I Can Breathe (for George Floyd)
Sean MurphyI Can Breathe Of course I can. I’m white. I can breathe. I can also bear arms with impunity, vote in absentia or in person. I can shop without eyes—electronic…
THE ORIGIN AND ANATOMY OF A STORY
Write what you know: at once the best and worst counsel offered to the aspiring fiction writer. It is insufficient, if not too smug and certain, too limiting, and possibly…
1455 AND THE POTTER’S HOUSE: WRITING RACE & RESISTANCE
1455 is pleased and proud to partner with the historic Potter’s House, in D.C. (More about them and their mission, here.) For our first collaboration, and to celebrate Black History Month,…
Every Day is Veterans Day (Revisited)
I. Personal Remember when Born in the U.S.A. was ubiquitous? The album and the song. Bruce was already big, but he wasn’t over the top. Born in the U.S.A. put…
Death of a Salesman and the American Dream (Revisited)
Burn all the political books and essays: trivia masquerading as analysis that mostly measures horse races and trends, at best attempting to make sense of what's already history; if you…
This Creeping Malaise
Of course, what we write about is what we think about, and what we think about is invariably influenced by what we’re doing, what we’re reading, what we’re ceaselessly reacting…
Mail Bombs, MAGA hats, and The Genius of the Crowd
Charles Bukowski has long been an easy target, especially for the insufferable and self-appointed insiders of the literary scene. Sure, the macho posturing (although this dude at least knew how…
John McCain: RIP
P368426 03: (File Photo) Lieutenant Commander John Mccain Is Welcomed By U.S. President Richard Nixon Upon Mccain's Release From Five And One-Half Years As A P.O.W. During The Vietnam War…
Sorry, Charlie (on the Charlie Hebdo Attacks, Three Years Later)
i. OF COURSE RELIGION IS the problem. For anyone who, understandably, would say it’s a political issue and not a religious issue, I aver that so many of our political…
Just Say (N)Oprah or, Make Great American Again
All this breathless, borderline hysterical enthusiasm about Oprah running for president is, sadly, doing a great deal to help me understand how Trump became president. It's different demographics to be…