“Memory, in short, is engraved not merely by the life we have led but by the life of the mind…by all the lives we so nearly led but missed by an inch, and—if we grant enough leeway to the imagination—by the lives of others, which can cut into ours every bit as sharply as our own experience.” – Anthony Lane, writing about W.G. Sebald in The New Yorker (May 29, 2000)
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Tag Archives: writing
This Day (Origami Boxes)
The day feels slow and languid and long and loud and like it is rushing by. The pressing weight of grief. Precise and heavy and yet simultaneously diffuse, and everywhere. And, outside, the sun shines. And on the radio: old … Continue reading
Simon Critchley writes of science and creativity—memory and morality
The New York Times published a beautiful essay on science, creativity, human morality and fallibility by Simon Critchley this past weekend, “The Dangers of Certainty: A Lesson from Auschwitz.” Critchley writes of his childhood memories of the science show “The … Continue reading
Old Memories and New Stories
A new year, and there is much talk about resolutions and what lies ahead. I’ve been engaging in this looking forward too, aspiring and hoping for this or that to receive more time, energy, success…. But in the midst of … Continue reading
Posted in Grief & grieving, Memory, Suicide, War, Writing & Reading
Tagged André Aciman, dyslexia, Failure, memory, Neurodiversity, Philip Schultz, poetry, revising, Sholom Aleichem, veterans, writing
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On writing and war—voices of veterans
This morning, instead of heading out for a longed-for run in that quiet half hour between the kids’ departure for school and the forward rush of my day, I sat down to glance at the Times and got swallowed up … Continue reading
Jam in my purse—and unsticking the novel
Rule number one, never put jam in your purse, even if you think it will come in handy for the Dramamine your son needs in order not to throw up. When it comes down to it, would you rather have … Continue reading
Posted in COUNTRIES OF LOST THINGS, DOWN THE STREET..., Memory, War, Writing & Reading
Tagged adultery, bosnia, Countries of Lost Things, fiction, motherhood, parenting, writing
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How shy are you? – Some thoughts on thoughtfulness
These past weeks I have been mulling over the need for solitude. Why do we need it? When do we need it? Does everyone need it? What do we even mean by solitude? What do I mean? Sometimes we stumble … Continue reading
Posted in Grief & grieving, Memoir, Memory, Motherhood, Suicide, Writing & Reading
Tagged dyslexia, Hanif Kureishi, introvert, Judith Warner, Memorial Day, parenting, reading, Ritalin, shyness, solitude, Susan Cain, writing
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“Welcome to Girl Land, my good little girls!”—Thank you Marlo Thomas and Friends
Caitlin Flanagan has a new book out. When a writer of a certain standing (read: excellent agent and/or energy-filled editor and publicist) is about to publish (again or for the first time), her name begins to pop up, there and … Continue reading
Posted in COUNTRIES OF LOST THINGS, Grief & grieving, Memory, Motherhood, Writing & Reading
Tagged 1970s, Caitlin Flanagan, divorce, Girl Land, grief, housewife, Joan Didion, motherhood, writer, writing
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Witness—the Holocaust, suicide, and memory (coincidence redux)
A few weeks ago, someone recommended the book Spectral Evidence to me, which, among other things, includes World War II photos from the Łódź Ghetto, the Nazis’ Jewish quarter in this major Polish city. I wrote the book title down … Continue reading
My Father’s Guns (part 4) – Final Installment
©2007, originally published in Center: A Journal of the Literary Arts, Vol. 6, “My Father’s Guns,” by Kara Frye My Father’s Guns IV. Travel back. The early eighties: I might have been ten or eleven, and Dad had recently been … Continue reading
My Father’s Guns (part 3)
©2007, originally published in Center: A Journal of the Literary Arts, Vol. 6, “My Father’s Guns,” by Kara Frye My Father’s Guns III. Stewart’s Gun Shop in Bloomington is on South Walnut, a side street perpendicular to central downtown. I’d … Continue reading
Posted in EXIT WOUND: Suicide is Not a Love Story, Memoir, Memory, Suicide
Tagged BATF, depression, divorce, father-daughter relationships, grief, gun laws, memoir, memory, suicide, suicide survivors, writing
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