Darrell Curtis

This is a Song for Someone

This is New Year’s Eve, a time to celebrate endings and beginnings, but my heart’s just not in it. Maybe yours isn’t either. If you’re one of them, or if someone close to you is, maybe this piece will land like a small reminder that the light is still there. I know a handful ofContinueContinue reading “This is a Song for Someone”

The Companion That Deepens The Lord of the Rings

Sometimes the best guides don’t lead you away from a story. They lead you deeper in. The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion (2005) Twenty years ago, on December 27, 2005, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull gave readers something rare: a companion that doesn’t explain the magic away but reveals the care behind it. TheContinueContinue reading “The Companion That Deepens The Lord of the Rings”

Christmas Chaos at Turkey Spur (Featuring Old Ray)

Here’s a holiday tall tale from Jubal Blue, straight out of the piney woods of North Louisiana. I hope this gives you a little chuckle for your Christmas Eve. Enjoy! | Guest post by Jubal Blue | This story took place a few years back, but it started out normal enough…well, normal enough for theseContinueContinue reading “Christmas Chaos at Turkey Spur (Featuring Old Ray)”

Más: Futility in a Catchy Beat

I discovered Kinky’s “Más” this morning on a music subreddit, after spending most of the night with fever, sneezing, and coughing as this flu bug peaked. Chasing one last tissue, one extra dose of medicine, always one more something that never quite satisfied, the song caught me and held me, its repeated más echoing my restless state.ContinueContinue reading “Más: Futility in a Catchy Beat”

Walking the Long Road from The Shire: Remembering ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’

I remember sitting in the theater in December of 2001, not fully aware that something formative was unfolding before me. The Shire appeared on screen, warm and unhurried, a place both fantastical and familiar, like a memory I had yet to have. Only later did it become clear that The Fellowship of the Ring, first releasedContinueContinue reading “Walking the Long Road from The Shire: Remembering ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’”