practical

I’m a very casual gardener, and when a pest eats a seedling I’d just planted or when the lettuce seeds I sowed never sprout because of heavy rains, I think, “thank the gods I don’t need to actually grow enough food to feed us.” My thoughts wander: what practical skills do I have that would … Continue reading practical →

back on the water

In a long ago blog post, when I was teaching in New Jersey, I wrote about seeing an 8-person shell on the lake I drove past to get to campus on a March morning, an early sign of spring: It's an idyllic sight—the long, narrow shell with eight oars slicing the water in unison toward … Continue reading back on the water →

paris is a palimpsest

After we’d been dating for about a year, my boyfriend, a graduate student of comparative literature at a nearby university in southern California, got a fellowship to study in Paris for the year, and I received a dissertation fellowship from my English department, freeing me from teaching obligations. To save money, I returned home to … Continue reading paris is a palimpsest →

road trips revisted: point/counterpoint

Soon, we’ll be taking a road trip to the Northeast with the kids to visit friends and family. This seemed a good time to reprise these two blog posts about road trips from July 2006, one from me and one from my spouse. Although we wrote these a couple years before we started our family … Continue reading road trips revisted: point/counterpoint →

obsolete

I just saw a funny meme on Facebook about a mom teaching her kids to put gas in the car. After the lesson, one kid says, “thanks, but I’m not going to be driving a gas car” and the other kid says, “it’s like that time you taught us how to use a pay phone.” … Continue reading obsolete →

#14 – may 20: bartleby the seventh grader

“Can you keep your camera on during class?” I would prefer not to. “How about catching up on your homework assignments today?” I would prefer not to. “It’s a beautiful day; you should get outside.” I would prefer not to. “Do you want to meet up with a friend today?” I would prefer not to. … Continue reading #14 – may 20: bartleby the seventh grader →

#13 — february 14: J. Hillis Miller, a remembrance

I found out from a Facebook post that famed literary critic J. Hillis Miller had died of Covid on Feb. 7 at age 92. Professor Miller was my dissertation advisor at UC Irvine, where I was in graduate school for most of the ‘90’s. By the time I’d enrolled in his seminar, he’d been a … Continue reading #13 — february 14: J. Hillis Miller, a remembrance →