The State of Things

When Joan Didion suddenly lost her husband in 2003, she chronicled the experience in her memoir "The Year of Magical Thinking." Before the book was even published, her daughter, Quintana, died. In Didion's adapted play, "The Year of Magcial Thinking," she takes the audience on a journey through her sometimes surreal grieving process. Chapel Hill’s PlayMakers Repertory Company is staging the production from April 27th -May 1st.

Lou Lipsitz spent 30 years as a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and several more as a psychotherapist. Lipsitz is also a poet, often combining the art of teaching and counseling with his writing. His new collection of poems is called “if this world falls apart” (Lynx House Press/2011).

Photojournalist Chris Hondros was killed in Libya on Wednesday along with Tim Hetherington, the Oscar-nominated director of the war documentary "Restrepo." Hondros grew up in Fayetteville, graduated from North Carolina State University and worked for a time at the Fayetteville Observer. After Hondros left North Carolina, he became an acclaimed war photographer, winning numerous awards and becoming a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2004.

Aaron Burr, Vice President for Thomas Jefferson’s cabinet, fathered only one child that survived past infancy. Her name was Theodosia Burr Alston, a well-educated and accomplished woman who was highly respected in her time. In the winter of 1812, Theodosia mysteriously disappeared on a ship voyage from South Carolina to New York.

Durham-based band Humble Tripe is the musical project of Shawn Luby. After years spent playing classical guitar in competitions, Luby retired from the world of music at the age of 20. He moved from Kansas to North Carolina, working first at a nonprofit, then as a clinical lab scientist. Once he entered his 30s, his desire to play music returned and he formed Humble Tripe with his friends.

Just about every bluegrass musician has been directly or indirectly influenced by Wade Mainer. Mainer, a master of the banjo, taught himself to play his instrument of choice as a child and developed an innovative two-finger picking style. That style, combined with Mainer’s strong vocals earned him popularity as a performer and recording artist in the 1930s and 1940s.