The Duck, the Den, the Whisper, and a New Beginning

I offer the following column as representing an encouraging signpost to counteract the peculiar events we have all endured over the first few months of the year. I won’t elaborate on the nature of these events; you have your peculiar events, and I have mine. However, permit me to convey my optimistic expectations for the remaining months of the year—and permit me the prophetic suggestion that at least ninety-five percent of all the days of the remaining eight or nine months shall be quite extraordinary and...

Homework for Literary Writers

Come on inside; the door to the tool shed is never locked, and it’s not nearly so cold and lonely as the monastic cell where you ordinarily do your writing. Look around; you’ll notice that the tools are rather sturdy and simple—hammers, pruners, saws, and chisels, all exquisitely designed to be held in either hand, nothing electric or electronic. The tool shed is primarily geared to the needs of fledgling writers, but is open to everyone, including master craftsmen who may want to polish their technique from time to time, or may enter simply because they enjoy the cozy atmosphere, the books on the shelf, the aromatic sassafrass logs slowly burning in the fireplace, the absence of no...