Over the weekend, Erin, in London, sent me this powerful, heartening essay entitled "Why Some of Us Thrive in a Crisis" by Vivian Gornick. In it, Gornick turns to Natalia Ginzburg in search of some understanding of what is happening to us in this very strange time. Ginzburg speaks to me at all times, but …
Silver Linings (60) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Big Read
At a semi-regular Zoom quarantini with Ann Goldstein and Mary Norris, something I look forward to all week (although what's a week anymore?), I learned from Ann that Mary had recently written about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Big Read. What's that? I asked, intrigued. Mary told me, humbly and with a laugh, to …
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Silver Linings (59) Tell Me About A Complicated Man & Persephone Books
I am a huge fan of Emily Wilson--and was beyond honored to see my name next to hers in the Guggenheim Fellowship translation category. How she thinks about, and advocates for, translation has done so much for the art and practice. She has also, with her translation of The Odyssey, led us to rethinking how …
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Silver Linings (58) The New Covid Music
Sent to me by Rick, this little clip of Somi is so uplifting! "Somi's songs gracefully fuse African-tinged grooves, supple jazz singing and compassionate social consciousness; they're both serious and seductive." -The New York Times The Baryshnikov Arts Center has been offering a weekly video series of performances from their archives including this one from …
Silver Linings (57) The New COVID Nature
On my run in Riverside Park yesterday evening, I came across Rocky Raccoon observing from his perch the new world of masked humans. He, of course, believes he's responsible for this new fashion trend. When I'm not outside in the overcrowded park where I am dodging bikers, scooters, and fellow runners, I am enjoying nature …
Silver Linings (56) The New COVID Comedy
This Comedienne, Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr), is a genius. And this: And this one of Cuomo talking about his daughter's boyfriend is pretty great too:
Silver Linings (55) Vinceremo!
Just a little heads up...I hope to go to Italy in early June to work on my Guggenheim translation project. It is, of course, still very unclear if this will actually happen, but hope springs eternal. If and when I do go, I will move Silver Linings to once a week.
Silver Linings (54) Trouble in Paradise
Join me tonight at 6pm in escaping to the classic Hollywood kind of trouble in paradise with the incredible director Ernst Lubitsch's 1932 romantic comedy that everyone should see at least once in their lives if only for what film historian Theodor Huff called “the last word in Modernistic décor.” In fact, this screening is …
Silver Linings (53) Martha McPhee at The Center for Fiction
Mark your calendars and register now. It will be so fun to see you all there to celebrate Martha and her sweeping, elegant new novel. TUESDAY 6/2 AT 7:30PM ET | FREE Martha McPhee Launches An Elegant Woman in Conversation with Julia Phillips Celebrate the June 2 release of Martha McPhee’s novel An Elegant Woman, published by Scribner. Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth (shortlisted …
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Silver Linings (52) Let’s All Be Co-Conspirators Now
As Covid-19 daily gives us further and stark evidence of the devastating systemic inequalities in our society in which black and brown lives are so much more expendable than white lives, I urge you to watch this short clip shared with me yesterday by my sister Joan Sullivan, educator in Los Angeles. It features …
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Jenny McPhee 