Archive for November 2022
How to behave in the stoic reserve
by David Benjamin “I have against me the bourgeois, the military and the diplomats, and for me, only the people who take the Métro.” — Charles de Gaulle PARIS — Hotlips and I indulged last night in our fifth or sixth viewing of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in Charade, during which the two…
Read MoreChoosing reality
by David Benjamin “Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape?” — J.R.R. Tolkien PARIS — The first college classroom I ever entered contained a long table, at the head of which presided John Bennett, a reputedly distinguished…
Read MoreShaking the dust
by David Benjamin “… I don’t have good news. [The Artistic Committee] were interested in participating but the language was of great concern. ACT is very firm about not using swear words or using the Lord’s name in vain. Also our audiences frown upon any ‘f’ words so we really keep the dialog clean …”…
Read MoreThe nexus of fiction and journalism
Many storytellers serve a writing apprenticeship in journalism. The skills essential to good reporting are valuable tools to the author of fiction. But the habits of journalism can also be a handicap. One author who made the transition most memorably was Ernest Hemingway. by David Benjamin I learned “AP style” by absorption. By the time……
Read MoreWhat if they gave a game and nobody (black) came?
by David Benjamin “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words…
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