Take the Neo-Nazis Bowling
Today in my state capital, which is a largely African-American city, neo-nazis are apparently holding a rally in front of the state house. Reports say 100 such young men are scheduled to show up, wave banners and shout whatever they think is important. Another group of people, the New Black Panthers, are planning to counter-protest. …
Read MoreThe Cranky Muse
Last month during the Sharpening the Quill writing workshop I lead here in Princeton, one of my students mentioned that although her lifelong dream has been to be a writer, she’s been plagued over the past year or so by a series of illnesses that have kept her from writing as much as she’d like. …
Read MoreMister Pip & The Company of Angels
I haven’t posted any book reviews recently, so I thought today I’d share with you a couple of books I read recently and particularly liked: MISTER PIP by Lloyd Jones: I adored this book. Devoured it. Jones understands character like few other writers. MISTER PIP is narrated by Matilda, a young girl living on a…
Read MoreThe Beloved Face in the Crowd
The news is tough. Civil unrest. Cruel dictators slaughtering their people. Earthquakes. Tsunamis. Nuclear disasters. It’s easy to become overwhelmed, and to want to tune out completely. That’s what happens when we’re deluged by unfathomable numbers. When we hear entire villages have vanished in the recent tsunami in Japan, how does the mind take it…
Read MoreWho are 'we'?
My new book, OUR DAILY BREAD, which will be out in September explores the idea of ‘us’ vs ‘them’. Who do we consider members of our community, of our family, of our tribe? As many of you know, I spend a lot of time in church basement rooms with other people who want to stay…
Read MoreGuest 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…
Read MoreDeath Be Not Proud
“Death is a test of one’s maturity. Everyone has got to get through it on their own. I want very much to die. I want to become part of that vast extraordinary light. But dying is hard work. Death is in control of the process, I cannot influence its course. All I can do is…
Read MoreFamiliarity breeds….
I’m in the process of editing my manuscript, OUR DAILY BREAD, which will be published in the fall. Now, I’ve read this manuscript probably thirty times. My Best Beloved, who is also my first reader, has probably read it five times. My agent has read it at least once. My editor has read it a…
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