War Isn’t Over

Dear Laura Last night I was reading Frances Fitzgerald’s Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam This afternoon I listened to a playlist I made Of songs from the Vietnam War…

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…

Old Music by Colin McLaughlin

For years, I was obsessed with my mandolin. It was my travel companion–out of town, long walk, over night–I always had my trusty mandolin slung over my shoulder. It got worn down and weary looking,…

In Praise of Fairuz

While on my walk The soft, tender voice of Fairuz was borne to me on the breeze As if coming from an ethereal howdah: “One day we shall return to our neighborhood….” Fairuz’s voice, in…

Practice

An awed interviewer once exclaimed To the jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, “You do amazing things on the saxophone, Mr. Parker.” The musician replied, “I don’t know about amazing— I practiced for fifteen hours a day…