This cinematic critique comes by way of The Sopris Stars, a new monthly youth publication powered by The Sopris Sun. Editor’s note:Potential spoilers of “Wicked”and “Stranger Things” lie ahead. Many critics agree that the Broadway musical and popular “Wicked” films paint a political drama, exploring themes of conspiracy, polarization and facism. New York Times film critic […]
Opinion
Posted inYouth News
Dissecting the ‘performative male’
This fashion column comes by way of The Sopris Stars, a new monthly youth publication powered by The Sopris Sun. A wolf in a sheep’s skin, except it’s not an actual wolf but a guy with a Lububu keychain dangling off the side of his tote bag or on the clasp of his car keys. He […]
Posted inColumns
Historiography: Summer Christmases of years past
Trail and Timberline (Denver), Jan. 1, 1927: Due to an inconsiderate spirit as far as Father Winter has been concerned, we are all lamenting a lack of snow up to the present time. In the late 1800s, Norwegian immigrants introduced America to snowshoeing, or skiing as we call it today. Ever since, annual snowfall has […]
Posted inLetters
Letters – Dec. 25, 2025
Clay Center thanksI’d like to extend my deepest gratitude to the incredible community who made the Carbondale Clay Center’s two-day Cup Auction event a tremendous success. Thanks to the generosity of 246 donated cups from talented artists all over the world, the dedication of our volunteers and the hard work of our staff, we raised […]
Posted inColumns
Poetry in print matters
Nancy Bo Flood regularly shares her poetry with The Sopris Sun, which is published on its Works in Progress page, a weekly section that highlights community creativity. From sketches to short stories, Works in Progress contributions have run the gambit since the page’s inception three years ago. Flip to this week’s feature by Nancy’s husband, […]
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Solstice thoughts on landscapes — environmental, psychological and political
Walt Whitman said that “all truths wait in all things.” I am often intrigued by patterns that reappear across a spectrum of physical and metaphysical experience. One Lakota proverb landed fairly close to Whitman: “The spiritual landscape is revealed in the physical landscape.” In my experience, the resonance between the physical and the metaphysical is […]
Posted inOpinion
My little holiday miracle
Get a rental car, don’t get a rental car, yes, get one. Who will be in which car, who is picking up whom from trains or the nursing home, who can go to the store again? We were traveling to a relative’s house for Thanksgiving, in two cars packed with boxes and food, a wheelchair, […]
Posted inColumns
5 Point spins a highlights reel —and asks you not to eat ice cream
In film, as in rock and roll, some things age poorly and some resonate. Old songs by the Rolling Stones still sound great. Last week I was reminded that the 40-minute “A Line Across the Sky,” from 2015, is one of the best climbing films ever. On Dec. 11, the Crystal Theatre in downtown Carbondale […]
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Literate Life: Deep state or mob rule?The lessons of history
Jamie LaRue is the executive director of the Garfield County Public Library District. When my grandfather died, I inherited his collection of “The Story of Civilization” by Will and Ariel Durant. This 11-volume series, 50 years in the making, stretches from “Our Oriental Heritage” (volume 1) to “The Age of Napoleon.” The prose is magisterial. […]
Posted inColumns
Mature Content: Joseph and Gerard
George Santayana was right when he wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In 1960, my friend John and I drove to Miami for spring break and came home with a tiny alligator we named Gerard Swope. We wanted to be cool. We thought having a pet alligator would make […]