Rebel’s Rebel: Anthony Bourdain, Six Years Gone
Sean MurphyHere's what I wrote, the moment I read --with the same shock and sadness most of the planet shared-- Bourdain not only was gone, but had taken his life, in…
Murphy’s Laws: 54 Infallible Observations on the Occasion of Turning 54
“With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” That, from the ever-quotable Oscar Wilde. Does age impart wisdom? Maybe. It definitely provides opinions. Some of them, perhaps, are worthwhile.…
The Story of Story
What’s my story? What are you going to do, teach? This was the question. It’s what everyone asked, what everyone thought, how everyone assumed things worked: you get a degree in the…
Poetry at the Peter Bullough Foundation
It has been my extreme pleasure to collaborate with (and enthusiastically support) Winchester’s Petter Bullough Foundation. More about their history and mission here, and some previous programming we’ve done together, featuring the…
Louise Glück and the Power of Poetry
Sad to see Louise Glück depart our puny planet, but glad she received the love and attention she richly deserved, and was able to feel that approbation while she was…
September 11
(From 9/11/21.) An absolutely gorgeous, cloudless September day, just like 20 years ago. I spent a couple of indescribably serene hours kayaking around the Katama Great Pond with my brother…
Labor Day Rant: Unpaid Internships are Evil
First off, with very few exceptions, unpaid internships are immoral and disgusting. Any business, especially a multi-million dollar tech behemoth, that justifies not paying interns is evil. But because the…
For My Mother, on Her 80th Birthday
i. August 2002 – August 2023 (August 23, 1943 - August 23, 2023) Twenty-one years, and on what would be her 80th birthday. I’m of course of a certain age…
1455 PRESENTS: A CONVERSATION WITH BEN PURKERT, AUTHOR OF ‘THE MEN CAN’T BE SAVED’
Writers strikes. Fear and Loathing of all-things-AI. Cutbacks within the industry and academia. One could be forgiven for assuming it’s all bad news all the time, so when a genuine feel-good story unfolds within…
The Struggle of Memory against Forgetting: Why Milan Kundera Matters
i. Kundera almost killed me, still in my creative cradle, a writer needing nourishment. He arrived in my life too early. As a reader, it wasn’t soon enough, as what…