Book Research with a Side of City Life
And so I did... Let's back up. I've been cataloging the contents of J's main scrapbook for nearly a month. It's slow going and hard on the eyes, so it's not an everyday thing. Far from it, actually. There are plenty of other related tasks to do, meaning I'm almost always busy. New things crop … Continue reading Begin Anywhere
Recently on my main site, A Small Press Life, my blogger friend Ruth (of Silver Screenings) asked a few excellent questions regarding my feelings about J. The helpful exchange got me thinking about the relationship between biographers and their subjects, especially when those subjects are long-dead. (For context, I was born four years after J's … Continue reading Three Questions: January 2021
Why am I writing a book about an obscure musical theater performer whose career started approximately a century ago? The genuine answer is long and complex. I'll dig deeper into that conversation in the future. Today, I'm talking about the idea of distilling my motivation into an easily digestible statement--the kind that I can repeat … Continue reading Why I’m Writing This Book…
One of the many hardships of being a touring performer is spending holidays away from your loved ones. J faced this challenge more than once. She was close to her mother and stepfather; spending Christmas across the country from them in California couldn't have been easy. In this telegram, J's vivacious personality and laid-back wit … Continue reading December 25th, 1921: A Holiday Greeting from J
*Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all book reviews on Alternative Muses are for volumes I’ve read as part of my J biography research. I hesitated to use the word review, as this series heavily focuses on WHY I chose to read a book and what I got out of it research-wise. As a compromise, I’ll end each post … Continue reading [Book Review] Frommer’s Nashville & Memphis
This little book doesn't seem very promising, does it? 7 1/2 x 9 1/2. No cover. What did it look like the day it was purchased? Was it colorful? Textured? Patterned? We'll never know. Why was it preserved? It looks like trash, inconsequential. Maybe it meant something to someone, long ago. Let's find out. 120+ … Continue reading The Serendipitous Scrapbook
Hi there! I'm Mae. I write things. Some of you probably know me from A Small Press Life, which I started in December 2011. My favorite blogging subjects are old books, dead writers, classic movies, tea, and random musings about whatever catches my fancy. Two months ago, I started a colossal real-world project: researching and … Continue reading Writing a Life Not My Own
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