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Jim Kershner

Jim Kershner is a columnist and staff writer for The Spokesman-Review in the Features department. He writes features, reviews, columns and arts stories.

How to contact Jim

Email: jimk@spokesman.com
Phone: 509-459-5493
Fax: 509-459-5098

Recent stories by Jim

I’ll know when to panic while driving my Prius

March 20, 2010 in City on Page B1 As the owner of a Toyota Prius, I’ve heard all of the cracks. •“We’re not getting in your car. Your floor mats might kill us.”
Civic’s musical ‘Grill’ carries substance if not a lot of sizzle

March 19, 2010 in Features on Page C1 ‘The Spitfire Grill” is a musical – and a beloved one at that – but it’s hardly of the Lloyd Webber blockbuster mega-musical variety. It’s based on the kind of …
Cast brings depth, guffaws to ‘Art’

March 14, 2010 in City on Page B2 A pattern seems to be developing: Every 10 years Interplayers will stage “Art,” and every time, “Art” will be exceptionally funny, smart and well cast. This time around, the result …
Spotlight: Conan-Jay battle lands in our backyard

March 14, 2010 in Features on Page D5 We’re about to have our very own Conan vs. Jay smackdown, right here in the Inland Northwest. OK, “smackdown” is an exaggeration. They won’t cross paths.
‘Ax Men’ pilot puts out novel

March 14, 2010 in Features on Page D7 Maybe you’ve seen the History Channel’s reality show about loggers, “Ax Men.” If so, you’ve seen Bart Colantuono, the senior helicopter-logging pilot for R&R Aviation.
Playing through the yips in life

March 13, 2010 in City on Page B1 Today, I’m going to tell you a true-life golf story. I beg you, don’t fall asleep from boredom quite yet. This is actually a metaphor about the Great Recession, about …
‘Arts and Crafts Movement’ brings historic items to MAC

March 12, 2010 in Features on Page C1 ‘The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest,” the new traveling exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC), should find an especially ardent fan base in …
Rejuvenated Vereen tops SuperPops

March 12, 2010 in Features on Page C1 Ben Vereen’s pops performance with the Spokane Symphony will be a tribute, in some ways, to two legendary performers. One is his mentor and role model, Sammy Davis Jr.
Interplayers’ production ‘Art’ imitates life

March 11, 2010 in Features on Page C1 What would you say to a friend who just paid $28,000 for an all-white painting? •“What an astute eye you have for meta-irony.”
Get Lit! readings put fatherhood in focus

March 7, 2010 in Features on Page D5 We have some more details about the live taping of Public Radio International’s “Selected Shorts,” on April 16 at the Bing Crosby Theater as part of the Get Lit! festivities. …
MAC tracks arts, crafts

March 7, 2010 in Features on Page D5 An intriguing new exhibit opens at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture on Saturday: “The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest.” This traveling exhibit, fresh from the …
Arts no less important in hard times

March 6, 2010 in City on Page B1 Ben Vereen, the Tony-winning singer, actor and dancer, was on the phone, telling me about his upcoming concert with the Spokane Symphony, when he said he wanted to thank the …
100 years ago avalanche wreaked havoc in the Cascades

February 28, 2010 in Features on Page D1 On Feb. 28, 1910, exactly 100 years ago, a group of desperate Great Northern train passengers – many from Spokane – signed the following petition addressed to the railroad superintendent: … 1
Broadway play uses Spokane in name only

February 28, 2010 in Features on Page D5 Looks like the new Broadway play, “A Behanding in Spokane,” has only a backhanded, let’s say, connection to Spokane. This Martin McDonagh dark comedy opened for previews on Feb. 15. …
Give ‘Magnolias’ a pinch more steel

February 28, 2010 in City on Page B3 The Spokane Civic Theatre delivers a standard-issue version of “Steel Magnolias,” and that’s a good thing. As most people already know, this Robert Harling play is a funny, affecting, Southern …
Putnam memoir shares familiar faces and places

February 28, 2010 in Features on Page D7 Ann Putnam’s memoir “Full Moon at Noontide: A Daughter’s Last Goodbye” (Southern Methodist University Press, $22.50) is poignant, thoughtful and beautifully written. Don’t just take my word for it. The …
Game plan for 2014: Curl up on couch again for the action

February 27, 2010 in City on Page B1 I’m sitting here in front of my TV, mesmerized by the red-hot curling action. Yes, I am referring to the lamest of Olympic sports (or so I once thought), with …
The beauty of ‘Magnolias’

February 26, 2010 in Features on Page C1 By now, most people have had their own appointment at Truvy’s Beauty Spot. America flocked to the 1989 film of “Steel Magnolias” with Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Julia …
You’ve got to hand it to ‘Avenue Q,’ it’s good

February 13, 2010 in City on Page B6 I haven’t laughed so much at a bunch of puppets since the heyday of “The Muppet Show.” Not that anyone will mistake these 20-something characters for Kermit. They drink Long …
Works of Art

February 12, 2010 in Features on Page C1 Art Garfunkel is a man of vast erudition, wide reading and diverse interests. So he’s not merely a guy who sang high tenor with Paul Simon. Then again, he’s certainly …