The Future is Now
If you’d asked me a few years ago, only a few, whether or not I ever read dystopian fiction, I…
And Now For Something Completely Different
Take heart, readers! This post will not be yet another cry of dismay over the troubling ascendancy of Donald Trump….
Lists
As another year draws to its close and the next one edges near, there seems to be in both the…
O Canada
A flash of light rent the October sky, lasted a few short moments, and then vanished as quickly as it…
The Long Walk Across Europe
In December of 1933, a young man set out from England on a great adventure. His intention was to walk…
The Neighborhood
Can you believe it? The maple leaves are starting to turn. It seems like summer, while we’re still in the…
Savages
On the southwestern edge of the Wiltshire Downs in England, in the valley of the River Kennet, lies the ancient…
What Makes Them Do IT?
When I was in high school, a friend of mine presented me with a copy of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake…
Fruits of the Earth
Nadine Gordimer died today, the great South African writer, though I had actually sat down to write about another great…
Arrivals and Departures
The Dutch novelist, poet and journalist, Cees Nooteboom, wrote a wonderful book called Roads to Santiago. In it, the author…
Sevastapol
I’ve always found that when I want to understand something that’s happening in Russia, it helps to hit the books….
Death in Venice . . . California
When you think of Venice in literature, what do you think of? John Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice? The novels…
Holiday Reading
As we sit in front of the television watching football and trying to digest our Thanksgiving dinners, or attempt to…
Road trips
Crumbling provincial towns, the Gypsy wedding of a fourteen year old, the dismal condition of the M10 which connects Petersburg…
The Girl in the Photo
It’s that time of year again. The leaves are falling, my wormy quinces are lying under the trees waiting for…
Boat People
So, Thanksgiving is once more upon us, the season in which where I work, little lines of boys and girls…
Shorefront Anyone?
When I was an undergraduate at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England, there was a lecturer there by…
It’s Not a Riot Any More
The trial was over. The appeal had failed. The world’s press had gone home when last weekend, Maria Alyokina, age…
Carcassonne: Land of the Cathars
One summer when I was about ten years old, my mother went to the library to get some novels for…
