On the New York Literary Establishment in the Fifties
“There’s no room for youth and vitality in New York. It is a city full of guilty academicians.” –Gregory Corso “Too big, too multiple, too jaded.” –Jack Kerouac “We want everyone to know that we…
Month: October 2017
A Poem, a History, a Novel
This fall Dianne, Lynette and I are reading the following books:
Confessions of a Five
Over 25 years ago On my month-long honeymoon in Italy I brought along to read Antonio Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks
Slow Reading
A young friend decided to read Dear Layla Welcome to Palestine (Her family are refugees from there) Most chapters are a page maybe two She is reading two chapters a day H. D. Thoreau said:…
“Everything Must Be Told and Written Down”
Laura Jockusch, Collect and Record: Jewish Holocaust Documentation in Early Postwar Europe (Oxford University Press, 2012). Laura Rockusch has performed an inspiring service in producing her book, Collect and Record. Contrary to many people’s assumptions…
Gratitude/1053
Gratitude for the 11 people who’ve been reading, writing, and sharing the past two months in the online “Be in Love with Yr Life” Class.
Caroline Takes Refuge
“Breathing in, I go back to the island within myself. There are beautiful trees within the island; There are clear streams of water, There are birds, sunshine and fresh air. Breathing out, I feel safe….
When It Comes to My Novel, Dear Layla Welcome to Palestine, Elie Wiesel Took the Words Right out of My Mouth
I no longer see literature as an art or entertainment. For me literature must fulfill a certain mission in categories of history and justice. Literature is the art of correcting injustices. If there is nothing…
How to Have Fun
Mev taught me something very important: She taught me that when you go to Ted Drewes you could mix all different kinds of frozen custard flavors together. I would never have dreamed of some of…
Gatha for Yoshifuji and Me
Breathing in, we don’t know the future. Breathing out, we smile.