Sunday, June 17, 2018
On this Father's Day, here are four terrific recent pieces I've been lucky to come across — two very short essays, two short poems — that capture this part of life so well: "Mum's the Word," by Rivka Galchen"What is Possible," by Mohsin Hamid "To White Noise," by Carrie Fountain"Poem Without Sleep," by Carrie FountainSunday, May 20, 2018
I don't think I've ever been more moved by an audio story than I was listening to this two-part podcast episode called "The Choice": In April of 1992, Nada Rothbart was living happily in Sarajevo, Bosnia, with her husband and two young sons–till the night the Bosnian Civil War broke out on the street in front of her home. By the time they recognized what was happening–it was too late; Nada was trapped with her children, surrounded by tanks and snipers.Aleksandar Hemon on “Katastrofa”: A superb and insightful essay on language and family.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Continuing a 17-year tradition, I’m happy to share my Annual Favorites list for the year 2017: Family Let’s start with the best thing that happened to my family this year, which is the arrival of Sylvia Huremović Schenkenberg in late April. We’re still smiling at her the way Leo was above, just a few days in. Books My Struggle: Book 5, Karl Ove Knausgård Blind Spot, Teju Cole Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia RankineTuesday, October 24, 2017
For The New Yorker Radio Hour, Joshua Rothman walks Central Park with one of my favorite living writers. I especially loved this bit, which comes after Knausgaard is asked about the differences between the way children and adults go through their days: I have four children, and maybe when I spend a summer day with them, it is like nothing. Time is just passing. There’s nothing remarkable happening. It’s like the world is not attached to me, and I’m not attached to the world anymore.Tuesday, May 9, 2017
A special piece by Daniel Mendelsohn about Homer's epic, his father and a journey they took together.Saturday, January 28, 2017
I have endless gratitude for and pride in the America that welcomed refugees I would be lucky enough to get to know and love, with my wife and her parents at the top of the list.Wednesday, December 28, 2016
From "The Secret Life of Time," published in The New Yorker: Years ago, long before I had children or was even married, a friend with children said, “The thing about having kids is that after a while you forget what it was like before you had them.” The idea was shocking. Busy enough with my own life, I couldn’t envisage a future self whose comings and goings were circumscribed, apparently happily, by the wants and needs of people half my size.Saturday, August 20, 2016
I’ve long chuckled at Roz Chast’s cartoons in The New Yorker. This graphic memoir, the first such book I’ve read, was so much more than a chuckle: funny, yes — but direct, deeply poignant, sharply observant. It’s hard to think about someone more perfectly born and raised to write (and draw) one specific book. Having finished the book, I’m looking forward to listening to this “Fresh Air” interview with the author.Wednesday, May 4, 2016
From his extraordinary book, When Breath Becomes Air: When you come to one of the many moments in life where you must give an account of yourself, provide a ledger of what you have been, and done, and meant to the world, do not, I pray, discount that you filled a dying man’s days with a sated joy, a joy unknown to me in all my prior years, a joy that does not hunger for more and more but rests, satisfied.Monday, July 22, 2013
"> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " style="max-width:500px;"> <div style="padding-bottom:99.599998474121%;" class=" image-block-wrapper has-aspect-ratio "> <img src="http://sschenkenberg.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/9f168-leo-2-months-in.png" alt="leo-2-months-in.png" /><img class="thumb-image" alt="leo-2-months-in.png" /> </div> </figure> </div>Saturday, May 25, 2013
"> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " style="max-width:550px;"> <div style="padding-bottom:99.454544067383%;" class=" image-block-wrapper has-aspect-ratio "> <img src="http://sschenkenberg.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/02ca4-image-asset.jpeg" alt="" /><img class="thumb-image" alt="" /> </div> </figure> </div> Meet Leo Huremovic Schenkenberg — born Saturday May 18, 2013. Tamara was amazing. And Leo’s a little gem. Onward, sleepily and smiling.Saturday, January 12, 2013
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