Crimson staff writer
Sophia N. Downs
Latest Content
‘La Clemenza di Tito’ Review: A Contemporary Take on the Mozart Classic
Opera del West makes a stalwart effort to add a present-day, American twist to Mozart’s final opera. Unfortunately, it tries to do too much, leaving its efforts underdeveloped.
Four Exclamation Points: The Spartacus Youth League
From the 1970s to the 1990s, communists on campus flocked to the Spartacus Youth League, a student organization that led protests, circulated its own newspaper, and read Lenin with Cambridge residents.
‘White Cat, Black Dog’ Review: Brutal Honesty Wrapped in Whimsical Stories
In her newest short story collection, “White Cat, Black Dog,” Kelly Link draws inspiration from a variety of fairy-tales to blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy.
'Coriolanus' Review: A Feisty Female Take on the Roman War Classic
This woman-powered, modern-verse production of “Coriolanus” is a moving reflection on universal themes of pride, humility, and the power of the common people.
“Unraveling” Review: A Colorful String That Doesn’t Quite Thread Together
Orenstein explores the history, politics, and culture of the art of making clothes and how this intense process is woven into the very fabric of society.
“Atalanta” Preview: The New Newsroom Musical
Co-directed by Kingsbury Lee and Ellie M. Powell ’25, "Atalanta" follows Sarina Lemonde (Grace H. Allen ’24), a young newspaper editor working in a male-dominated newsroom in New York City in 1969.
Artist Profile: Kara Walker on Her Whimsical Flowers and Glowing Lanterns
Whether they are glowing mushrooms or scarlet ire-star orchids, Walker’s creations are bright and bold — they are made to be seen.
‘All the Beauty in the World’ Review: A Meditation on Stillness and Purpose
In “All the Beauty in the World,” debut author Patrick Bringley presents a stunning meditation on time, relationships, and finding purpose.
A Harvard Professor on Columbus’s Voyage
Morison decided “the only way to solve the problem of this great navigator, really to ‘get at’ him, was to explore, under sail, the coasts and islands he discovered.” Thus, the Harvard Columbus expedition was born.
The Pitfalls of BookTok’s Love of YA
Although the “extremely raunchy, sexually explicit” nature of many of her books could easily push them into the genre of adult novels, Maas’s books are marketed as Young Adult (YA).
‘Life On Delay’ Review: A Touching Ode to Self-Acceptance
And at the end of the day, Hendrickson can find peace with his past and his stutter, providing inspiration for readers to find peace with their own challenges, too.
Walking in Step
For the previous year or so, I’d been oscillating about whether or not to serve an 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Class of 1857 and the Gate They Left
If you’ve ever stepped foot on Harvard’s campus, you’ve seen the Wadsworth gate, though you may not have realized it. Nestled between the urban bustle of Harvard Square and the red brick of the Yard, I walk past it nearly every day, but rarely do I stop to ponder its history. The gate is also called the Class of 1857 Gate after the class that sponsored it — a class whose joyful graduation barely preceded the advent of the Civil War.
