Rose Cahalan
By Rose Cahalan:
A Bold, Playful San Antonio Art Exhibit Celebrates Chicana Leaders
Fearless and Funny, Molly Ivins Comes to Life in ‘Raise Hell’
If only she were around today.
I learned within my first day at the Texas Observer that Molly Ivins looms large over this place. Literally, two sizeable black-and-white photos of her hang above the water cooler. Every time I rummage in the storage cabinet for a … Read More
Elizabeth McCracken’s ‘Bowlaway’ Spins a Dark, Magical Tale of Love, Loss and Bowling
The Austin author is mostly concerned with pain: how we inflict it on each other, and how we keep going, year after year, as our burdens pile up.
“They found a body in the Salford Cemetery, but aboveground and alive.” That thunderbolt of a sentence opens Elizabeth McCracken’s new novel, Bowlaway, and sets the tone for what’s to follow: a story equal parts sorrow and wonder, magical realism … Read More
Strangest State: February 2019
Weird news from far-flung Texas.
Drue Wagner WICHITA FALLS // A woman was banned from Walmart after drinking wine from a Pringles can while astride an electric shopping cart. The Wichita Falls Times-Record-News reports that when a police officer arrived at the store around 9 … Read More
Plight at the Museum
The best Texas history museum you’ve never heard of is staring down a financial crisis. Will it survive?
Plight at the Museum The best Texas history museum you’ve never heard of is staring down a financial crisis. Will it survive? – by Rose Cahalan January 7, 2019 “Let me show you some of my favorite things,” says … Read More
The Texas Observer’s Best Features of 2018
Our favorite longreads of the year.
The Texas Observer’s Best Features of 2018 Our favorite longreads of the year. – by Rose Cahalan and Forrest Wilder December 26, 2018 Like children, it’s always dangerous to pick one’s favorite stories. They’re all special and an editor’s affection … Read More
Strangest State: December 2018
Weird news from far-flung Texas.
DAINGERFIELD // The hunt for Bigfoot continues at Daingerfield State Park, where rangers held a weekend of events dedicated to the mythical forest giant. The Longview News-Journal reports that campers gathered for a screening of the 1972 film The Legend … Read More
Our 10 Favorite Texas Books of 2018
Politics, immigration, poetry, LSD, art and yes, vampires: There’s a little something for everyone on this list.
If there’s a bright side to the fact that, politically speaking, we spent 2018 still deep in what people on Twitter wearily call “the darkest timeline,” it’s the abundance of great books said timeline has produced. The Observer reviewed (or … Read More
Strangest State: October 2018
Weird news from far-flung Texas.
SAN ANTONIO // Thieves smuggled a shark out of the San Antonio Aquarium by hiding it in a baby stroller. The San Antonio Express-News reports that Miss Helen, a 16-inch female horn shark, went missing for two days. Meanwhile, security … Read More
Strangest State: August 2018
Weird news from far-flung Texas.
SAN ANTONIO // A former master plumber put his collection of more than 1,300 decorated toilet seats up for sale. Barney “King of the Commode” Smith has operated the Toilet Seat Art Museum out of his Alamo Heights garage since … Read More