Archive for June 2025
Looking backward at the Next Big Thing
by David Benjamin But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy! — Robert Burns Eighteen years ago, when mobile telephony was only “3G” and “smartphones” were still…
Read MoreThe florid first page
by David Benjamin “My father was a stuffy man.” ―William Goldman, The Temple of Gold, first paragraph MADISON, Wis.—A while ago, I was stationed among my books at Literatus & Co., an airy and comfortable bookstore in Watertown, Wis. During a lull in my lull-intensive author appearance, I plucked a book from a display and……
Read MoreWho was that masked man?
by David Benjamin “… You may never know which colleague posted your address on the internet or which neighbor anonymously reported your undocumented status to ICE. But, say, when those immigration agents show up at your asylum hearing, you can bet that at least some of them will be wearing masks and hiding their identities,…
Read MoreA wedding in Tokyo
by David Benjamin “… [Kilmar] Abrego García and [Jennifer] Vasquez Sura — who had married through a glass partition at the ICE detention center… ” ― Washington Post, 19 Apr. MADISON, Wis.—On our lavatory wall in Paris, there’s one of those “What’s wrong with this picture?” puzzles. There are, in the photo, about two dozen…
Read MoreThe unbearable whiteness of being
by David Benjamin “This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men.” —President Andrew Johnson, 1866 MADISON, Wis.—It did not occur to me, until maybe my eighth birthday, that I was white. Once that awareness had sunk in, I shrugged…
Read MoreThe homogeneity fallacy
by David Benjamin “It’s important for authors to be flexible, but they should keep writing what they love to write. Writing is a profession, I understand, but it is also an art. Be true to it.” ―Kailin Gow MADISON, Wis.—Lately, the suppression of “diversity” has become the political mission of the right wing not just……
Read MoreMy annual soccer tirade
by David Benjamin “I am lucky enough in my life to come across some of the most talented athletes in soccer. And President Trump is made of the same sort of fibre.” —Gianni Infantino, FIFA president PARIS—Largely because I depend on its frequent flyer program for early boarding and free luggage, I’ve been “loyal” to…
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