John Seven

The History Channel — Anne Hibbins was not popular in her Boston community in the mid-1600s. There was her privilege, her demanding standards and her penchant for speaking her mind. When Hibbins' husband died in 1654, she became vulnerable-on June 19, 1656, she was hanged for being a witch.

The Comics Beat — Since 2015 Liana Finck has been a rising star in her role as a New Yorker cartoonist thanks to her singular presentation and sensibility, but also thanks to a boost that most cartoonists never get. Finck was a prominent figure in the documentary Very Semi-Serious , which captured the cartoon department at the magazine just at the point Finck began pursuing work there.

Berkshire Magazine — When Chef Cortney Burns arrived in North Adams with the mission of creating a restaurant to accompany the new hotel Tourists , she looked to the land itself for guidance. Through foraging, Burns was able to put into physical form the spiritual journey that informs all her creations for the restaurant.

The Berkshire Eagle — NORTH ADAMS - With her new show at Mass MoCA, British painter Rachel Howard's reputation has preceded her. A former spot painter for Damien Hirst in the 1990s, Howard is now an acclaimed abstract painter, with the British newspaper The Telegraph proclaiming her "one of the finest abstract painters of her generation."

Take Magazine — Surreal - that's the word illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi uses to describe his new show at the Norman Rockwell Museum. DiTerlizzi says he was raised on Rockwell's work, with a big coffee table book that he studied when younger. In high school, he copied Rockwell to hone his skills.

Berkshire Magazine — While in no way autobiographical, Chuck Forsman says "The End of the F***ing World"reflects his psychological state in his younger days. Photos by Megan Haley When the television show "The End of the F***ing World" debuted on British television in October, it was greeted with unanimous rave reviews.

The Berkshire Eagle — When Kurt Cobain listed his favorite albums of all-time, number five went to an obscure 1969 record by an all-sisters band from Fremont, N.H., called The Shaggs. Frank Zappa proclaimed the Shaggs to be 'better than the Beatles.'As the Shaggs, the ...

Berkshire Magazine — Thomas Krens does not think small. As the former Guggenheim Foundation director, his ideas are big—especially when it comes to North Adams. When Krens looks at the city, he sees unfinished business, and that has been a motivator to organize a collaborative effort to transform North Adams into the hub of what he calls a “cultural corridor.”

UpCountry Magazine — By John Seven NORTH ADAMS Massachusetts Museum of Art curator Denise Markonish is pretty sure her job title doesn't accurately describe the job she does. You can scrap "curator" - she prefers "producer." "When you're working with contemporary artists to make new works, the scholarship and all that is important, but I'm trying to get the thing made," Markonish says.

Hill Country Observer — Chicago-based artist Nick Cave is concocting an installation for the football field-sized Building 5 at Mass MoCA that will take visitors on a magical journey through a glittery wonderland. But as the viewers are being dazzled, they’ll also be faced with some hard truths.

The Berkshire Eagle — Is the Bennington Triangle really an area plagued by murder and mystery -- or has its reputation for mystery grown larger than the actual events that took place there?

Berkshire Magazine — When it comes to bluegrass music, post-industrial landscapes don't typically come to mind. But old factory buildings have proved to be an evocative accompaniment for MASS MoCA's annual FreshGrass Bluegrass Festival.

Hill Country Observer — When the Carolina Chocolate Drops take the stage on the opening night of this year’s FreshGrass Bluegrass Festival, they’ll be a different band than the one that performed here in 2012. But Rhiannon Giddens, the banjo and fiddle player who now is the only founding member still in the group, says the Chocolate Drops are staying true to their roots-music mission – and their broad sense of African-American musical styles and history.

The Berkshire Eagle — WILLIAMSTOWN -- New Yorker writer and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert's recent book, "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History," suggests the Earth is in the middle of its latest calamatous mass extinction -- and humans are probably the major factor in its happening. "We don't have to look into the future, is the point I'm sadly making," Kolbert said.