Way back in April we talked with folx at CitySpace about their Pay It Forward grant program, and now 10 lucky recipients are embarking on transformative artistic journeys through their space in Easthampton. We speak with the artist who is kicking off the performance series, Deja Carr, otherwise known as local musician Mal Devisa, to find out what is going into her magical night of curated performances titled “Never a Stranger to Home.” We also speak with artist Michael Hanson, one of her collaborators on the project, and CitySpace’s Zoe Fieldman to get a closer look at the soul of the event and what’s to come as the series continues.
We also discover how the English language has been ruthlessly truncated, which is to say that our alphabet used to be a little longer a mere couple centuries ago. Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, helps us to explore the sounds and ancient origins of the alphabet’s missing letter, and perhaps the reason we abandoned it to the throes of punctuation.
Plus, our weekly chat with the Rep. Jim McGovern is wholly debatable, which is to say he too was watching the confrontation between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris this past Tuesday, and he definitely has insightful takeaways to share, and not just about the Taylor Swift stinger.
