I’m reading Diane di Prima’s “Revolutionary Letters” this morning. The great Beat poet died this weekend. I haven’t heard many details yet – the news hit social media late last night – but since this is the morning of October 26 2020 here in USA where our Supreme Court is … Read the rest
There’s a smell of scorched earth in the air lately, here in America.
It’s smoke from Pacific coast wildfires, and it’s something more: the warning scent of an authoritarian future we must avoid, even as our society chokes on climate change, racism, social injustice, predatory capitalism and military escalation. Scorched … Read the rest
I took a walk through Prospect Park today. These hilly acres in the middle of Brooklyn were designed to get you lost, with swerving paths that make you think you’re walking in a definite direction as they subtly turn you back again until you pass the spot where you started … Read the rest
I went to the climate march in New York City last week. This was on Friday, September 20, connecting with a massive strike and protest happening all over the world on the same day. My friend Attila had just flown in from Portland, Oregon, and the sprawling scene all over … Read the rest
A few days ago a friend told me she was worried about my rage. “You seem upset a lot,” she said.
Another friend told me the same thing after seeing my photos of a protest march. This friend says I need to “relax” about Donald Trump, Mike Pence, stolen seats … Read the rest
I’m in a reflective mood lately. Looking within, through a glass darkly and all that. That’s my excuse for the fact that it’s March 2018 and this is my first post of the year.
I also have another excuse: I’ve been working on a really good Litkicks article about opera. … Read the rest
It was only six years ago — but it seems so much longer than that — that I wrote a book called Why Ayn Rand is Wrong (and Why It Matters). This book emerged from a series of blog posts I was composing (under my then-pseudonym Levi Asher) called … Read the rest
Because I love literature, I bristle when I hear Russia described as my country’s enemy.
Certainly Vladimir Putin is our enemy, because he is a tyrant who murders journalists. And certainly Donald Trump is our enemy, not only because he’s a racist and a sexual predator and a con-man, but … Read the rest
I’ve been communing with a view of the Atlantic ocean all summer.
I don’t get to spend as much time out there swimming in it as I’d like, because I’m a workaholic no matter where I live. But the view out my window helps keep me centered. The great ocean … Read the rest
