Spike Lee and the limits of homage
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But imitation doesn’t always live up to the standard set by the original [...]
“To be loved is to be changed”
I think about this quote, "to be loved is to be changed," often when reflecting on how the people or [...]
An ode to Anna
Handing me a pamphlet on grief, the woman asked if I had a name picked out for her. I stared [...]
The cage and the jump
Let me tell you a story about cages — both visible and invisible. In the late 1960s, then–graduate student Martin [...]
Eating vs. eating
Is there a difference between eating because you have to and eating because you love food? I think there is, [...]
Fall festivals spell enchantment
Being brought up in a village in the heart of the English countryside, I remember how the narrow roads were [...]
Popes of my life, part 2
The year 1978 was the year of three popes, two papal funerals, two Conclaves, and two papal elections. This all [...]
Lens on New York: Summer 2025
There's nothing like summer in New York. It’s like Paris, where people leave the city in summertime and the [...]
“City of Miracles”
In Rome of a previous era, I once shared an apartment with a woman who said she acted on orders [...]
America in a nutshell
I recently began volunteering for Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington. Samaritan was founded by a group of Washington, D.C.-area Episcopal [...]
Dare to fly
Two artists meet one misty summer night in Rotterdam central, brought together by the green strobes and bumping bass of [...]