“The air and sea of this ancient, fortified, dilapidated sand-bank of a town are really delicious” — a little-known appraisal of St. Augustine by Ralph Waldo Emerson — is among the treasures unearthed in Rachel Knox’s new book of essays, which simultaneously skewers and venerates the state of Florida. Both a naked examination of personal history and collective trauma, and a paean to the flora, fauna and cultural timbre of the state, Anywhere Else brings native Floridians (and true converts) on a harrowing road trip to the final chapter and the question it poses: “My god, Rachel, how can you live here?” We ask the author what it means to love a place enough to hate it and why she finds a perfect metaphor for state residents in the broken, regenerative claw of a stone crab.
Guest: Rachel Knox, author of Anywhere Else: Essays on Florida
Congressional District 4 candidate Michael Kirwan
A plan to oust the Republican incumbent of Florida’s 4th Congressional District will first require winning the primary Tuesday. Eleven months after he announced his candidacy on First Coast Connect, local attorney and civic leader Michel Kirwan returns just five days ahead of Tuesday’s decisive Democratic primary. We ask him about recent polling that puts him behind opponent LaShonda Holloway despite his significant financial advantage and how he plans to use the final days to convince voters he’s the best qualified opponent to challenge Republican incumbent Aaron Bean. First Coast Connect is covering a range of local races and election-related topics between now and Nov. 3. You can find all of our election coverage here and detailed information about upcoming elections, including information about candidates and ballot initiatives in your district, at the nonpartisan League of Women Voters website Vote411.org. Additional candidate coverage is featured in Jacksonville Today’s political section.
Guest: Michael Kirwan, Democratic candidate for Florida’s 4th Congressional District
Next to Normal
A stage production that tackles mental health, grief and drug addiction may not seem a likely candidate for a rock musical, but the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal proves that there is plenty of creative space to accommodate the ambitious subject. We talk to the First Coast dentist-turned-thespian behind the local production about what conversations he hopes the Limelight Theatre staging will generate and why he wanted to bring the Broadway hit to local audiences.
Guests:
- Jimmy Alexander, producer of Next to Normal at Limelight Theatre
- Ella Escamilla, actress playing Natalie
Topics and guests subject to change.