Blog Archives - Page 9 of 34 - Joram Piatigorsky

9 07, 2019

Dipping Into History
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Dipping Into History

Blog, Perpectives

Dipping Into History

By Joram Piatigorsky|2020-03-28T20:23:22-04:00July 9th, 2019|Categories: Blog, Perpectives|Tags: JP|1 Comment

Several weeks ago I went to the Avalon Theater in DC to see three silent movies – classics from an earlier era – accompanied by live music of the earlier times played by The Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra. The event recreated an evening in the 1920’s. What an unexpected thrilling evening! We saw Habeus Corpus (1928) starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, The Adventurer (1917) starring a very young Charlie Chaplin, and One Week (1920), an early masterpiece starring Buster Keaton. ... These masters were actors, yes, but also acrobats, and artists, reminding me that the beginning stages of new endeavors are far from being primitive.

21 06, 2019

Why Write?
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Why Write?

Blog, Writing is how we explore our place in the world

Why Write?

By Joram Piatigorsky|2019-09-17T12:45:44-04:00June 21st, 2019|Categories: Blog, Writing is how we explore our place in the world|Tags: Adelaide Books, Capela, Chapel of Bones, Egora, Esqueleto, Feria do Livro, Lison, Portugal, Stevan Nikolic|1 Comment

Chapel of Bones in Evora, Portugal (Photo by Joram Piatigorsky)

During a recent talk at the outdoor Lisbon Book Festival, I was asked what drives me to write. While I was satisfied with my answer at the time, I realized I had skirted the question, “Why write?”

The question followed me in as I entered the famous Chapel of Bones in Evora, Portugal. There, a poem on a pillar encourages further reflection.

That last line – "The more you pause, the more you will progress" – makes me wonder whether I write to pause, to reflect and thus progress, whatever that might mean. Do I write to ‘progress’? ...

16 05, 2019

The Art of Omission
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The Art of Omission

Blog, Writing is how we explore our place in the world

The Art of Omission

By Joram Piatigorsky|2020-03-28T20:24:22-04:00May 16th, 2019|Categories: Blog, Writing is how we explore our place in the world|Tags: art of omission, Arts Club of Washington, Barbara Esstman, edits, fiction writing, literary community, omission, Sandra Beasley, Science writing, The Writer's Center, washington dc|0 Comments

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny, Unsplash.com Over the past month I’ve celebrated the April launch of my short stories, The Open Door and Other Tales of Love and Yearning, by engaging in four literary conversations with fellow authors members of our vibrant literary community. At the Kensington Park Library, my memoir workshop produced [...]

24 04, 2019

Saying “Yes”
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Saying “Yes”

Blog, Perpectives

Saying “Yes”

By Joram Piatigorsky|2020-03-28T20:25:44-04:00April 24th, 2019|Categories: Blog, Perpectives|Tags: Another, Dave Eggers, Fiction, Gallop, Great Barrier Reef, Horseback, Narrator, Pyramids, Red Pyramids, Sahara Desert, Short Stories, White Grass, writing, Wyoming, Yes|0 Comments

Photo courtesy of Fynn Schmidt, Unsplash In the short story, Another, by Dave Eggers, the narrator is in Cairo against the advice of his government to deliver a package, which he successfully does in the opening sentence. We know nothing about who he works for or what’s in the package. That’s irrelevant. More [...]

24 03, 2019

Thoughts at a Bar Mitzvah: Multiple Universes
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Thoughts at a Bar Mitzvah: Multiple Universes

Blog, Perpectives

Thoughts at a Bar Mitzvah: Multiple Universes

By Joram Piatigorsky|2020-03-28T20:25:34-04:00March 24th, 2019|Categories: Blog, Perpectives|Tags: Adelaide Books, Bar Mitzvah, Existential questions, god, Hebrew, religion, The Open Door, Torah, universe|2 Comments

Two weeks ago, Oliver, the son of my nephew Evan, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in Baltimore. During the ceremony, I followed in English as the rabbi read Hebrew from the prayer book, and I listened with modest familiarity to the tunes sung by the cantor and congregation. Most of all, never having had a Bar [...]

22 02, 2019

Programmed Minds: Terrier Wins Best-in-Show, Again
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Programmed Minds: Terrier Wins Best-in-Show, Again

Blog, Perpectives

Programmed Minds: Terrier Wins Best-in-Show, Again

By Joram Piatigorsky|2020-05-05T13:16:03-04:00February 22nd, 2019|Categories: Blog, Perpectives|Tags: Green, King, Perspectives, Terrier, Westminster Dog Show|0 Comments

Some disgruntled spectators booed when King, a wire fox terrier, was anointed the best-in-show at the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. King is a magnificent dog – a dazzling beauty and the Number 1 ranked terrier last year. Why would anyone be upset to deny King this deserved title? The problem isn’t King’s qualification. [...]