Essays and cultural criticism shaped by the writers, artists, places, and ideas that have influenced my thinking. These pieces combine personal encounter with close reading to examine how taste and judgment develop over time.
This week, The New Yorker published my letter to the editor about Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, a place I walk through weekly, finding new things to discover each time.
"Oh, so you’re the one all the writers are afraid of!"
That wasn’t how I saw my role at all. In fact, the idea had never crossed my mind. Suddenly, I felt like a great big monster with no idea how ugly he is until people start screaming and running away.