This essay channeling Emily Dickinson in Amherst is included in my new book The Modern Salonnière, which is available on Amazon in print and on Kindle. The 34 other essays in the book feature similar literary adventures and essays about traveling with intention. Emily Dickinson: Anguished in Amherst Emily Dickinson was presented to me in…Continue reading Anguished in Amherst
Henry Miller the Paris Years
This essay about Henry Miller in Paris is included in my new book The Modern Salonnière, which is available on Amazon in print and on Kindle. The 34 other essays in the book feature similar literary adventures and essays about traveling with intention. Henry Miller: Hungry, Homeless, Happy There’s only one historical figure I’ve ever come…Continue reading Henry Miller the Paris Years
Shadowing Petrarch in Parma
This essay is included in my new book The Modern Salonnière, which recently debuted on Amazon in print and on Kindle. The 34 other essays in the book feature similar literary adventures and traveling with intention. Shadowing Petrarch in Parma The haunting strains of a bandoneon were wafting through the drizzly air, compelling me to follow…Continue reading Shadowing Petrarch in Parma
Medieval Calamities in Paris
It was winter in Paris and the Père Lachaise Cemetery was awash in grays. The sky, the bare limbs of the trees, the pavers and the stone cladding the tombs coalesced into one monochromatic composition as I climbed the hill. I walked along a path made knotty by the roots of trees as they attempted…Continue reading Medieval Calamities in Paris
Libraries Are My Temples
Libraries are my temples, the places I go to worship my tribe. The desire to record, to put words down as a way to cement thought, to unfurl storytelling are the liturgical acts that compose a writing life when it simply cannot be resisted, and many of them begin when a book is slid from…Continue reading Libraries Are My Temples
The Architecture of Chivalry
Of course, the pose is cocky. What about Henry VIII wasn’t? Its girth is substantial and the shoulders are broad, which is not a surprise since the King had ballooned to rotundness when he wore the armor at 53 years old. He would be dead three years after he donned it during his last campaign…Continue reading The Architecture of Chivalry
The Emperor’s Displeasure
Proof that the sword is often mightier than the pen litters history with tales of displeasure. A fairly famous case is the duel between Germaine de Staël and Napoléon, whose war of words cost the author her most fervent desire—to stay in Paris and hobnob with the literary set. She might have been able to…Continue reading The Emperor’s Displeasure
The Camera Becomes King on Safari
Two men are chatting, the legs of their folding campaign chairs sunk in sere grasses. A leather box sits at their feet, spilling from it a tea service replete with silver spoons. They are the epitome of British society in the African Bush during the 1920s, their pith helmets and khakis the veritable uniform on…Continue reading The Camera Becomes King on Safari
Café Society as Cultural Interpreter
What do the Paris and New York City cafés that served as historical backdrops for some of the world’s most brilliant creatives say about the differences in France and America? Quite a lot, actually. Since the fabric of New York is woven by revolving real estate, citizens of Gotham learn not to get too attached…Continue reading Café Society as Cultural Interpreter
The Nature of Noble Loyalty
It’s spring in London and the flowers are bursting forth on Cheyne Walk, which skirts the edge of the River Thames until it gives way to the Chelsea Embankment. I have ambled along the street for nearly an hour identifying plaques representing the famous people who’ve lived on nearly every block. Finally, I’ve reached Roper’s…Continue reading The Nature of Noble Loyalty