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- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
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- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
- “I trust contrariness. I simply rebelled at being commanded.” — Seamus Heaney
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: The Merry Wives of Windsor
- “I don’t think you go to a play to forget, or to a movie to be distracted. I think life generally is a distraction and that going to a movie is a way to get back, not go away.” — Tom Noonan
- “If you don’t see the book you want on the shelves, write it.” — Beverly Cleary
- “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Review: Hamlet (2026)
- “Those evils that inflame the imagination and make the heart sick, ought not to leave the head cool.” — William Hazlitt
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- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
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Category Archives: Personal
“I trust contrariness. I simply rebelled at being commanded.” — Seamus Heaney
It’s his birthday today. For the winter issue of Liberties, I wrote about books, my father, and Seamus Heaney’s poem on Clonmacnoise. Every collection of Seamus Heaney’s work that I own, the poems, the essays, were given to me by … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, Personal, writers
Tagged Belfast, Ireland, Irish poetry, poetry, Seamus Heaney
5 Comments
In Memory of Roger Ebert: Michael, Roger & Me
Roger Ebert died 13 years ago today. I wrote about him and how he reached out to me a couple of months before he died and how it coincided exactly with the other Great Event in my life in the … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, On This Day, Personal
Tagged drama, friends, July and Half of August, Kwik Stop
8 Comments
March 2026 Snapshots
I’ve been go-go-go-go for months. Hitting a speed bump, but I’m still going. In case this isn’t clear, this means a little bit of mania. So I’m riding it out, and still saying yes to everything. Family time. Time with … Continue reading
Coming soon …
Sean Abley – whom I have known since my mid-20s – and whom I interviewed about his queer horror film anthology – thought up a project late last year, and asked a couple of writers to contribute. Abley is doing … Continue reading
The night we performed for William Hurt
It’s William Hurt’s birthday today. Back in the day, when Twitter was still a thing, I would often write long stories which occasionally went viral. My story of meeting William Hurt was one of them. When I deactivated my account, … Continue reading
February 2026 Snapshots
February is the shortest month but this February felt like it lasted two months. At least. I spent a week in New York, then a week in Chicago, and then I was basically housebound for a week because of the … Continue reading
Still no power.
They’re saying tomorrow. UPDATE: now they’re saying Friday. FRIDAY??!! I went and charged my phone in my nearly buried car. My laptop is on its last legs. I texted Mitchell to see how they were doing in Puerto Vallarta and … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
21 Comments
Thundersnow, a pine tree on fire, and plumes of black smoke across the continent
I just got back from Chicago, right in time for a blizzard whose “stats” beat the still-legendary blizzard of ’78, which brought Rhode Island to a halt for weeks. For once, the hysterical tone of the news before the storm … Continue reading
It’s Ron Eldard’s Birthday: the first famous person I interviewed
Here’s the story of the first famous person I interviewed – an actor I had admired for a long time: Mr. Ron Eldard. I saw the excellent Roadie at the Tribeca Film Festival. Eldard plays a roadie fired from his … Continue reading