Culture
Listening for Autumn Leaves
Last month, I submitted my book manuscript, a biography of H. P. Lovecraft and his New York City period, to my publisher, capping nearly two years of imaginative immersion and intensive writing. Now, I’m waiting for the peer reviewers’ critiques, a nerve-racking experience familiar to anyone who has worked with an academic journal or press.…
A Christmas Star
With the emergence of a worrisome new COVID-19 variant, nightmarish climate forecasts, and the full embrace of unscientific and undemocratic thinking by a substantive percentage of the American voting public, this Christmas season feels more emotionally challenging than last year. “Normal” life resembles a distant memory more than an object just in sight. For that…
A Dispatch from the Study
Quiet solitude is the natural environment for most writers. However, the grinding isolation and stress of the ongoing pandemic tests everyone’s psychological mettle. Then came the Capitol insurrection last month. The future remains, at best, unsettled. Most days, frightening. Still, we can find solace, relief, and daresay meaning in our day-to-day routines and pursuits. Here…
A View from Hudson
Last weekend, I traveled to the Hudson River Valley to begin production on a short film documentary. The view of the Hudson River from the train never fails to thrill and inspire me. This waterway and region holds such a mythic space in American arts and letters. In a small way, this film project initiated…
A Paean to a City
The seemingly never-ending COVID-19 pandemic has shredded municipal budgets and tax bases. A regular cycle of news stories darkly speculate as to the health of the American city. Essential services–mass transit, public parks, schools–seem imperiled. The current presidential administration and its conservative allies delight at the situation. At best, the future of our cites seem…
Coping with COVID-19
Like many people across the United States, my wife and I have been practicing social distancing and self-isolation since the COVID-19 pandemic began several weeks ago. This marks my fifth week and her fourth week working remotely. We leave our house as little as possible. We miss sitting in our favorite neighborhood cafe. We miss…
A Booklover’s Paradise
My friend and I enjoyed a recent Friday evening at the Morgan Library & Museum. We approached our visit with a seriousness and devotion associated with a religious pilgrimage.
Jersey City Funding the Arts? Maybe
Recently, the Jersey City council approved a ballot referendum for creating an arts trust fund in Jersey City. The proposal would dedicate permanent revenue for local arts and culture organizations. A small additional property tax would collect an estimated $800,000 to $1,000,000 per year–all for the arts.
