Posts by David Benjamin
The souls of white folks
by David Benjamin “… De Crawfishes, honey. Dey bo’d inter de groun’ en kep’ on bo’in twel dey onloost de fountains er de yeth; en de waters squirt out, en riz higher twel de hills wuz kivvered en de creeturs wuz all drowned; en all bekaze dey let on ‘mong deyselves dat dey wuz bigger…
Read MoreWriting in lost wax
How is a novel in progress like an unfinished sculpture in bronze? The similarity lies in the gruntwork that follows a burst of inspiration and the molding of the narrative. by David Benjamin During my Boston days, I made friends with a sculptor from New Hampshire, Allen Taylor, who worked in a technique known as……
Read MoreThere’s something in a hat (besides a raccoon)
by David Benjamin “Wide brimmed and narrow, some tall, some not, some fancy, some colorful, some plaid, some plain. She doted on changing hats at every opportunity. When she met the Prince, she was wearing one hat, when he asked her for a stroll, she excused herself, shortly to return wearing another, equally flattering.” — William…
Read MoreUnstatesmanlike conduct
by David Benjamin ““January 6 happened, and … I will tell you something. If Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, it would’ve been armed.” — Marjorie Taylor Greene MADISON, Wis.— During the same week that Kevin McCarthy sniveled, groveled and weaseled his way into an impotent Speakership…
Read MoreA nose for news
by David Benjamin I worked a while in the unlikely capacity of public relations flack for a consultancy in Boston. The saving grace of this assignment was my boss, the estimable Patrick Pollino, a paragon of old-school—ethical—public relations. More important, he was an editor with few peers. One of Patrick’s “products” at Arthur D. Little,……
Read MoreJack Smith throws in the towel
by David Benjamin “I don’t take responsibility at all.” — Trump WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a shocking Friday the 13th bombshell, Jack Smith, a Justice Department special counsel assigned by Attorney General Merrick Garland to hound Donald Trump to his grave, announced that all investigations of the ex-president have been indefinitely suspended. Smith, who brought to his…
Read MoreYuletide blowback
by David Benjamin “My road of good intentions/ Led where such roads always lead/ No good deed/ Goes unpunished … ” — Idina Menzel, from Wicked THE NORTH POLE — For a few days after Christmas Eve, Santa Claus is dead to the world, sleeping off his whirlwind journey, soothing the bruises from squeezing…
Read MoreA definition of winter
by David Benjamin “Winter is icumen in,/ Lhude sing Goddamm,/ Raineth drop and staineth slop,/ And how the wind doth ramm!/ Sing: Goddamm…” — Ezra Pound, “Ancient Music” MADISON, Wis.—When does winter start? Although I’ve seen a hell of a lot of winter by now, I hesitate to pin down the exact moment that…
Read MoreThe telling detail
by David Benjamin I recently read a nicely crafted mystery by James Bradberry, Ruins of Civility. In his story, Bradberry describes each setting and character in long, meticulous paragraphs. Since the novel is set among the architecture faculty at Cambridge University, it’s appropriate for the author to apply this close scrutiny to the physical aspects……
Read MoreSmart movie comedies you’ve probably never seen
by David Benjamin “One after another, films for grownups have failed…” — Brooks Barnes, New York Times PARIS — My favorite movie genre is the smart comedy, a category born, I believe, with Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 tour de force, Modern Times. The most cohesive and trenchant of Chaplin’s work, Modern Times set a standard…
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