Fiction, Essay, Photography … Sometimes Vampires
59. That is the number of for-pleasure books I read this year. More than ever I feel myself fighting to carve out time to read deeply and intentionally. I finished grad school this semester. For more than half the year I had a commute that kept me in the car 10+ hours a week. I… Continue reading What I Read in 2018
Private vehicle ownership is not working out for me. I have never been able to afford a new car, but the used ones I can buy outright fall apart and the repairs are expensive. I'm taking an indefinite break from my car. I feel lucky I can get to work with public transit, though it… Continue reading The Public
Pretty sure it's been raining in New Jersey since I returned from Arizona. I miss the bright colors and endless blue skies. Kehinde Wiley, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Mickalene Thomas at the Tucson Museum of Art I was impressed by how much hometown pride I encountered in Tuscon. Artisans and entrepreneurs seemed to be… Continue reading I believe it is pronounced Tuck-sin.
SONG by Adrienne Rich You're wondering if I'm lonely: OK, yes, then I'm lonely as a plane rides lonely and level on its radio beam, aiming across the Rockies for the blue-strung aisles of an airfield on the ocean You want to ask, am I lonely? Well, of course, lonely as a woman driving… Continue reading SONG :: Poetry and art in Tucson
Cousins' Choice for a weekend in Washington, D.C. The United States Botanic Garden: Lunch and literature at Busboys & Poets, where even the menu is inspiring: Farmbird. They do tofu well! A drink at The Pug, or really, just a seat to soak in the atmosphere: Coffee at Ebenezer's Coffeehouse And brunch… Continue reading Weekend in Washington, D.C.
Germany and Austria inspired me in many ways, and I am still processing that trip. The last batch of photos is from a tour of two castles built by King Leopold II of Bavaria, a tragic but fascinating person. (His mother Queen Maria was a big advocate of a revival--in the last 1800s--of Bavarian peasant… Continue reading The Dream King
The Old Salt Route connected many European cities through trade for more than a thousand years. Salzburg, Austria still displays so much of the wealth generated by the trade of SALT, not silver or diamonds or gold. Also renowned for Mozart and the setting of "The Sound of Music," I enjoyed wandering around this city… Continue reading The Salt Road
