Little history remains of Illinois’ involvement in the one of the darkest episodes of American history—the Trail of Tears or as the Cherokee call it “Nunna dual Tsuny” or “Trail where they cried.” The fact that Illinois was part of the Trail of Tears story comes as a surprise to many, myself included. Like many …
Read MoreRufus Porter and The Lost Artist
Rufus Porter (1792-1884), the nineteenth-century American muralist, became part of The Lost Artist by happenstance. Prior to writing the book, I’d never heard of him. Though I suspect I might have seen his work somewhere, maybe, maybe not. And this is what intrigues me about the writing process, when you begin a book, you just …
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