Book Research with a Side of City Life
Here is a blurb from a newspaper review of The Student Prince. The date was 11-17-25. The place: Pennsylvania. "J, as Kathie, was a winsom (sic) miss with her charming manner and her fine soprano voice. Concert stars have often failed to measure up to the standard that she set last night." Without any extant … Continue reading A Winsome Miss
Today is a milestone! This is a bigger deal than my first wedding anniversary because book research is trickier than marriage. I'm using today to appreciate all I've accomplished instead of focusing on all there is left to do. Yay!
Why does having a project-specific business card design add gravitas to my research? I've no idea, but it does. Never mind that I have accumulated a year's worth of weighty, highly detailed information about J. Somehow, having a stack of 3.5" x 2" printed paper at my disposal makes everything feel real-real. I suppose this … Continue reading Business Cards
This eloquently expressed idea is always in the back of my mind as I sift through the ashes of J's career. Her contributions to the cultural fabric of her era deserve to be resurrected, reexamined, and reevaluated. May she be one of many women whose lives are thrust into the light of visible history.
I've already spent almost eleven (!) months researching J's personal and professional background. For someone mostly forgotten to time and changing tastes, there sure is a startling amount of information to be found on this remarkable woman...if you know where to look. In fact, it would be all-to-easy to suffocate under my growing pile of … Continue reading An Avalanche of Resources
13 AUGUST 1922: J spent the summer of '22 appearing in a series of operas at Fontaine Ferry Park in Louisville, Kentucky. Among the productions were The Bohemian Girl, Martha, and that week's offering, Madame Sherry. When she wasn't rehearsing or performing on stage, she was still working! On 13 August 1922, J and four … Continue reading J on This Day: 13 August 1922
When J was born in 1900, film was still in its infancy. She grew up with the "new" medium. By the time she graduated high school (1918), it was a true cultural phenomenon. Since starting this project, I've often wondered about her attitude toward the movies. Her love affair with stage theatricals, especially operettas, was … Continue reading J’s Celluloid Dreams: Publicity or Reality?
*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] Haunted Memphis
When not working my part-time day job or helping out at the family business, my head has been buried in book research. I've unearthed an absurd amount of information about J and her husband, R, especially as it relates to what I had previously thought of as a lost decade: the 1930s. Her scrapbook covers … Continue reading Never a Dull Day in Biographyville
25 MAY 1921: One hundred years ago today, J was still enjoying success in her big professional break: portraying Annabel (Dame Durden's daughter) in a famous touring production of Robin Hood, Reginald De Koven's comic opera masterpiece. The cast and crew were in Richmond, Indiana, for three performances. The star attraction for those dates was … Continue reading J on This Day: 25 May 1921
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