Later in life, realizations Yesterday I went to Sauvie Island, at the intersection of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. The marine layer nestled above the landscape until noon, when the sun got warm enough to burn off the clouds, moist … Read More
When the Art is Memorable but the Actions Are Despicable Is there a celebrity (musician, writer, actor, artist,…) whose work you like, but whom you boycott because of his/her ideology/beliefs/preferences? The question is one of great importance in these times. … Read More
The wit and wisdom offered by great artists August Wilson proclaimed the centuries old matriarch, Aunt Ester, his most significant character. Her presence incarnates a key Wilson idea: The need for African Americans to move forward into the future through embracing … Read More
When is an exploration of the personal exploitative? When is it clear? Joan Didion wields outsized influence even now, several years after her death. Her most recent book, Notes to John, her husband, was just published. The book details the conversations … Read More
Maybe you won’t know your happiness until old age Ocean Vuong’s interview was searing. His words were skinless. His answers to the interviewer’s questions were as if he had wrestled an angel or two to get them, and maybe he … Read More
Someone to watch over me The dogwoods are in bloom, the trees covered in pink and white blossoms, the discs of flower faces, simple petals turned towards the sun. By lunchtime, the sidewalk cafes are filling, patrons turning towards the … Read More
From despair to contemplation to small actions “You have a small United Nations here,” a patient said approvingly when I worked at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. The hospital is located close to a neighborhood of the African immigrant … Read More
If your narrator is ahead of you, warning you, is that anxiety? Temple Grandin’s book on Animals in Translation first exposed me to visual thinking. I am verbal and can use vocabulary as a weapon when I am angry. We can use … Read More
March 14 was Holi, the Hindi Festival of Colors Chihuly’s worldwide art glass installations stun the viewer. The size of the works is a part, as is the array of colors, transparency, and translucence. I thought Dale Chihuly blew glass, … Read More
The first silver threads were at ear level, like the distinguished silver linings of Mitt Romney’s sideburns. My hairdresser explained that gray hair has a different texture, so my blonde bob developed wings as the wisdom hair stuck out beneath … Read More