Category Archives: Uncategorized

What I’ve Been Reading This Summer

Posted on July 29, 2016 by chrisbohjalian

Dear Friends Who Read and Readers Who Are Friends, I’ve been asked a lot this summer what I’m reading, especially from readers who are either devastated that Lin-Manuel Miranda has left “Hamilton” or devastated that he has left “Hamilton” and … Continue reading →

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The forgotten hero who killed the Armenian Genocide’s mastermind

Posted on April 24, 2016 by chrisbohjalian

Last Friday morning, Rep. Jim Costa placed a wreath in Fresno, California’s Masis Ararat Cemetery at the grave of an Armenian who died peacefully in San Francisco 56 years ago. Most Americans are more familiar with the Peloponnesian War than they … Continue reading →

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For the Love of Writing: The Journey from Process to Product

Posted on January 6, 2016 by chrisbohjalian

John Gardner was thrown from his motorcycle and died the year before his book, The Art of Fiction, was published in 1983. Consequently, he never saw the influence that his short, smart guide to good writing would have on so … Continue reading →

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1968: The Year Christmas Eve Meant the Moon

Posted on December 24, 2015 by chrisbohjalian

Forty-seven years ago tonight, December 24th, the three astronauts from the Apollo 8 mission to the moon were approaching the lunar sunrise. Yes, it was Christmas Eve. In the United States, it was nighttime. It was 1968. Cue the space … Continue reading →

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“The Guest Room” arrives in 45 days, but there is a Goodreads contest right now

Posted on November 21, 2015 by chrisbohjalian

Dear Friends who Read and Readers who are Friends, I haven’t posted here since I stopping penning Idyll Banter on a weekly basis. I miss the column some days more than others, but I never wanted to impose on your … Continue reading →

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Goodbye. Godspeed. Farewell. At least for now.

Posted on September 6, 2015 by chrisbohjalian

Vermont has never been spared the yin and yang of the world. We were certainly reminded this summer that we are not exempt from violence and death in Berlin and Barre and Greensboro, as well as on our interstates and … Continue reading →

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A great teacher sees the promise of September

Posted on August 30, 2015 by chrisbohjalian

The back-to-school sales fliers started arriving in our mailboxes back around the 4th of July, the scariest mail of the summer for students and teachers alike. And now the moment has arrived: for much of the world, classes have resumed. … Continue reading →

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A Ferris wheel is still food for the soul

Posted on August 23, 2015 by chrisbohjalian

A couple of years ago, Chris Ashby, director of operations at the Champlain Valley Exposition, saw three boys peering longingly through a fence at the Champlain Valley Fair. He guessed the kids were 8 or 9 years old. On the … Continue reading →

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A little too much like life: Aging and the approaching end to Idyll Banter

Posted on August 16, 2015 by chrisbohjalian

  In one of the last weeks of my father’s life — though we had no idea at the time that he would be leaving us shortly as a result of a burst blood vessel in his brain — he … Continue reading →

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To understand Vermont, look to Georgia. . .the dog.

Posted on August 9, 2015 by chrisbohjalian

If you really want to understand Vermont, spend a little time with Georgia. Georgia is a 65-pound pit bull and chocolate Lab mix — a classic rescue mutt — with a wattle under her neck that could double as a … Continue reading →

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