Work ·
Waiting
I arrive early, arrange my computer, and wait. Half an hour can pass before anyone else comes. My mind is surprisingly inventive about what that empty room might mean.
Stories & NotesThings I've
Things I've
noticed.
Music ·
A Song for Last Tuesday
My daughter can already hum One More Idea. Listening with her sent me into a question about musical phrasing, movement, and what a familiar tune might let someone do next.
Literature ·
A Wonderful Reference Book
I brought a selection of art and writing into our conversation. Harold Bloom, Beethoven’s unsent letter, two clocks, and a snail we could not see gave us quite a lot to disagree about.
Research ·
Finding Celia — Reversing Time
I disliked the mournful piano-and-strings finale. I wanted the open-hearted energy of a Y2K boy band. Only later did I begin to understand why those young voices belonged in a search for someone’s grandmother.
Music ·
Don’t Cry, My Friend — From Comfort to Celebration
My friend finds the beat with his hands and his feet. An old film melody, Irish dancing feet, and an Indian dancer’s hands began to suggest a song I would never have found by choosing a genre first.
Research ·
The Outsider in the Room
I did not lack curiosity about my parents and grandparents. I lacked sustained attention. An outsider can ask a question so obvious that nobody who grew up in that house would think to ask it.
Work ·
A Life Can Keep Creating
A serving platter that appeared at thirty family Thanksgivings may become “serving platter — $25” at an estate sale. I keep thinking about the dinner table it belonged to, and what might travel with it into the next chapter.
Family ·
Mom, why are you so brave now?
“Mom, why are you so brave now?” Vivian asked while we were putting on our ice skates. I hadn’t thought of myself as particularly brave.
Research ·
From Documentation to Encounter
A magazine caption names turquoise Naugahyde, fruitwood, brass, and fabrics that a monochrome photograph cannot show. The research began changing the way I wanted the whole encounter to unfold.
Work ·
The House I Drew for You
The drawings could tell me how a house was arranged. They could not tell me what it was like to live there. Following that difference led from architectural papers to a song.
Family ·
Now There Was Much to Explain
My relatives could see immediately what the reconstructed room had got wrong. The corrections gave us somewhere to begin: objects, arrangements, and all the things the picture had not known to ask.