All posts tagged: Margaret McMullan

What if you learned you had a relative you knew nothing about? And he was a Holocaust victim? Margaret McMullan delves into the ‘unspoken history’ in her moving and illuminating memoir, WHERE THE ANGLES LIVED

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By Leslie Lindsay  Historical, family-oriented, and yet universal, Margaret McMullan delves into a little-known piece of her family’s heritage and brings it into the light.  I first ‘met’ Margaret McMullan with her interlinked short stories of another tragedy—the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, AFTERMATH LOUNGE—and then later, with her anthology, EVERY FATHER’S DAUGHTER. She’s also the author of seven other books, and her writing has appeared in USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, Glamour, and others. WHERE THE ANGELS LIVED: One Family’s Story of Loss, Exhile, and Return (Calypso Editions, May 2019) begins in 2008 with the author’s visit to Israel’s Holocaust Museum, where she learns about a long-lost relative by the name of Richard. McMullan is thrust into a mystery–just who was this man and why hasn’t she learned of his existence before? She feels compelled to do some digging, tirelessly searching the history of her ancestors, the Engel de Janosis. Receiving a Fulbright cultural exchange, McMullan and her family (husband and teenage son), relocate to Pecs, Hungary to teach (and research Richard’s life) at a Hungarian University. This town is now largely …

Write On, Wednesday: Margaret McMullan on Honoring the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Maintaining Family Connections, & So Much More

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By Leslie Lindsay  On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed 955 homes of the small coastal town on Pass Christian, Mississippi. With a 28-foot storm surge, the highest recorded in U.S. History, 55-foot waves, and winds reaching 120 mph, the down was wiped off the map–at least temporarily.  Meanwhile, I was experiencing my own little whirlwind at the time: new motherhood. Tucked in the insular little community of Northfield, Minnesota, we weren’t affected by the tumultuous winds of Katrina, but the late-night feedings and wailings of “Baby Kate.” Still, we heard devastating stories of how lives were upturned at the hands of the greedy sea, the FEMA tents, the floating coffins in watery graves. Our hearts ached. Today, I am honored to share a virtual cup of coffee with award-winning author Margaret McMullan as she describes the small town historic jewel of Pass Christian, the witness of small acts of heroism, and a compelling tribute to the residents of the Gulf Coast. Leslie Lindsay: Aftermath Lounge honors the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Can you tell us …

Write On, Wednesday: Meet Margaret McMullan of EVERY FATHER’S DAUGHTER

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By Leslie Lindsay “What is it about the relationship between fathers and daughters that provokes so much exquisite tenderness, satisfying communion, longing for more, idealization from both ends, followed often if not inevitably by disappointment, hurt, and the need to understand and forgive, or to finger the guilt of not understanding and loving enough?” writes Phillip Lopate, in his introduction to Every Father’s Daughter,a collection of 25 personal essays by women writers writing about their fathers. The editor, Margaret McMullan, is herself a distinguished novelist and educator. About half of these essays were written by invitation for this anthology; others were selected by Ms. McMullan and her associate, Philip Lopate, who provides an introduction. The contributors include many well-known writers—Alice Munro, Jayne Anne Phillips, Alexandra Styron, Ann Hood, Bobbie Ann Mason, Maxine Hong Kingston, among others—as well as writers less well-known but no less cogent, inventive, perceptive, lacerating, questioning, or loving of their fathers. I was particularly touched by the stories, which run the gamut of successful dads to distant and indifferent ones; the book truly …