Archive for February 2011
Guest Blog from Cairo – where the youth teach the elders
What follows is an essay sent to me by my friend, Mohamed M. Tawfik. Tawfik is an Egyptian writer and diplomat. His latest novel to appear in English, Murder in the Tower of Happiness, exposes the level of corruption that prevailed in Egypt in the last few years. “I don’t want Mubarak to go,” a…
Read MoreI Don't Write To Be Consoled
In Joyce Carol Oates’ new book, “A Widow’s Story” in which she explores grief in the aftermath of her husband’s death, she apparently decides art is a poor consolation. To be honest, I haven’t read the book, but I thought it was an interesting thing to say. I had to ask myself whether or not…
Read MoreThe Forgiveness Cure
I’m in the midst of editing my new novel, OUR DAILY BREAD, which will be released in the US in September. It’s the story of what happens in a small town when, for generations, certain folks have been ostracized, pushed away and left to fend for themselves. Considered Those People—beyond the pale, beyond redemption—they become…
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