Happy birthday, Kenzaburō Ōe! Here are some quotes from this marvelous writer: “I am the kind of writer who rewrites…
“I’m hanging on to life for dear life.”
Happy birthday, Derek Jarman! Here are some quotes from the brilliant filmmaker: “But the wind does not stop for my…
“You practice and you get better. It’s very simple.”
Happy birthday, Philip Glass! 82, today! Here are some quotes from the great composer: “I always knew what I wanted…
Anton Chekhov on Life, Love, Death, Writing, Happiness, and More
Happy birthday, Anton Chekhov(!), great Russian playwright and short story writer, about whom George Saunders wrote: That’s one of my…
Colette on Writing, Passion, Solitude, Despair, and More
Happy birthday, Colette! Here are some quotes from this great writer: “Put down everything that comes into your head and…
Alice Neel on Art, Freedom, Chekhov, and More
Happy birthday, Alice Neel! Here are some quotes from and paintings by this extraordinary artist: “Art is two things: a…
Claes Oldenburg on Art and Life and Other “Possibilities”
Happy birthday, Claes Oldenburg! 90, today! Here are some of his marvelous sculptures highlights from his wonderful “Ode to Possibilities“:…
Virginia Woolf on Life, Death, and Writing, and More
Some wonderful quotes by Virginia Woolf’s on the occasion of her birthday.
My Year in Reading: 2018
Despite 2018’s many local, national, and global catastrophes, it was a wonderful year for me, especially reading-wise. I read over…
Guest Post: New Fiction is Psychic Occupation by Suspended Reason
New Fiction is Psychic Occupation Fiction—or more generally, longform narrative text—has long been the handyman of culture, serving whatever functions…









