An Educator and Child Psychiatrist Remembers his Mother

Orbison had a legendary, operatic voice. He was shy by nature; years after weathering the tragic deaths of his wife and children, Orbison had recently started coming out of his shell, and joined the all-star band the Traveling Wilburys. He died of heart failure on December 6th.

Essayist Paul Gruchow has a new collection of essays called The Necessity of Empty Places, which celebrates the American wilderness. Rejecting the macho, survivalist approach to confronting nature, Gruchow sees the wilderness as a place of meditation and discovery.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone recently saw performance artist Michael Moschen's newest act, Moschen in Motion, which features expert and sometimes improvisatory juggling, as well as homages to abstract expressionist painters. Stone says she was awed by the end.