April — Special in-depth conversation with Anthony LeDonne about my new novel PRETEND PLUMBER

Hello friends! What a spiritually resonant week this is, as folx navigate Ramadan, Easter and Passover all at the same time! Because of this convergence, my wonderful friend Anthony and I thought this might be the perfect time to record and share a conversation about spirituality and Jewishness in my new novel Pretend Plumber, now … Continue reading April — Special in-depth conversation with Anthony LeDonne about my new novel PRETEND PLUMBER

My mother and Anne Rice

It's oddly appropriate that famous author Anne Rice died just a day before my mother's Yarzeit. My mother was an extremely anxious, brilliant, troubled and fascinating person with wonderfully weird, eclectic tastes. She loved mysteries and she loved Wagner (the composer, not the NYC mayor) and she loved science fiction and she loved Agatha Christie. … Continue reading My mother and Anne Rice

And now 5 questions for authors I dig #1 — Stacey Levine, and Brown Seaweed Soup

Friends -- I have this idea. Periodically I want to interrupt whatever I'm doing on Magically Real so that I can ask writers I respect and admire 5 questions, which they will then answer. I'm doing this so that we'll have the opportunity to hear their own unique geniussy take on writing world. Along the … Continue reading And now 5 questions for authors I dig #1 — Stacey Levine, and Brown Seaweed Soup

Reading the 18th Century, March 12, 2017. Rousseau redux: The Discourse on Inequality continued with some cool info on people who read him

  Hi everyone -- welcome back as we take a second look at this seminal piece of writing by Jean Jacques Rousseau. Last time, I talked about Rousseau's theory of humans in the state of nature. Now we'll take a quick look at some of his other ideas. Part 2 of the Discourse starts off … Continue reading Reading the 18th Century, March 12, 2017. Rousseau redux: The Discourse on Inequality continued with some cool info on people who read him

Reading the Enlightenment: Nathan the Wise and imagining religious interconnectedness

Friends – Last week I shared some thoughts about Jonathan Swift’s autobiographical poem and the connection of some its ideas to the attitudes expressed by the Founding Fathers and indeed to one of the sentiments expressed in the Declaration of Independence. This week, I want to share some insights about a play written in 1779, … Continue reading Reading the Enlightenment: Nathan the Wise and imagining religious interconnectedness