Discussion Guide Published to Accompany Yonkers Trilogy

Yonkers Beats: A Discussion Guide has been released is to address the controversial issues in Patricia Vaccarino’s Yonkers Trilogy. The guide is intended for use by teachers, book clubs—or anyone who wants—to examine controversial topics that engender difficult conversations. 


JULY 2023 MAGAZINE

This month we take a look at true beauty from a myriad of unusual perspectives: Catholic Outreach Group Sacred Encounters Serves the Homeless in Downtown Seattle, Barbara McMichael writes about the beauty of quilting, Robin Lindley interviews documentary filmmaker John de Graaf, a man who has long been an advocate of environmental beauty, and Patricia Vaccarino reviews Willa Cather's "The Song of the Lark," which might be the most beautiful book of all time.

 


What Do You Go By?

Many of us have walked along the street and have had to step around a prone body. We have no way of knowing if the person is alive or dead. Some of us look away. Others cannot look away. We care and want to help, but we don’t know what to do. The volunteers who participate in the outreach group called Sacred Encounters know what to do. Sacred Encounters serves those who are experiencing homelessness. Their mission ascribes to an act of faith: everyone deserves to be loved, even the most unlovable among us. 


Stories Behind the Stitches

Across the country over these summer months, as folks push through the turnstiles to enter that quintessential American entertainment known as the state fair, one of the things they can count on seeing, along with the 4-H rabbits, the prize-winning dahlias, and the gargantuan pumpkins, is a kaleidoscopic display of local quilts. 


Count Me In

In spite of military standoffs, a deep sea disaster, pesky security breaches, and other operational risk failures, this month we celebrate ASA's 14th anniversary as we publish the 153rd issue of ASA News & Notes.


Robin Lindley interviews award-winning Seattle-based filmmaker John de Graaf

Robin Lindley interviews award-winning Seattle-based filmmaker John de Graaf on his new documentary on the life and legacy of perhaps our greatest environmentalist, Stewart Udall. Despite his many achievements, the public memory of Udall has faded and John worked in his film to re-introduce him, and especially to younger people who are disillusioned and frustrated by today's politics of division and stalemate.


The Parties want the Constitution to Balance our Budget

Both parties provoked Federal debt crises for decades, yet they willfully deny the possibility of the US defaulting on future loan payments.


Book Review: The Song of the Lark

The genius of Willa Cather lies within the knitted pastiche of her intricate storytelling. On the surface, Thea Kronborg grows up in the modest home of her Swedish immigrant family. The real story, however, resides with its not-so-hidden premise: every artist who has extraordinary talent eventually comes to an awareness that true talent is far larger than any one person.