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Review by Off the Shelf Correspondent Kevin M. McIntosh

Oh, Daisy. Since Henry James birthed (and killed) you in 1878, readers have celebrated, defamed, lamented, but mainly, puzzled over you. A rich man’s daughter touring Switzerland and Italy in the socially essential company of your mother and little brother, seeing the culturally significant sights, attending the mandatory expat parties, flirting with the men at hand, foreign and domestic, we continue to argue what you’re about. Libertine? Naif? Or proof of Cyndi Lauper’s timeless proposition that Girls Just Wanna Have Fun? Whatever. But James left us with an ugly question to ponder: Must a nice, high-spirited girl from Schenectady pay for her high spirits with her life?

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Sara Letourneau is the author of Wild Gardens (Kelsay Books, 2024); the book editor and writing coach at Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services; the cofounder/cohost of the Pour Me a Poem open mic; and the co-editor of the Pour Me a Poem anthology. Her poetry has won the Beals Prize for Poetry and the Blue Institute’s 2020 Words on Water contest. Her most recent work can be found in The Arts Fuse, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, The Ekphrastic Review, Nixes Mate Review, Silver Birch Press, Third Wednesday Magazine, and Wild Greens Magazine. She lives in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Visit her online at https://heartofthestoryeditorial.com/.

The Somerville Math Fund was pleased to be able to award four year renewable scholarships to these outstanding math and science students. Pictured are in front: Mashruf Mahin, Elle Gys, Serena Hunter Black, Kaylie Wen, Alice Hunter, Bhavroop Kaur, Serena Wong, Erica Voolich Somerville Math Fund. In Back: Liam Beretsky-Jewell, Julian Barnaby, Aneurin Hullah, Gerran Hullah, Kai Deshima, Rafael Ronen.

By Erica Dakin Voolich

The Somerville Mathematics Fund is pleased to announce the winners of their renewable mathematics scholarships for 2024.  The Math Fund was founded to celebrate and encourage math achievement and these students deserve to be celebrated for their work in math and science while in high school. Thanks to the generosity of many individuals and a few organizations, this year we were able to award a record 13 scholarships, totaling $78,000 over four years.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is proud to announce the return of the ‘Free Summer Meals’ program, a program providing free meals to all Somerville kids and teens age 18 and under from Monday, July 7, through August 22, 2025. Breakfast and lunch foods will be distributed at youth-friendly locations Monday to Friday at locations citywide. 

The City of Somerville coordinates with nonprofit Project Bread on this program, and Somerville Recreation, with support from food service vendor RediPax, will distribute the meals. No registration or ID is required.  

Mindful Garden Experience with Sue
Tuesday, July 8, 7:00-8:00 pm
Looking for a way to slow down and unwind? Let Susan Novick, a certified Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guide, teach you how to do just that through mindful breathing, movements, and walking that will help you be present in the moment and connect with the natural world in new ways during this time at the Growing Center. 
Contact:  Sue at shnovick2@gmail.com 

The Somerville Museum is gearing up for a super-fun retrofuturist 100th Anniversary Party for the Somerville Museum on Thursday, October 23 at the Crystal Ballroom.  They are  looking for a Somerville artist to design the image for their invitation.