Category: Arts & Culture

  • Harry Connick, Jr at Carnegie Hall

    Harry Connick, Jr at Carnegie Hall

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    by

    Jim Garrett
    in

    He walked to a childhood upright piano at the center of Carnegie Hall’s stage and sat down. Not the grand instrument you’d expect. His. The one he grew up playing. And before a note was struck, I understood that what was coming wasn’t a concert. It was a conversation with his mother. After having visited…

  • What Sherlock Taught Me About Ballet

    What Sherlock Taught Me About Ballet

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    by

    Jim Garrett
    in

    For approximately the last 65 years, or at least for as long as my memory serves me, I have thought of ballet as something for … well … not for me. Even with the occasional story of the possibly mythical football player who took ballet to strengthen balance and power, I remained skeptical that it…

  • My Trip to 1885

    My Trip to 1885

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    by

    Jim Garrett
    in ,

    On a cool spring day in May, I found myself in one of my favorite places to be in Boston when not in a coffee shop or Fenway Park. I found myself in a gallery in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. This day in a small gallery off to the side, centered in front…

  • A Cello Walks Out on a Country Music Stage

    A Cello Walks Out on a Country Music Stage

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    by

    Jim Garrett
    in

    I recently attended a performance at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, the newer venue built on the former Opryland park site and opened on March 16, 1974. That date marked the first Grand Ole Opry show held outside the Ryman Auditorium; the final Opry performance at the Ryman had taken place just…

  • Looking Down Monet’s Road

    Looking Down Monet’s Road

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    by

    Jim Garrett
    in

    In my retirement as I have continued to allow the horizons of my interest to expand, the opportunity to visit an exhibit of Impressionist art is always welcomed and if possible pursued. Recently an Impressionist exhibit from the Dallas Museum of Art was showing at the Frist Art Museum here in Nashville. TN. So, with…

  • You Already Know How to Write a Poem

    You Already Know How to Write a Poem

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    by

    Jim Garrett
    in , ,

    Think about the last time something stopped you. A sky that went orange at the edges. A song that found you at exactly the wrong — or right — moment. The way a room feels after someone leaves it. You noticed. You felt something shift. That’s where poems begin. I decided at the start of…

  • Shakshuka as Art & Culture

    Shakshuka as Art & Culture

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    by

    Jim Garrett
    in ,

    Shakshuka — Shakshouka — when we hear that word, many of us may awkwardly reply, “Bless you.” The word may be neither familiar or comprehensible to many of us, yet it carries a very warm and welcoming experience when invited to table. The word Shakshuka originated in North Africa and literally means “all mixed up”…