A photographic response to It Came From Memphis by Robert Gordon. Last month, I discussed It Came From Memphis, Robert Gordon’s wonderful 1995 book about the misfits of the Memphis music scene. I wrote that I wanted to drive around town and take pictures of the locales mentioned in the book–the bars, clubs, recording studios, and […]
Detail from the Bayeux Tapestry What could a battle in AD 1066 possibly have to do with you? It was 945 years ago today that William the Bastard, the duke of Normandy, led his troops to victory over Harold II, the king of England. At first blush, this may not seem relevant to you, but […]
My grandmother at the Bay of Naples, 1998. In 2003, I had the luxury of spending a few days with my grandmother, Amelia Anita Crescenzo, and her brother (my great-uncle), Richard Perillo. I knew that the two of them had some great stories that I wanted to talk to them about, so I got out […]
This photograph, taken in the 1850s, may be only the second known image of the reclusive American poet. In a letter to her friend, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Emily Dickinson described her personal appearance with these lines: “[I] am small, like the Wren, and my hair is bold, like the Chestnut bur–and my eyes, like the Sherry […]
It seems that there is never enough time to do all the reading I want to do. That’s why, whenever I am faced with any meaningful amount of time away from teaching, I grab a handful of books and get at it. Below is the second installment in my “Time Enough At Last” series, in […]
Do you ever wish life came with an instruction manual? It does. Benedict wrote it. Benedict was born in Nursia, Italy, around 480. He was born in the years following the collapse of the Roman Empire, and the world he entered was one of confusion and chaos. Many people were turning away from society and […]
I leave for a six-week seminar at Yale University on Friday, and I am reflecting upon the many, many remarkable people who have studied there. As a preparation for starting my work there, I have written a little about ten Yalies that I find particularly interesting. Most of them graduated from the university, but some […]