From the Archives: Curiosity’s Cats

By the time this post is available for you to read, I will be deep in the final day of a four-day exploration of a previously untouched and barely organized archive.  I hope to come out the other end knowing whether I have enough material to write a proposal about a subject I’m interested in. …

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Fearless: A Q & A with Cathy Curtis

I am delighted to have biographer Cathy Curtis back  on the Margins to discuss her new book, Fearless, the first comprehensive biography of Irish writer Edna O’Brien (1930-2024).  Pull up a chair and enjoy the conversation! What drew you to Edna O’Brien’s story? I had been a longtime fan of Edna O’Brien’s novels and short…

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Buffalo Soldiers on Bicycles

This is one of my favorite stories from our visit to Fort Snelling: After the American Civil War, Congress created six regiments of Black soldiers, led for the most part by white officers, known informally as Buffalo Soldiers.[1] One of those regiments , the 25th Black Infantry, was posted at Fort Snelling in 1880. Eight…

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