Reflections
clarity in a mirror
?gnoig ti s’woh, sdneirf yeh
Some days, the light is just perfect.
In the theater, perfect lighting means a better play. (I went to see three shows this week: Okuni (which was a small show about the woman who founded Kabuki—best part was the drumming), Maybe Happy Ending (which I wholeheartedly recommend without reservation to anyone who loves musicals - it is not messagy, is is not political, it is about the human condition and it is funny, wry, real (despite being about robots falling in love (is it permissible to have parenthesis within parentheses?) (yes, if you close them properly)), and sung through without showstoppers or dancing, it is just wonderful - and the sets and lighting enhance an already excellent book), and The Blood Quilt (which you can read the review for yourself in today’s NYTimes).)
(Did I get those parentheses right? It’s going to keep me up at night.)
In real life good lighting helps too. I find on days like today, I feel the clarity of the air reflected in my thoughts and my mood. My problems seem surmountable (if very large) and my attitude is one of pleasure seeking without guilt, just enjoyment of the little things in life, while I do the stuff that needs doing with as much grace as I can muster.
Writing News
I’m writing.
You can watch me talk to authors on this video of last week’s literary salon, if you want to.
Some things I did this week (in addition to theater) - I read a new poem (!!) at the East Village Wordsmith’s reading series on MEMORY at Book Club in Manhattan.
I went to Brooklyn Books & Booze (I love this series and I love the Brooklyn bar it is held in) to support the prolific and genre-bending author Terese Svoboda and ended up running into a guy whose book I was hired to edit in 2015 when it was still in early ideation for a manuscript stages — now Shiva Kumar has a whole trilogy out set in the world he was just inventing back then!
Then I took a break from readings and theater and attended NoirVember….a screening of a film from 1964 called The Naked Kiss. Want a crazy movie? Find this mad thing and prepare to pick your jaw up off the floor.
Finally, I spent Saturday at The Mosaic Literary Conference in the Bronx celebrating James Baldwin at 100. I attended two excellent sessions (the literary organization that organized this is called the Literary Freedom Project and it is just fantastic) — one session was “The Body Knows: Writing as Witness” run by Antoinette Cooper and then a fascinating panel “Baldwin and Black Masculinities: Then And Now.”
Random Final Thought
Is it just me or is everyone plagued by the fact that “remember this browser” does NOTHING to remember the browser and you still have to verify the browser every single time you log in to many often-used platforms? How is this not yet fixed? What a time-waste. Sigh!
I was just so utterly tickled by this sign in the parking garage of Lincoln Center. We need this on 42nd Street on a big billboard.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends. I’m so grateful that you exist. Readers give a writer meaning. Thanks for being there.
(also, Happy Birthday Mom!)
I’m glad i was born - now there is you and your siblings and grandchildren!🥰
Right back atcha!