An Italian-American Writer & Poet with a Yankee Outsider Perspective
Yesterday morning, around 9 a.m., a hawk swooped through the backyard and sent the pigeons, sparrows, bluejays, chickadees, four cardinals, and assorted juncos and nuthatch–all making a beeline for trees or sky. This has happened before, usually in winter, when … Continued
Borgo Pinti, the street where the Women’s B&B is located, runs into the center of Florence in one direction, and in the other, toward the northern edge, toward Fiesole. Heading in that direction, you can look down narrow Borgo Pinto … Continued
In the dark of 5:30 a.m., the city of Florence rises in memory, as if I’m hovering over her, not very high up, and viewing her features and moods, wiles and compensations. Yes, her face. What does it take to … Continued
Over the weekend, after shoveling wet snow in Saint Paul, I drove off into the wilds of Minneapolis for a shower. Funny usage, that “shower” for a women’s gathering to shower a new bride with presents. I suspect commercial connivage … Continued
A dear friend, retired from teaching Art History at the University of Minnesota, leads “study abroad” courses to Florence or Rome for undergraduates. Usually his students are native Minnesotans, attending the “land grant” university where their own parents may have … Continued
Odd what moments stand out. When I look back on our excursion from Umbria south into Lazio (the Italian province which contains Rome), I find myself outside a church in Viterbo, gazing over the main piazza of the city. Just … Continued
Thanks to the suavity and generosity of the upcoming bride and groom, the parents involved in this soon-to-be wedding have sat down to a meal together. It was a heady affair, at least for the older generation. We discovered paths … Continued
In Minnesota Scandinavia, the Danes figure, along with their more populous cousins the Swedes and the Norwegians, as contributors of delectable (and hard to make) holiday treats; civic accountability; spare, appealing furniture design; and the Danish Gymnasts. Friends took me … Continued
The Israeli film, “The Lemon Tree,” moves sedately and with scarcely any dialogue, but once it ends, the message is unmistakable: a huge concrete wall has slid into place, separating the Israeli Defense Minister’s fancy modern house from a West … Continued
Yes, I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when it first came out. We were in the Hawaiian Islands, on Kauai, and I sat in the garage-lanai the first morning and afternoon, mid-December, bathed in easy warmth, a flowering … Continued