Awakenings

Angela Brown is a rising star, the first Verdi soprano in fifty years. But she never saw this coming as a child growing up in Indianapolis. Singing at the age of five in her grandfather’s church, she fell in love with Gospel. She didn’t like classical music, as she said, “classical music was not my first love, it was not my second love… It was not a love at all!”

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Why would a story that appears to be the truth be called a novel? - A thought that crossed many of Sigrid Nunez’s readers’ mind in A Feather in the Breath of God. Parts of the book were of two immigrant parents, which can be assumed are Nunez’s own mother and father and this led to the belief that the rest of the book is based on the truth. (more…)

Angela Brown

The celebrities “exemplified” in magazines and tabloids today typically follow the same path as Britney Spears: a young modest person who loses his or her sense of self when he or she become engrossed with fame. It is a relief then, to be able to find someone who is down to earth, and still has her cultural identity intact.

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Transformation From Good to Evil

Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.
- Charlie Parker

What exactly is an awakening? The dictionary defines it as a “transcendent and profound insight, which causes one to see more,” or “a sphere where dualities or pairs of opposites do not exist.” Apparently, the dictionary is not a very interesting read. The word duality, however, sticks to my mind. Am I not a living and breathing example? Although, I moved to America from Bangladesh when I was barley one year old, to my parents, Bangladesh remained our true home. This struggle between my twos cultures raged on within me until I discovered how to tame it – until I found music. (more…)