy attended noon mass every day at St. Mary’s Church in Yonkers. Going to church was more than a religious rite. It was how she expressed herself—Irish Catholic, good natured and kind, except when she was vexed by something she did not understand. And she did not understand me, her rebellious granddaughter, the third in line.


Book Review: Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson

Every author chooses how to tell a story by crafting narrative that targets a specific audience. In “Reading Genesis,” author Marilynne Robinson chose to spin a tale that is far above the reach of even the most sophisticated reader. 


Book Review: A Man and Two Women by Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing is a brilliant writer who casts a pall on light, joy, happiness—the up side of human life. Her storytelling technique, (crafting of excellent sentences, narrative description, and keen ear for dialogue) is superb. If only she saw a bit of human goodness, every now and then, instead of being mired in the dark swamp of hypocrisy. 


Book Review: Colossus: A Novel about Goya and a World Gone Mad

The historical narrative is a dramatic unfolding of events that are factually accurate. The characters are living the story; the author is not telling us what to think about what actually happened historically.


Book Review: Zero At The Bone by Christian Wiman

The true sign of a good book is when the reader proclaims: “I didn’t want it to end.”  My definition of a great book is when I say: “I need to keep it by my side in some small, inconspicuous place so I can secretly read it again.”


St. Mary’s Church: For Whom the Bell Tolls

St. Mary’s Church (The Church of the Immaculate Conception) is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in the city of Yonkers. More than an ordinary church, St. Mary’s is often called the "Cathedral of the Hudson River Valley." And for good reason. Humble but elegant, the church is larger and grander than any other Catholic church in Yonkers. But right now the church is under wraps and slated to close its door on July 1, 2024. 

 


How NOT to Read the News

There is something perverse and horrifying about scanning the news on our phones, seeing babies dying in Gaza, juxtaposed next to gossip about celebrities wearing wigs, and an ad for Scope Mouthwash. Dishing up tragedy, trivia and trash in the same screen creates ambiguity, a false take on reality, and it is eroding our consciousness. The news has become a trigger for anxiety, depression, anger, and despair.


Book Review: Not Under Forty

Willa Cather’s hard-to-find collection of essays harkens to a gentler time when ladies of letters shared their access to the pinnacle of culture within the rank and file of their rarefied worlds.