Book Research with a Side of City Life
*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] A Guide to Historic Downtown Memphis
You may have noticed the new Ko-fi button hanging out on the sidebar here or on A Small Press Life. First of all, let me assure you that it's truly a no-pressure thing. My content is free, always has been, always will be. I've been running ASPL for nearly ten years, to give some context. … Continue reading Why Ko-fi?
Researching J also means looking into the lives and careers of her producer-musician husband, R, and his first two wives (both singer-actresses). They're all links in the same chain, after all. Although I'm not to the point where supporting players in her life are the focus of my work, when that time comes I don't … Continue reading [Research Notes] Setting Up Google Alerts
This is another image of J from my archives. I don't know what production this photo is from, but I hope to figure it out in time. I'm not sure about the circumstances of this performance, but my instincts tell me that this was likely from a local Memphis amateur production in the years leading … Continue reading J Having a Ball
Having fun with my girl, J. Sometimes you just need to take a break from research and go wild.
*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] Hard Times
(The painting is by Dora Carrington.)
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
