Patti Bender

Travails of Biography: The Brutal, Problematic and Necessary Job of Editing

September 16, 2019

Greetings, all. I am back from a much-needed vacation! Blue Hill was wonderful. I always feel close to Emilie Loring there. Nova Scotia inspired. Cape Cod made connections. And Boston reassured. This was where Emilie began and her biography took root. Every time I am here, I feel the necessity of telling her story. Now that … More Travails of Biography: The Brutal, Problematic and Necessary Job of Editing

Ladies and Gentlemen, In Preparation for Happy Landings…

August 28, 2019

“In preparation for landing, please check to see that your seatbelts are fastened, turn off all electronics, return your tray tables to their full, upright and locked positions, and store all carry-on luggage in the overhead bins or under the seat in front of you…” Our destination, Emilie Loring’s biography, is in sight. All I … More Ladies and Gentlemen, In Preparation for Happy Landings…

Guest Post: My Incredibly Delightful Emilie Loring Journey

August 16, 2019

I wonder how many of us read our first Emilie Loring book on some sort of transportation. I was on a train, and our guest writer, Ruth, read her first on a bus. Settle back and enjoy her journey: It was the summer of 1956; I was 18, and this was the first time I … More Guest Post: My Incredibly Delightful Emilie Loring Journey

How Would You Do On This “Ask the Children” Quiz?

August 6, 2019

You’re listening to Station WBZ, coming to you from our studios at the Hotel Bradford in Boston. Tonight’s program is “Ask the Children,” the quiz program that provides fun and knowledge for the entire family. Our Quiz Master is Mr. Selden M. Loring, a writer of children’s stories and son of the popular novelist, Emilie … More How Would You Do On This “Ask the Children” Quiz?

Why Wouldn’t a Woman Want to Vote?

July 22, 2019

When I was in school, the yearbook put girls’ and boys’ pictures in separate sections, and I never thought about it. I went to a university that had no coed dorms and had the men’s and women’s dorms on opposite sides of the campus. I accepted that, too; I was used to being segregated by … More Why Wouldn’t a Woman Want to Vote?

“Redirection,” Not Retirement

July 18, 2019

When I retired from college teaching, it was because I wanted to do more, not less. I heard the siren call of passions I’d kept on the sidelines and new interests I wanted to explore. When people asked what I was going to do, I said I wasn’t retiring, I was redirecting. With Emilie’s voice in … More “Redirection,” Not Retirement

Summer Days and a Summer Story for You

July 4, 2019

I’m up at the lake, barefoot most of the day, ready to wade or hop into a kayak at a moment’s notice. At night, I curl up atop a homemade quilt and read to the sound of lapping water. Emilie Loring read all summer, too. Her shelves were stocked with aspirational reading, and she signed … More Summer Days and a Summer Story for You

The Emilie Loring Collection