Tillie Olsen’s name keeps popping up in my literature classes, always alongside the likes of Hemingway, Joyce, and Woolf. At first, I thought she was just another old-school writer who happened to be a woman, but the more I read…
I was making breakfast this morning when I found myself thinking about Pandora. During her last visit, she seemed quieter than usual. Nothing dramatic—just a little distracted. She sipped her coffee, stared out the window for a while, and seemed…
As we rebuild our daily habits this spring, it’s worth considering the valu value of paring down our routines to their essential components. In my own experience, simplifying
When the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts first opened its doors in Moscow on May 31, 1912, the city was on the brink of a transformation it could not yet name. Russia was still an empire, its monarchies and ministries…
Georg Lukacs. I’ve been thinking about him a lot lately, trying to untangle why his ideas keep slipping into my mind like a loose thread on an old sweater. As I sit here with my laptop open, staring at the…
I was making a cup of coffee this morning when I started thinking about Pandora. During her last few visits, she’d left her keys in different places instead of keeping them in her purse like she normally does. It wasn’t…
Lou Andreas-Salomé has been on my mind a lot lately, ever since I stumbled upon her name while researching women writers of the early 20th century. At first, it was just a fleeting curiosity – who is this woman and…
I’m sitting on Pandora’s couch, staring at her phone still sitting on the coffee table. She rushed out this morning and forgot it. I only noticed because Lady Beatrice Wellington III has been sitting next to it for the last…
Paul Klee’s work has been a constant presence in my life, even though I’ve never met him. His paintings are like fragments of my own thoughts – abstract, yet somehow familiar. I find myself drawn to his use of color…
Pandora’s scarf had been sitting on the armrest of the couch for nearly an hour, and for some reason I couldn’t stop staring at it. It wasn’t messy exactly, but it wasn’t neatly folded either. It just sat there in…
As the seasons transition, and with it, our routines, I find myself witness witnessing a peculiar phenomenon. In an attempt to reboot and rebuild their their daily habits,
I’ve always been drawn to Nadine Gordimer’s writing, but it wasn’t until I was in college that I truly began to grasp the depth of her work. As a writer myself, I find myself returning to her novels again and…
Karen was fifteen minutes late coming back with the milk, and somehow my brain had already convinced itself she was either missing, kidnapped, or secretly involved in some elaborate emotional conspiracy. The worst part was that the apartment suddenly felt…
Pierre Curie’s smile keeps popping into my head. I’ve only seen pictures of him, but there’s something about the way his eyes crinkle at the corners that makes me feel like he might be smiling directly at me. It’s a…
I’m sitting in the living room watching Pandora type away on her laptop when something catches my eye. She has a mug of coffee beside her, but it is not the coffee I made this morning. I know that because…
As I observe the city’s streets, now filled with the gentle warmth of sprin spring, it’s striking to see how this season of renewal has become an excus
Mary McCarthy’s words keep slipping into my mind, like fragments of a puzzle I’m trying to assemble. I first encountered her as an undergraduate, studying her novels and essays alongside the greats. But it was her reputation – or rather,…
I’m making coffee while John Mercer sits at the table with Pandora, chatting quietly. Dave’s guitar case is on the couch behind him, but Dave himself is nowhere to be seen. Karen left a note on the fridge saying she’ll…
Fernando Pessoa has been a constant presence in my life, lurking in the margins of my thoughts like a whispered secret. I first encountered him in a literature class during my senior year of college, where we devoured his poetry…
As spring arrives with its promise of renewal, the fashion world awakens fr from its winter slumber. Amidst the flurry of fresh trends and must-haves, one fabric stands
