Watch the Dung Beetle
Why I keep rolling forward to a sweet new career I am haunted by dreams of going back to college, at my current age, no less, and with a full head of gray hair. I am living with an assortment of strange young people in dorms or apartments with filthy kitchens, sinks piled with dirty dishes, and no drawers or closet space. The only restaurant in any of the many hallucinatory towns I come upon in sleep has thin soup, mashed something or other and saltine crackers. There is only one book for four classes or four books for one class, but in none of these towns does the college bookstore have any of the texts I need. I am never registered for the semester until I’ve missed too many classes to obtain credit for attending. I show up anyway, once I search forever to find...
What Does Survive? The Roar of the Lion
An evening with a journalist-in-exile at the Raindrop Turkish House On March 4, 2016, Abdülhamit Bilici lost his position of 25 years as Editor in Chief of Zaman, the largest newspaper in Turkey. Ten days later, with an overnight bag in hand and a passport that might just as easily have been already revoked, he boarded a plane out of Istanbul, knowing full well he might not ever be able to return. On March 3, 2017, I had the flu and a fever of 101. I also had tickets to a lecture at the Raindrop Turkish House in Albuquerque. The presenter I wanted to hear was a journalist in exile from Turkey. His name was Abdülhamit Bilici. And so at 4 p.m., against all odds and with complete disregard for the health and safety of others, I hoisted myself out of bed and...
What Does Survive?
Back in Placitas and Planning My Writing Life From the author of What Survives All my life (since the age of five) I dreamed of becoming two things: one, a psychoanalyst and two, a writer. These desires survived. It is hard for me to believe that I have been fortunate enough to achieve both, but at the end of July of this year, I will close my private practice and begin my writing life. I thought this shift in my time here on earth might be interesting to write about and read about, especially in these tough times for both retirement and the arts. My vision of this transition may prove to be somewhat different from the realities I might envision. Scenario I: I rise at dawn and write for several hours; then I greet my husband in the kitchen for breakfast. After an...
What Does Survive? A Reading in New York
From the author of What Survives A Reading and Book Signing at the American Sephardi Federation in New York City Jan. 18, 2017 Arthur and I arrive in New York City in the early morning hours at JFK via the Jet Blue red-eye. I am here to do a reading and book signing for my novel What Survives. We settle into our taxi, just half-awake, accustomed to the heavy morning rush hour traffic and ready for the long drive into midtown Manhattan. We cross the bridge we’ve crossed a gazillion times before and like little children returning to the Emerald City in the wonderful Land of Oz, we call out to each other as if we are seeing these old friends for the first time. “Oh look, there she is, the Lady of Liberty, waking up with us!” “And there’s the Chrysler...
My memoir “Myopia” to be published in 2017
Dear Friends and Readers, I am so pleased to announce that IP Books will publish Myopia, a memoir, my family memoir that will be coming out some time in 2017. I promise to keep you posted. Work began on this close to 30 years ago while living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. My mother passed away in 1986, and my father was in his early 90s and dying slowly from kidney failure. The more I thought about my father’s bumpy road from extreme poverty and the pogroms of Russia to the streets of Philadelphia, from working long hours at The Philadelphia Inquirer to creating a private practice in ophthalmology, the more I wanted to know and explore my family. After some years of researching the family history and writing single chapters, I came to work with Thomas H....
Iftar Meal For The Turkish Language Class
Muhsine Aykac and her husband, Salih, hosted an incredible iftar dinner (the meal eaten after sundown during Ramadan) for our Turkish class. Salih’s parents were visiting from Turkey and his anne definitely makes the tastiest grape leaves I’ve ever eaten. Let’s hope that things will calm down over there so we can all go back next year and try all the grape leaves we can find just to be sure.
A Successful Book Launch
The book launch for What Survives was very successful! The food was amazing and Lynn and Lynda Miller and Hilda Raz outdid themselves. Thank you, my dear, dear friends. The launch reading was dedicated in loving memory of Lisa Lenard Cook. I wish she could have been there, but her loving presence was felt by all who knew her. I think she may have even told me what to read! Many thanks to all who came. For all those who couldn’t make it on a busy Fourth of July weekend, you can follow my events on this website and join me on another day. The author with her dear friend, Brahna Wilczynski Folks gather to have their books signed. L-R: Hilda Raz, Lynda Miller, author Phyllis M Skoy and Lynn Miller. From left, Lynn Miller, author Phyllis M Skoy and her sister,...
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