BOOK REVIEW: Homeward Bound

BOOK REVIEW: Homeward Bound

(Author Michael Pearson on the road in Ireland. Courtesy photo) By Tom Robotham Over the last three decades, Michael Pearson—former professor of creative writing and literature at Old Dominion University—has written seven books of nonfiction focusing on his two great...
ESSAY: An Education

ESSAY: An Education

By Tom Robotham Recently, I received a notice from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh that my graduating class would be among those honored during this year’s homecoming weekend. Until then, it hadn’t dawned on me that 2023 marks 45 years since I donned...
Top Shelf Service

Top Shelf Service

(Annie Rostov) By Jeff Maisey Few industries seem to be as impacted coming out of the pandemic as the restaurant business.  While customers have returned to near pre-Covid numbers, restauranteurs in Hampton Roads and across the nation have seen their food costs and...
Feast Festively on Beethoven’s Bounty

Feast Festively on Beethoven’s Bounty

(Piano soloist Orli Shaham) By Montague Gammon III The Virginia Symphony opens its 2023-24 Season with a Beethoven Festival whose bounties Music Director and concert conductor Eric Jacobsen twice likened to a “steak dinner with dessert,” a two course musical feast of...