Aphra Behn: A Voice That Would Not Wait Its Turn

Aphra Behn: A Voice That Would Not Wait Its Turn Some writers enter history quietly, almost by accident. Others arrive because they must speak. Aphra Behn belongs to the second kind. Writing in seventeenth-century England, Aphra Behn became one of the first women in England to earn her living entirely through her words. At a time when women were expected to remain private, dependent, and largely silent in public life,…

http://rebeccasreadingroom.ca/2026/03/24/aphra-behn-a-voice-that-would-not-wait-its-turn/

A Reflection on Human Resilience in the Age of AI

A Reflection on Human Resilience in the Age of AI There are moments in history when humanity seems to lean toward despair. We have always been a species in flux: surviving, adapting, rebuilding from the ashes of our own brilliance. Yet in this age of algorithms and artificial intelligence, the question feels newly raw. Are we ascending into new possibilities, or descending into our own obsolescence?

http://clanmother.ca/2026/03/22/a-reflection-on-human-resilience-in-the-age-of-ai/

When Winter Hears Spring’s Call

When Winter Hears Spring’s Call There comes a moment, usually in March, when we realize we’ve been holding ourselves very still for a long time. Not consciously. Not deliberately. Just carefully. Winter asks this of us. It invites us inward, and if we listen well, it can be a generous season. We gather ourselves with books and tea, with blankets pulled close, with the comfort of the inside.

http://rebeccasreadingroom.ca/2026/03/22/when-winter-hears-springs-call/

Faust: Unraveling the Great Enigma – S2 E4 The Prologue in Heaven

The Prologue in Heaven: Awe Before the Human Struggle In our previous episode, we remained in the world of the theatre. We listened as the Manager worried about the crowd, the Poet longed for refuge, and the Merryfellow celebrated the present hour. These voices felt human and familiar. But Goethe does not allow us to stay there. With breathtaking boldness, he tears open the curtain of earthly perspective…

http://rebeccasreadingroom.ca/2026/03/21/faust-unraveling-the-great-enigma-s2-e4-the-prologue-in-heaven/

Federico Zandomeneghi: Warmth in Motion

At the Edge of Light: Lesser-Known Impressionists Federico Zandomeneghi: Warmth in Motion Some painters are drawn to light; others to people. Federico Zandomeneghi managed both, but it is the human presence in his work that lingers longest. His paintings feel inhabited by touch, by gesture, by the quiet choreography of daily life. Whether in a Parisian square or a domestic interior, his figures seem to belong fully to their…

http://chasingart.ca/2026/03/20/federico-zandomeneghi-warmth-in-motion/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Humanity in Conversation with Artificial Intelligence

Welcome to my reading room! This reflection began with a link shared by Paula Bardell-Hedley on her blog Book Jotter. In her December 26, 2025 “Winding Up the Week” post, Paula — a thoughtful and generous curator of literary conversation — pointed readers toward an December 12, 2025 article from EveryWriter.com titled, “When Edgar Allan Poe Fails the AI Detector…

http://rebeccasreadingroom.ca/2026/03/17/humanity-in-conversation-with-artificial-intelligence/

The Practice of Steadiness

Wind, Rain, Weather, and the Practice of Steadiness March is a month of wind. Not the dramatic wind of storms that announce themselves, but the persistent kind that unsettles hats, rattles windows, and changes direction without warning. One moment the air is soft. The next, sharp. We step outside prepared for one thing and encounter another. This, too, is part of March’s teaching.

http://rebeccasreadingroom.ca/2026/03/15/the-practice-of-steadiness/

The Symbiotic Spark: Why We Need Each Other to Create

The Symbiotic Spark: Why We Need Each Other to Create Creation often begins in solitude. The poet with a blank page, the painter before an untouched canvas, the musician in a quiet room. But even in those moments of aloneness, creation is never truly solitary. Every idea carries traces of those who came before us, a teacher’s words, a line of poetry remembered, a friend’s question that lingers.

http://clanmother.ca/2026/03/15/the-symbiotic-spark-why-we-need-each-other-to-create/

Sarah’s Musings on Katherine Mansfield and her poem “The Meeting”

Katherine Mansfield and “The Meeting” - Listening Beneath the Words I am pleased to introduce a new thread within Rebecca’s Reading Room, one that occasionally brings conversations from The Book Dialogue into this quieter reading space. My sister Sarah and I host The Book Dialogue, a podcast devoted to books, poetry, and the shared pleasure of reading together. From time to time, I’ll be inviting readers…

http://rebeccasreadingroom.ca/2026/03/14/sarahs-musings-on-katherine-mansfield-and-her-poem-the-meeting/

Three Figures: Pink and Grey — Stillness Shaped by a Restless Life

Three Figures: Pink and Grey — Stillness Shaped by a Restless Life I once wrote that I would be spending the weekend with Three Figures: Pink and Grey by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. The original painting is hidden away in a vault at the Tate Gallery in London. But for those two days it lived here with me instead via my art 2017 calendar.

http://chasingart.ca/2026/03/13/three-figures-pink-and-grey-stillness-shaped-by-a-restless-life/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social