Constance Alexander: More than chocolate and wine, book clubs dive into reading that informs, inspires
In spite of the stereotypes, women getting together to talk about books involves a whole lot more than chick-lit, chocolate,…
Constance Alexander
Read More
Constance Alexander: Labor Day offers opportunity for reflection on the work we do, and why we do it
Classrooms in my elementary alma mater were arrayed with images reminding us of the divine sacrifices that had been made…
Constance Alexander: Writer Julia Maddox introduces mamaw to ‘big city folks’ with ‘A Coalfield Christmas’
It happens all the time. Julia Maddox writes a screenplay that explores some aspect of rural life, shares it with…
Constance Alexander: Exotic doll symbolizes one little girl’s power to speak up and speak out
Phyllis Martucci was a divorcee. The word alone throbbed with excitement but was seldom heard when I was ten years…
Constance Alexander: Murray’s Douglass Reunion builds bridges between past, present and future
In past years, Murray’s Douglass High School Reunion attracted hundreds of attendees. The celebration usually kicked off Thursday night with…
Constance Alexander: Stories of dislocation and connection from a ‘Drowned Town’ in western KY
No matter where the characters’ journeys begin in Jayne Moore Waldrop’s Drowned Town, all routes – land and water —…
Constance Alexander: Calloway Co. bicentennial is opportunity to break the ice and showcase diversity
Lately, local history has been a topic of conversation in Calloway County because 2022 marks three important milestones: The establishment…
Constance Alexander: 31st anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act showcases everyday heroes
Four-year-old twins Max and Major Lindberg, along with their parents and big sister Malena, are a team of superheroes. Working…
Constance Alexander: Recalling memories of Girls Scouts, girl power and summers at Camp Sacajawea
Sacajawea was a Girl Scout camp in northwest New Jersey. It was cheap, democratic, no frills. We slept in tents,…
Constance Alexander: Dialogue regarding systemic racism begins with admitting there’s a problem
Oh, my. The guys in Frankfort have already initialized a concept without really knowing what it means, so we are…
Constance Alexander: Ellen Birkett Morris’ ‘Lost Girls’ is a great addition to your summer reading list
Barefoot in a red polka dot dress, her back to onlookers, a wasp-waisted young woman teeters on the single rail…
Constance Alexander: Commonwealth Honors Academy inspires teens to explore and grow
It was barely 9 a.m. on a spectacular summer Monday. About 14 teenagers sprawl on couches and slump in chairs…
Constance Alexander: After 41 years away, Anita Crowe’s memories of home remain vivid
Anita Jones Crowe never regretted her decision to move back to Murray in 2014, after forty-one years away. Even now,…
Constance Alexander: As nation’s mass shootings continue, it’s time to raise your hand and be counted
Five years ago at a nightclub in Orlando called Pulse, a gunman slaughtered forty-nine and injured at least fifty-three others…
Constance Alexander: Lockout at Murray State Arboretum inspires public to speak up and be heard
Whether you saw the padlock first and then read the sign, or vice versa, it didn’t matter. The results were…
Constance Alexander: Reminiscing on Memorial Days gone by, longing for simpler times, the good ‘ol days
The first Memorial Day I can remember I was three. My sister Pamela’s Girl Scout Troop was supposed to march…
Constance Alexander: Murray Art Guild workshop taps into participants’ creativity, one dab at a time
When Debi Henry Danielson announces, “I start with rules, but I like to break them,” participants in the workshop she…
Constance Alexander: Run, vote, change: Women share insights on campaigning for office
Listen, learn, and don’t let them see you sweat. Pretty good advice from three women who have competed and succeeded…
Constance Alexander: Meet Kentucky’s newest Poet Laureate, Casey County native Crystal Wilkinson
“Porch sittin’” meant nothing to me until I moved to Kentucky and began to learn the value of a getting-to-know-you…
Constance Alexander: Isabel Duarte-Gray’s first book of poems features voices of Western Kentucky
Every detail on the cover of Isabel Duarte-Gray’s first book of poems, Even Shorn, draws the viewer in. First, the…
Constance Alexander: Immerse yourself in poems this April in celebration of National Poetry Month
In Murray, poems are popping up like daffodils: free, wild, and suffused with hope after a winter that swallowed a…
Constance Alexander: Spate of anti-Asian violence underscores need to support greater diversity
As if COVID-19 has not already caused enough upheaval, now — instead of celebrating the flowering of Japanese cornel dogwood…