Current Reflection
Perspectives
The Humanity of Animals
While there are many who doubt that humans evolved from the animal kingdom, we do share many physical traits of animals. Or we could look at it from the other way [...]
Seriously? Who Said That?!
My father, the cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, told me once that every time he played for an audience, it was a performance, regardless of the circumstance or the composition and/or size of the audience. There’s [...]
Called a Bird Brain? Say Thank You
“He’s a bird brain” was meant as an insult for generations. Apologies, please. That bird may be smarter than you think. In fact, there is at present, in my opinion, a [...]
Flash Fiction
Aging.com
A friend recently asked if I would ever buy a fully electric car like the Tesla. Ah, I do love new technology; if only it loved me.... The fantasy of owning a beautiful new electric car starts out so well...
"Wow, I love my new electric car. It’s a beauty. Is Elon a genius, or what? The dash isn’t cluttered with any messy gauges and graphs and stuff. Clean as a whistle. And, what a computer screen! Looks like Broadway in New York. And the pickup! Holy shit. It scares me. Mom goes nuts and hangs on for dear life...."
Amelia’s Defeat
Amelia, a perfectionist, was crushed, bitterly disappointed, devastated. Depressed, she likened her failure to the cliché “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.” She had been confident that this time – finally – she would achieve her aim. A lover of literature and retired after a successful career as a lawyer, she aspired to write and took a series of workshops in fiction.
The Dinner
He had waited all week to meet her, and now the time had come. The dinner reservations were made, he was shaved, his hair shampooed and carefully messed. This was his first date in over a year and his approaching fiftieth birthday scared him; he was ready, finally. Her blond hair glowed in the evening light and lay softly on her bare, pearly shoulders, revealing her thirty-something years.
On Writing
Introducing Mr. Blok
Mr. Blok by my father, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, was published posthumously by Adelaide Books. Excerpts from my introduction in the book are below:
My father wrote Mr. Blok at the prime of his illustrious cello career. I was very young and didn’t read the manuscript until last year. At some point many years ago I asked Papa why he didn’t publish it. “Because if I did,” he said, “both you and your sister Jephta would be expelled from school!” Doubtful, I thought, but he said nothing more.
Time passed and Papa died from lung cancer in 1976; he was 73. The manuscript languished in my mother’s house for 50 more years.... [Read More]
Celebrating Female Authors
As International Women’s Day approached, I asked friends to tell me the names of female authors on their bookshelves or who they liked to read.
Little did I realize the universe I would open up by asking the question. I am so inspired by the number of responses, which include some favorites and some new friends, that I’ve decided to share the list.
If we left your favorite female author off the list, be sure to leave a comment so we can add her [...]
Writing and the Electronic Universe
I can remember the first time I was asked about what role, if any, digital distractions – email, mobile phones, computers – made in my writing practices. Five years after first pondering the question, my answer has changed....
Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf With Joram – What are you reading now?
A Renaissance in studies of animal behavior and cultures seems to be taking place. My current reading is around this topic.
Off the Shelf With Joram – Uncut – Mr. Blok
My father wrote Mr. Blok at the prime of his illustrious cello career. I was very young and didn’t read the manuscript until last year. At some point [...]
Off the Shelf With Joram – Favorite Inuit sculpture
Reader Barbara E asks Joram if he has a favorite Inuit sculpture in his collection. It's a hard question to answer...
Inuit Art
Are you looking for a change of lifestyle in 2021?
Are you looking for a change of lifestyle in 2021? Consider a move to Sanirajak (previously Hall Beach), an Inuit community of Nunavut, Canada. Look how […]
Inuit Beautiful? Yes! So Save the Date
Do you love Inuit art as much as I do? You're in for a treat in March if the answer is Yes! There is an Inuit Print Exhibit opening at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD, on the evening of March 5. Print: Caribou Spirit, print by Ningeokuluk Teevee [...]
Inuit Art at the World Bank
Imagine, the World Bank is exhibiting my collection of Inuit sculptures for a month! What a great satisfaction to see my hobby – collecting Inuit art, a labor of love – become a worthy contribution. I’m confident that those witnessing the exhibit will appreciate the skill of the artists and sheer beauty of the sculptures as well as learn about the fascinating Inuit culture in the Arctic. I hope that this exhibit helps these important Inuit artists, virtually unknown to most scholars and lovers of art, become more widely recognized, as they deserve to be, and that the artists (often known by a single name) represented in the exhibit – Osuitok, Tiktak, Davidialuk, Pangnark, Ruben, Nasogaluak, Anghik, Iksitaaryuk, Ennutsiak, Qiyuk, Equalla, Isaaci, Kellipalik, Kiawak, Qiatsuq, Talirunili, Ugyuk, Judas, Sallualu, Latcholassie and Oviloo – become familiar and join the ranks of other famous artists throughout the world.