In 1997, I met E.L. Doctorow at NYU. He taught me a great deal, not only about writing and editing but also about patience, and focus, and taking risks, and kindness, and good humor, and discipline, and humility. In his novel Billy Bathgate, Doctorow used “Bye Bye Blackbird” to transition through time and memory and […]
The first book I read that made me realize books could be something other than an escape—that they could also be dangerous: was Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. When I got the news yesterday that Ray had passed away, I dug out my old dog-eared mass-market copy and started re-reading. I also came across a great […]
Writer, Deity, Remover of Obstacles
St. Francis of Assisi
Perhaps the best Bollywood group dance number on a moving train. (From the 1998 movie Dil Se.)
I’m a few years late to the Italian Spiderman party, but now that I’ve met him, I’m a fan. For more, I suggest watching Episode Three of his adventures, where he fights a crocodile and forces a chicken to lay a pack of cigarettes.
Clepsydras (Water Clocks)