What To Do/14
There was nothing to do but wait it out. My mind has to become accustomed to loneliness. And when one is alone there is nothing to do but study. — I.B. Singer, In My Father’s…
Author: Mark J. Chmiel
Devi
What did people see in [Sri Anandamayi] Ma that so captivated their hearts? They found a combination of the sweetness of maternal affection and the profound depths of a mystical knower of God. In this…
Remembering the Dead/115
As every cell in Chile will tell The cries of the tortured men Remember Allende, and the days before, Before the army came Please remember Victor Jara, In the Santiago Stadium, Es verdad – those…
Books I’ve Given to Others
I wrote this for a former student in late 2010, who wanted a list of recommended titles. I decided to give her a list of books I saw fit, for one reason or another, to…
Profession of Faith
“I believe in God—Bach’s God.” —Glenn Gould
An Achievable Goal
“I vow to bring joy to one person in the morning and to help relieve the suffering of one person in the afternoon.” –Thích Nhất Hạnh
Precocity
“How do you like that? Born only yesterday and already she speaks like a perfect mensch.” –Max, in I. B. Singer’s Meshugah
Home by Rob Trousdale
i knew the weekend was going to be trouble too many white folks too many Acura MDXs too many of my fiancee’s friends too many J.Crew swim trunks too many Ralph Lauren dinner jackets too…
Share the Wealth with Madalyn: My Struggle with Mental Illness, Recovery, and Stigma: A Coming out Story
Psychosis is often glamorized in popular culture, but for those who have experienced it it’s anything but. Madalyn will share a personal experience of how it feels to be treated as a patient experiencing psychosis…
Svetlana Alexievich: Fascinated by People
Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize for Literature last year. Her oral history, Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets, appeared this spring in the US. Translated by Bela Shayevich, the book is a compelling…