Fortunately, I believe that today a revival of interest in making bread is in full swing. People are learning that it is possible to make as little as one loaf at a time with a minimum of effort--or perhaps two loaves, with one for the freezer. They are also learning the extraordinary sense of satisfaction…
"I was sad all day, and why not. There I was, books piled on both sides of the table, paper stacked up, words falling off my tongue.The robins had been a long time singing, and now it was beginning to rain.What are we sure of? Happiness isn't a town on a map, or an early…
Peace goes into the making of a poem as flour goes into the making of bread. -Pablo NerudaAbout a month ago, on a frigid night in North Beach, a friend asked me if I cook everyday. While there was a part of her that looked appalled at the possibility that I did, it seemed there was…
What is success?To laugh often and much;To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;To appreciate beauty;To find the best in others;To leave the world a bit better, whether bya healthy child, a gardenpatch or a redeemed social…
The concept of stairs in the traditional sense was also something the world no longer needed. Stairs represented a teleological view of the universe, of one thing leading to another, whereas now everyone knew that one thing didn't lead to another but often nowhere at all.-Jeffrey Eugenides (Middlesex)Maybe things can sometimes lead nowhere, but, in…
The resultant internal conflict is nowhere more clearly seen than in Crime and Punishment. The characters seem drawn from an imagined hell and yet...'We have never met them, but they are mysteriously familiar to us. We understand and love them, and finally we recognize ourselves in them. This is because they are no more abnormal…
There is a silence where hath been no sound. -Thomas Hood ("Silence") I know I've written about pizza before, but, frankly, when all is said and done, it's something worth revisiting again and again. Pizza is just one of those irresistible comfort foods: you put whatever you're in the mood for on top of a…
"But when we sit together close, we melt into each other with phrases. We are edged with mist. We make an unsubstantial territory."-Virginia Woolf (The Waves)My life is generally all about words these days--finalizing the conference paper, grading assignments and responding to this batch of revised papers. But even though I'm still racing to get…
To sing this small but remarkable thing, one had absolutely--yes, absolutely--to have a full, genuine inspiration, a genuine passion or its full poetic assimilation. Otherwise the romance would not only fail altogether, but might even appear outrageous and all but something shameless: it would be impossible to show such intensity of passionate feeling without provoking…
Dining with Dostoevsky 