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Notes&Video Links - Tracy Chevallier "The Glassmaker"

1. Tracy Chevalier Talks " The Glassmaker" https://youtu.be/z0bH6xfJ7_Q?si=O39xQSH5ZKH5cCxM 2. Murano's Secrets with Francesco Da Mosto   “Murano’s Secrets with Francesco da Mosto” is a 20-minute docu-film made in July 2021 for The Venice Glass Week. Starting with some historical background, da Mosto takes us to admire the magnificent glass objects and art works preserved within Murano’s Glass Museum, before immersing us in the world of glass production, accompanied by some key figures in the sector. Michela Cattai, artistic director of Venini - a brand that celebrates its centenary this year - opens the doors of its historic furnace, while the island’s youngest master glassmaker, Roberto Beltrami, tells us how he fell in love with the art of glass. All this demonstrates that world of Murano glass is very much “alive” today, and The Venice Glass Week provides the ideal opportunity to find out more.   https://youtu.be/tSGdTw-6Q5s?si=F3HXu4BLisY0hayU 3. The Murano Glass Mus...

Notes&Music Links - Marilynne Robinson "Gilead"

  1.     In 1956, 76-year-old Reverend John Ames, a Congregationalist minister in Gilead, Iowa, is aware that he is nearing the end of his life due to a heart condition. Wanting to leave a testament for his seven-year-old son, Ames writes a long letter filled with reflections on his past, faith, and the history of his family.   2.     "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson is a novel that explores themes of  spirituality, faith, routine, rest, and redemption . The opening line, "I'll pray, and then I'll sleep," suggests a character who finds solace in prayer as a routine before bedtime.   3.     Gilead  is a novel about four generations of men in Iowa. In chronological order: a firebrand anti-slavery pastor in league with John Brown, his more cautious son who resented his recklessness and intensity, a third generation pastor who navigated the tension between his father and grandfather (this is the protagonist, aging and s...