Nonfiction

We weren’t worthy or sure enough of ourselves to catch hold of the subjects beyond our reach –Julia Hartwig, “Meditation (On Czeslaw Milosz)”      My favorite literary feud came to its moment of crisis in 1979, in an interview … Continue reading →

“It is pleasant to read about whales through their own spectacles,” Ishmael says, and I will have to take his word for it, not having a strip of sperm whale cuticle to test out the matter for myself. He is … Continue reading →

                                      Hidden Sex  It’s arguable in some cases, indisputable in others, that writing about unrequited love yields penetrating work. It’s the particular agonizing discomfort of the emotion that gives an artist both the single-minded focus to write at … Continue reading →

A: INTERESTING OTTER FACTS A few years ago, while on a wildlife sightseeing cruise in Alaska, our boat encountered a group of North Pacific Sea Otters swimming placidly off the port bow. As the passengers scrambled about the deck, trying … Continue reading →