New London Day Feature Article, "Daybreak" Section, Aug. 13, 2023
One at a time: The Classics Slacker tackles literary biggies so you don’t have to August 13, 2023 9:18 am • Last Updated: August 13, 2023 By Rick Koster Day Staff Writer At some point, an enterprising journalist will strike bestselling gold by writing a history of the dozens of end-of-the-world prophecies — all of which, so far, seem to have been wrong. There was the Halley’s Comet panic of 1910, of course. Nostradamus famously predicted the “King of Terror” would arrive from the skies and usher in Doomsday in 1999. And the Mayan calendar was interpreted by many serious-minded folks to suggest December 21, 2012, would be earth’s farewell. Regarding the latter: As autumn dwindled toward winter in 2012, what was writer Cristina Negrón’s first thought when informed of the impending Mayan scenario? “Oh my God! I’ve never read ‘Moby Dick’!” Seated in the small library of her Mystic home on a rainy summer afternoon, Negrón laughs. “That’s really true. I’d always thought I had plenty