Fighting with the Buddha
Why would I not desire a good Camembert, or a sweater soft as a lamb?
Dispatches
Jennie C. Jones and Fred Eversley at the Pulitzer, and the Perception of a Divided Life
In a museum, we often try to understand what a painting means and where it is coming from, placing ourselves at the center of the experience. This sculpture removed me completely. I was forced to look outward instead of inward, as if I were seeing a world that existed without me.
What Is It With the Knives?
Of course knives have utility. It is just that not everything they do is ultimately useful, or always under our control.
Devotion to Authenticity
I treasure memories of tomahawk-throwing at Fort de Chartres, sitting in a voyageur canoe, and watching costumed troops drill. In some way I am still trying to unpack, it helped set up my young mind to think of this part of the Midwest as perpetually colonial and the West as something for the future.
The Long Goodbye to a Sofa That Would Never Die
Not once did its wood frame break down, groan under weight, or so much as emit a creaking whine. Credit must be given to the Danes who designed it and then brought it into existence. But credit must also be given to its generous spirit. My old sofa, dubbed “El Trono,” never gave up. And I never gave up on “El Trono.”
The Alabama Boy Makes Good: Hank Aaron, Legend of the Negro World
Aaron was an incredible player. He lived a long life. And he got his due, his accolades, his recognition, while he was alive. That is good. So many Black players from the Negro Leagues never did. Those Black barbers from my boyhood knew more than I did.
Remembering Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal never gave a bad performance. I remember one critic called a performance I attended bombastic. It was a late set, and a lot of musicians were in the audience. Maybe he wanted to play for them. Perhaps he did flaunt his technique a bit but it was all right with me.
Standing at the Edge of Two Worlds
Having lived in the United States for a few years, I have either struggled to understand democracy in practice or struggled to keep up with it.
The Heaviness of Memory, the Weariness of Exile
Scrolling through social media, I am reminded that today marks the fifth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. And suddenly, I realize that the heaviness I felt upon waking is not only fatigue. It is anxiety, not the kind that anticipates the future, but the kind induced by the knowledge of a past that refuses to stay past.
The Lie I Tell Myself Daily
It is the most underrated virtue in this culture....