Author: Jay Ruud

The Wolf of Snow Hollow Jim Cummings (2020) [av_image src=’http://jayruud.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Tennyson-180×180.jpg’ attachment=’77’ attachment_size=’square’ align=’left’ animation=’left-to-right’ link=” target=” styling=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’] Director Jim Cummings made a splash in 2018 with his first full-length feature film, Thunder Road, an independent film that won the “best feature” prize at Austin’s prestigious South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival as well… Continue reading The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather (1927) [av_image src=’http://jayruud.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Tennyson-180×180.jpg’ attachment=’77’ attachment_size=’square’ align=’left’ animation=’left-to-right’ link=” target=” styling=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’] If you’re a fan of Willa Cather, you most likely were introduced to her through her early novels that invoke pioneer life on the great plains of Nebraska where she grew up: O Pioneers (1913), The… Continue reading Death Comes for the Archbishop

Enola Holmes Harry Bradbeer (2020) [av_image src=’http://jayruud.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Tennyson-180×180.jpg’ attachment=’77’ attachment_size=’square’ align=’left’ animation=’left-to-right’ link=” target=” styling=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’] A couple of years ago, Millie Bobby Brown, best known for her acclaimed portrayal of the character Eleven on the popular Netflix series Stranger Things, joined her older sister Paige in reading a six-book YA series of novels… Continue reading Enola Holmes

Howard’s End E.M. Forster (1910) [av_image src=’http://jayruud.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Tennyson-180×180.jpg’ attachment=’77’ attachment_size=’square’ align=’left’ animation=’left-to-right’ link=” target=” styling=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’] When E.M. Forster was four years old, he moved with his mother into a country house north of London called “Rooksnest.” He later wrote that from the time he moved in, “I took it to my heart and… Continue reading Howard’s End

Go Tell It on the Mountain James Baldwin (1953) [av_image src=’http://jayruud.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Shakespeare-180×180.jpg’ attachment=’76’ attachment_size=’square’ align=’left’ animation=’left-to-right’ link=” target=” styling=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’] James Baldwin’s debut novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, the semi-autobiographical story that culminates in 14-year-old John Grimes’ born-again experience as he physically struggles on the floor of his stepfather’s storefront church, is… Continue reading Go Tell It on the Mountain

Mulan Niki Caro (2020) [av_image src=’http://jayruud.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Susanns.jpg’ attachment=’78’ attachment_size=’square’ align=’left’ animation=’left-to-right’ link=” target=” styling=” caption=’yes’ font_size=10” appearance=’on-hover’] 2 JACQUELINE SUSANNS [/av_image] Milan is the latest installment in Disney’s ill-advised obsession with remaking all its classic animated features as live-action films, a trend that seems at best a mistaken reading of current popular tastes as preferring computer-generated effects… Continue reading Mulan