Chris Wolak

Recent Posts - page 2

• 2021 #BigBookSummer Challenge

  By Chris Wolak on June 21, 2021 • ( 5 )

  

  It’s the 10th anniversary of my friend Sue’s Big Book Summer Challenge! The gist of this challenge is to read a book or books that are over 400 pages long between Memorial Day and Labor Day (May 28 – September… Read More ›

• “The Elopement of Allen Poole” • June 2021 Reminder • Willa Cather Short Story Project

  By Chris Wolak on June 9, 2021 • ( 3 )

  

  Our story this month for the Willa Cather Short Story Project is “The Elopement of Allen Poole” which appeared in The Hesperian on April 15, 1893. Here’s the link to the full story at the Willa Cather Archive: https://cather.unl.edu/writings/shortfiction/ss023 You… Read More ›

• Marbled Monday – Washington Irving by George D. Sproul

  By Chris Wolak on May 31, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  One of my favorite hashtags on Instagram is Marbled Monday (#marbledmonday). Organizations and individuals post gorgeous photos of books with marbled paper. Some examples are stunning in their color combinations and complexity while others are more subtle and simple. While… Read More ›

• 66th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference • June 3-5

  By Chris Wolak on May 29, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  It’s that time of the year again, folks! The 66th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference is June 3-5, 2021. Online so you can attend from anywhere The conference is ONLINE again this year via an app called Whova. (There are… Read More ›

• Revolutionary War History: The Chain

  By Chris Wolak on May 27, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Did you know that a huge chain was stretched across the Hudson River to help win the Revolutionary War? My first semester of library school ended last week. I had grand designs of writing a weekly blog post about something… Read More ›

• “The Conversion of Sum Loo” Response Post • Willa Cather Short Story Project

  By Chris Wolak on May 26, 2021 • ( 2 )

  

  “The Conversion of Sum Loo” has a surprising twist ending. I wasn’t expecting Sum Loo to take matters into her own hands. The last scene is so vivid: The image at the top of this post is the header for… Read More ›

• “The Conversion of Sum Loo” May 2021 Reminder for the Willa Cather Short Story Project

  By Chris Wolak on May 12, 2021 • ( 1 )

  

  In the response post for last month’s story, I mentioned we were going to switch up our reading order a bit. Our story for May was supposed to be “The Elopement of Allen Poole,” but after learning that Cather reworked… Read More ›

• Risky behavior at bedtime

  By Chris Wolak on May 7, 2021 • ( 2 )

  

  Last night I engaged in some risky behavior. I started a new novel at bedtime. Yes, I stayed up too late. Yes, this book is off to a great start.  I relate to young Lily Hu not understanding her attraction… Read More ›

• “A Son of the Celestial” Response Post WCSSP2

  By Chris Wolak on April 28, 2021 • ( 7 )

  

  In “A Son of the Celestial” college student Willa Cather focuses her literary imagination on a Chinese immigrant in San Francisco. The result is not pretty. As I mentioned in this month’s reminder post, the late 19th century saw the… Read More ›

• The Hottest New Play of the Year, Magpie by Laura Thoma

  By Chris Wolak on April 26, 2021 • ( 1 )

  

  I am so excited to share with you that my wife Laura Thoma, had her first play published earlier this month! That’s her holding the writer’s copies of Magpie that arrived prior to release day. Magpie is the story about… Read More ›

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