I’ve just finished reading The Hemingses of Monticello, a fascinating look into the lives of the enslaved family so intimately connected with Thomas Jefferson. Annette Gordon-Reed does an excellent job resurrecting the history of an extensive family whose story has been buried for centuries under a version of history that champions the life and legacy of Jefferson while largely ignoring the enslaved people who made the life and legacy possible. She portrays Sally Hemings, as well as her children, siblings, and grandchildren, as the individuals they were, with highly individual interior lives, aggressively debunking the notion–too often supported by...
Monthly Archives: December 2008
Fog in Hong Kong
The South China Morning Post included The Year of Fog in its year-end roundup of “ultimate recession-proof gifts:” An unusually imaginative novel of family, loss and hope, The Year of Fog tackles mysteries of time, memory and the human heart. ~Stephen McCarty Having spent a month in Hong Kong back in 1998, and having vivid memories of combing the English-language bookshop near one of the ferry terminals in Kowloon for something to stave off the heat and loneliness of a Hong Kong summer, it was quite a treat for me to come across this item in the SCMP. You...
Ooooh, Tannebaum
Well, it’s that time of year. In lieu of writing something new about Christmas (hello, who has time?), I’ll just refer you to this piece I wrote about the Christmas tree boys for Salon a few years ago. It’s December now, and the Christmas tree industry’s booming, and I just can’t get my mind around shopping and party hopping, Johnny Mathis and candy canes and marshmallows by the fire. This time of year, I can’t seem to think about anything but that most spectacular of species, the Christmas Tree Boy — that erotic masterpiece, with his athletic swagger, his...
Tonight
My friend Ben Fong-Torres will be talking with “composer, producer, arranger, impresario, musician, performer and philanthropist” Quincy Jones tonight at City Arts and Lectures at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, 8:00. Call ahead for reservations–415.392.4400. At $20 per ticket, it’s cheaper than two cocktails at a swank hotel bar, and better for your brain. Plus, no one will hit on you while you’re in line for the powder room–or at least, if you do get hit on, you’ll know your suitor has culture.
The international bestseller about one woman’s search for a missing child…
"Mesmerizing." ~Library Journal, starred review.
Stop dreaming, start writing!
