Latest work
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The Green Knight
Read more: The Green KnightRonald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1984: a meaningful friendship. My favorite literature professor retired soon after I graduated but not before teaching me “Beowulf,” Chaucer, and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” English in the rough before the hurning vernacular acquired full legitimacy. A wiry man with a Jack-o’-lantern…
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Remember the outhouse
Read more: Remember the outhouseAs recently as the 1930s, large swathes of America were abject and filthy poor. The United States is an insular nation bordered on its lateral edges by vast oceans and to the north and south by sprawling states with which it shares only modest affinity. Most white Americans have genealogical…
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Sight at a loss for words
Read more: Sight at a loss for wordsDetail from “Self-Portrait With Straw Hat,” Vincent Van Gogh, 1887. Living through glaucoma’s nuclear winter recalibrates the visual metaphors on which language depends. Day-to-day life expressions use clarity of sight as cornerstones. To wit: “We’ll see about that!” (I wish.) “Try to ee it my way.” (A nod to The…
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When soap was soup
Read more: When soap was soupAs the World Turns made its debut in 1956. But where’s the soup? Ifirst heard about soup operas just before Christmas 1960. Our neighbor Mrs. Whitlock had come by to drop off presents but burst into tears while standing under our wreathed door. My mother consoled her and the women…
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At the mosaic, turn left
Read more: At the mosaic, turn leftOutside the post office is the bus terminus. Late at night, you’ll have to wait. Enter the main post office building through the main doors. You’ll know you’re there by the giant tiled mosaic of ancient Rome. It’s impressive but don’t let it distract you. Don’t dwell. Don’t gawk. Turn…
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Unvarnished darkness
Read more: Unvarnished darknessAnita Hill testifying before Congress in 1991: a different kind of courage. Sixteen years ago, New York City firemen entered two burning skyscrapers hoping to rescue trapped employees. Both buildings eventually collapsed, killing thousands, including many of the rescuers who were later showered in patriotic acclaim and elevated to hero…
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