Keiffer Mitchell, Jr., takes the stage at the Stoop storytelling series to share a holiday memory about his grandfather; a look at the photo book, Bodine’s Industry: The Dignity of Work; Rafael Alvarez shares an Orlo and Leini story; and a conversation with U.S. Air Force combat veteran Karin Rodney-Hapaala
Aubrey Bodine was a world-renowned photographer who spent almost fifty years chronicling life in Maryland for the pages of the Sunday Sun Magazine. Bodine’s Industry: The Dignity of Work, is a collection of portraits of men and women on the job, published by the artist’s daughter Jennifer Bodine, who has devoted much of her life to maintaining her father’s legacy.
Maryland State Delegate Keiffer Mitchell, Jr., comes from a renowned political family. His grandfather, Clarence Mitchell, Jr., earned his place in history as a tireless civil rights leader. But when Keiffer was young, he admired his heroic elder for a much simpler reason – Clarence Mitchell, Jr., was ‘grandpa.’ As the holidays approach, we’re happy to share this personal remembrance from Keiffer Mitchell, Jr. He told the tale onstage at the Stoop Storytelling Series.
For years, Rafael Alvarez has slowly unfolded the heartbreaking story of Orlo and Leini. Orlo, an eccentric junkman and part-time painter, and Leini, a beautiful Greek immigrant, are star-crossed lovers who inhabit the author’s fictional Holy Land of East Baltimore. Alvarez joins us to share a new story from their saga.
During the six months she was in Iraq, Karin Rodney Haapala got used to the explosions. She was serving on the ground as a map-maker for the US Air Force, and she says she had no choice but to become numb to the constant sounds of bombs and IEDs. One thing that helped her cope was her camera. Karin took landscape shots and portraits of her fellow servicemen and women. After her tour of duty, she came back to the US and tried her best to readjust to civilian life. The transition would be tough. But once again, her camera would help her.
