Part 1 of this essay may be found here. Part 2 of this essay may be found here. Part 3 of this essay may be found here. Part 4 of this essay may be found here. When I sat down to write this multi-part essay – which has taken on an interrogating memory life of … Continue reading I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 5
Category: Interrogating Memory
I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 4
Part 1 of this essay may be found here. Part 2 of this essay may be found here. Part 3 of this essay may be found here. When I awoke late on the afternoon of Thursday, February 15, 2001 in my small studio apartment in West Philadelphia, I felt completely rotten. And more than a … Continue reading I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 4
I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 3
Part 1 of this essay may be found here. Part 2 of this essay may be found here. When I awoke in my new apartment – on the 8th floor of the Madison Building in the Presidential Apartment complex, situated where City Avenue meets the Schuylkill Expressway – on Wednesday, February 14, 2001, the temperature … Continue reading I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 3
I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 2
Part 1 of this essay may be found here. I cannot remember exactly when I first saw Hammett. By which I mean, when I first watched the second half of the 1982 film, a fictional account set in 1928 San Francisco, just before the eponymous writer published his first novel. One night, while I was … Continue reading I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 2
I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 1
At around 12:30 on the morning of February 15, 2001, I sat down at my computer, opened my word processing package and began to type. I was emotionally drained, exhausted and still a bit tipsy – despite a cold night drive. A very foolish cold night drive. I was compelled to write everything I needed … Continue reading I Never Wrote the Most Important Story I Ever Wrote, Part 1
The invasion of Ukraine is personal for me…as it is for many of us
We are all gripped – feeling both horror at Russian president Vladimir Putin and immense pride in the strength of the Ukrainians – by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Readers of this website are likely aware of my personal connections to the sovereign democratic nation of Ukraine. My mother’s father – the man who became … Continue reading The invasion of Ukraine is personal for me…as it is for many of us
Crafting the “Soundtrack” to my Interrogating Memory book
In 2005, Rupert Holmes published his second novel, a murder mystery called Swing. Being, well, Rupert Holmes, he also wrote and recorded an accompanying seven-track CD of swing-inflected music; both are well worth finding. The combination, meanwhile, led him to quip, “I’ve been singing songs from my new book.” In the past month, I received … Continue reading Crafting the “Soundtrack” to my Interrogating Memory book
Just Bear With Me turns five – and I turn the spotlight on other creators
Taegan Goddard’s must-read current events compendium Political Wire – I read the latest “stories” to my wife Nell upon awaking each day – has a members-only forum called The Cloakroom. Just over a week ago, I wrote a short piece there called “A clinically-depressed electorate?” This is the key passage: “But there is a larger … Continue reading Just Bear With Me turns five – and I turn the spotlight on other creators
HIGH FIDELITY: A misogynistic example of how NOT to interrogate memory
I recently dissected my romantic history in the context of the film Beautiful Girls. Readers are thus aware I had two serious college girlfriends, one of whom I dated freshman year; this was 1984-85. She spent the spring break of what was her sophomore year in either Manhattan or East Hampton – where she saw … Continue reading HIGH FIDELITY: A misogynistic example of how NOT to interrogate memory
And for my next book…putting the trial of Adelaide “Addie” Burns in context
I have set aside for now my planned second book, Meet Me at the Counter: A Life in Diners, to focus on a book contextualizing the trial of Addie Burns, her life and the lives of the key players within Connecticut society of the time. In this and a subsequent essay, I will begin to … Continue reading And for my next book…putting the trial of Adelaide “Addie” Burns in context
