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By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

As the sun sets over the Hidden Temple in Florence, 14 adults in their comfiest pajamas sprawl on a generous bed of quilts. Outside on this crisp October Saturday, the foliage is just starting to turn, its pops of color complementing the painted...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

To Coco Bustin, the body is a beautiful vessel. She first came to appreciate it in figure drawing classes at Tufts University, where she met every curve and contour with wonder. Nudity, she realized, was an artistic invitation. As a natural foodie,...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Even the bats are moved.At intermission they dance out of the belfry of the West Whately Chapel, like musical notes across a sunset staff. And after precisely cut watermelon slices are enjoyed, darkness falls and the second set begins, they flutter in...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

The founder of the Body Liberation Outdoor Club saw “The Fat Babe Pool Party” in “Shrill,” the Hulu series about a heavy woman’s journey to embracing her body, and felt like she was in a dream. In the fourth episode of Season 1, the main character has...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

‘Emily’s mission in life is to teach women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies.”This sentence mesmerized me.It’s an assured statement about a complicated topic: body image and sexuality, and it is the crux of sex educator Emily...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

On a springlike day in mid-March, three historians’ voices mingle with the buzzing of a drone. Claudia Lefko, Gail Hornstein and Ben James stand in the middle of the Montview Conservation Area while our camera captures the big picture — the vast, open...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

As snow mingles with rain this Tuesday evening, the door to Spare Time Northampton is cool to the touch. But inside the bowling alley’s City Sports Grille, the cracks of falling pins fade into the warm pulse of swing music.The Lindy League of Western...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Ten heavy bags stood at attention on Theresa Allen’s front lawn, while seven women surrounded a card table just off the driveway, wrapping their hands and gloving up.My new cardio-kickboxing instructor greeted me warmly and introduced me to my...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

When it was time for the hip hop tribute at this year’s Grammys, Black Thought took center stage to introduce his girl:“Fifty years ago, a street princess was born to be an icon. The art form took the entire world by storm. How’d she do it? Her...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

“How you know it’s a real stoop is not so much what it looks like, but rather what happens on it. A stoop is a place to socialize. People hanging out, reading the paper, playing dominos or cards, talking and gossiping, smoking, eating a hero with the...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Dean Dinning believes in the power of music. The longtime bassist of Toad the Wet Sprocket was once a teen in a crowd of 90,000 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was 1987, and U2 was on its international Joshua Tree Tour. The show was over and...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Before Tom Pedulla found the Eightfold Path, he had to admit that he was lost.It took the better part of a lifetime, because he didn’t look lost at all. As the eldest of four children born to Italian-American parents, he was expected to succeed, and...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

It’s the coldest night of the season, so cold that the wind stings, so cold that our photographer’s lenses need time to thaw, so cold that from the bar of the Marigold, you can’t see the street because the doors are coated in ice.But inside. Inside is...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

At 9 p.m. on a balmy Friday, my friends and I stood outside Tellus & the Satellite Bar, while the host checked our IDs and welcomed each of us by name.“You’re the second group here,” she said proudly. “We just opened a few minutes ago.” Dark curls...