Laurie Sheck, “Pompeii”
Laurie Sheck, “Pompeii” Covered with lapilli we crouch preserved as we were on that first day The last one of … Continue Reading Laurie Sheck, “Pompeii”
Wordsworth & Eternity at St. Paul’s
I’m stunned every time I read this: one of Wordsworth’s best short poems (& that’s saying something), & perhaps one … Continue Reading Wordsworth & Eternity at St. Paul’s
William H. McNeill – History as Myth
A few years ago, the great historian William H. McNeill died. I still have surprisingly endearing memories of reading his … Continue Reading William H. McNeill – History as Myth
Walt Whitman’s Letter to Parents Whose Son Died in the Civil War
Washington August 10 1863 Mr and Mrs Haskell, Dear friends, I thought it would be soothing to you to have … Continue Reading Walt Whitman’s Letter to Parents Whose Son Died in the Civil War
The Past is Not Dead: There is Only Continuity
from Peter Ackroyd, at the end of his first volume of the history of England: Other forms of continuity are … Continue Reading The Past is Not Dead: There is Only Continuity
The Popular Press in 1918 was Garbage Too
From Oswald Spengler’s Decline of the West, published just over a century ago. Our bad relationship with information and disinformation … Continue Reading The Popular Press in 1918 was Garbage Too
History is An Accident
from Peter Ackroyd, at the end of his first volume on the history of England: When we look over the … Continue Reading History is An Accident
Manet the Mystic
Manet’s 1862 painting The Old Musician is a great human riddle. Just what everybody is doing here, and why they’re … Continue Reading Manet the Mystic
Death in Ancient Egypt
Here, Erik Hornung refutes the old cliché that ancient Egyptian religion was “death obsessed,” or that constructions like the pyramids … Continue Reading Death in Ancient Egypt
Heat & Light at Lascaux
The environment in which some of humanity’s first–and still best–works of art, in the cave of Lascaux nearly thirty … Continue Reading Heat & Light at Lascaux
Walking on Two Feet: The Evolution of Bipedalism
from Steven Mithen’s The Prehistory of the Mind: The evolution of bipedalism had begun by 3.5 million years ago. Evidence … Continue Reading Walking on Two Feet: The Evolution of Bipedalism
Jews & Muslims on Pilgrimage Together in the 1300s
From Mark Cohen’s Under Crescent & Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages: An aspect of Jewish-gentile sociability under Islam … Continue Reading Jews & Muslims on Pilgrimage Together in the 1300s
The Melancholy of William Blake
No matter how poor he got, and no matter what of his belongings he had to sell to get by, … Continue Reading The Melancholy of William Blake
The Earliest Photographs of Paris
Among the earliest photos taken of Paris were those of Eugène Atget, beginning in the late 1800s. Here is only … Continue Reading The Earliest Photographs of Paris
Claude Lorrain’s Nostalgia for What Never Was
I first came across Claude Lorrain’s fantasies of classical Greece and Rome on the cover of an old paperback of … Continue Reading Claude Lorrain’s Nostalgia for What Never Was
Primo Levi’s Hardest Thoughts on the Holocaust
From Primo Levi’s 1986 book, The Drowned and the Saved, remembering the concentration camps: On Levi’s own—and others’—guilt at having … Continue Reading Primo Levi’s Hardest Thoughts on the Holocaust
Who are These Faces & What are Their Stories?
At an antique store a few years ago, I spent $10 on an envelope of old photos. I love to … Continue Reading Who are These Faces & What are Their Stories?
Sleepwalking into World War One
From Christopher Clark’s The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914: Do we really need to make the case … Continue Reading Sleepwalking into World War One
Images: Watch Picasso’s “Guernica” Emerge
Scroll through this selection of preliminary studies & photos of the canvas as it was worked on & completed. Pretty … Continue Reading Images: Watch Picasso’s “Guernica” Emerge
The Hooded Lady of Brassempouy
from Randall White’s Prehistoric Art: The best known of the statuettes from Brassempouy is the 25,000 year-old “dame à la … Continue Reading The Hooded Lady of Brassempouy
“It is so hard to die”: An Account of Depression from 1809
One of the most heartbreaking stories I know relates the last day in the life of Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis … Continue Reading “It is so hard to die”: An Account of Depression from 1809
How Picking Fleas Led to the Evolution of Language
From Steven Mithen’s Prehistory of the Mind: The anthropologist Robin Dunbar looked at the size of the brain of H. habilis … Continue Reading How Picking Fleas Led to the Evolution of Language
The Earliest Human Communities
From Steven Mithen’s The Prehistory of the Mind: There is good circumstantial evidence that H. habilis [2.1 to 1.5 million years … Continue Reading The Earliest Human Communities
We Were All Animals Once: The Beginning of Anthropomorphic Thinking
from Steven Mithen’s The Prehistory of the Mind: This propensity to think of the natural world in social terms is … Continue Reading We Were All Animals Once: The Beginning of Anthropomorphic Thinking
Vermeer in Bosnia
If anyone asks you about the Why of art, especially in the face of atrocity or just its apparent impracticality—for … Continue Reading Vermeer in Bosnia
On Beethoven’s Deathbed
Here are two passages from Beethoven’s life. The first finds him on his deathbed, and is recorded in the memoirs … Continue Reading On Beethoven’s Deathbed
Understanding Religious Fundamentalism
I am always thrilled to reread these two passages by Erik Hornung, and to find in them just about the … Continue Reading Understanding Religious Fundamentalism
Humanity’s Earliest Rituals
Three passages on prehistoric religion from the book Becoming Human: One of the pervasive themes of [this book] is … Continue Reading Humanity’s Earliest Rituals
The Archaeology & Mythology of Caves
The archaeologist Jean Clottes writes that, besides the more famous paintings in the ice-age caves of France and Spain, it … Continue Reading The Archaeology & Mythology of Caves
Oswald Probably Did It
It took 9/11 to show me the real damage conspiracy theories can do. Since then, the gleeful and gullible ability … Continue Reading Oswald Probably Did It
Neanderthal Compassion, Neanderthal Burials
from the book Becoming Human: Innovation in Prehistoric Material and Spiritual Culture: Caring for severely disabled members of the community … Continue Reading Neanderthal Compassion, Neanderthal Burials
Did Neanderthals Have Language?
from Richard Klein and Blake Edgar’s The Dawn of Human Culture: The Neanderthals are fascinating because they were so … Continue Reading Did Neanderthals Have Language?
Eleanor Roosevelt Finds Herself
From Geoffrey Ward’s biography of the Roosevelts comes this moving account of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Dickensian childhood, complete with neglectful mother … Continue Reading Eleanor Roosevelt Finds Herself
The Invention of Harmony
from two essays on the origins of the aesthetic impulse in Becoming Human: Innovation in Prehistoric Material and Spiritual Culture: … Continue Reading The Invention of Harmony
“Bone Antler Stone” reviewed in the Big Windows Review
Many thanks to Tom Zimmerman at The Big Windows Review for his review of Bone Antler Stone. I’ve pasted an excerpt … Continue Reading “Bone Antler Stone” reviewed in the Big Windows Review
“Bone Antler Stone” on NPR
Many thanks to Bill O’Driscoll and Pittsburgh’s 90.5 WESA for interviewing me about Bone Antler Stone. You can listen to … Continue Reading “Bone Antler Stone” on NPR
Silence in London II: The Internet will Get You Too
I began this blog in earnest almost six years now, with a post called “Silence in London,” which offered a … Continue Reading Silence in London II: The Internet will Get You Too
