Latest communiqués

Nov
23
Moments made possible by one of those open offices without dividers

Moments made possible by one of those open offices without dividers

Letter No. 62: Includes tiny narratives, shards of story, and epigrammatic morsels of mordant observation. First, to all of my
2 min read
Nov
19
Chance encounters with the celebrated

Chance encounters with the celebrated

Letter No. 61: Includes far more name-dropping than is customary. Walking into McNally Jackson Books in Soho, I nearly collided
4 min read
Nov
15
More of the reading public reading in public

More of the reading public reading in public

Letter No. 60: Includes books and chai and something in the eye. Additional images from Dr Essai’s growing archive
1 min read
Nov
09
Book report for October 2023

Book report for October 2023

Letter No. 59: Includes a book in a box, two really stupid characters, and more mystification than is customary This
3 min read
Nov
07
Poster politics in Washington, DC

Poster politics in Washington, DC

Letter No. 58: Includes street politics, cryptic commentary, and strange use of hearts There are many ways to wage politics
2 min read
Nov
01
Elegy for a friend

Elegy for a friend

Twenty-six years at Johns Hopkins University left me with profound regard for the human mind’s powers of comprehension. We
2 min read
Oct
25
Boundary conditions, liminal states, and working one’s way to grace

Boundary conditions, liminal states, and working one’s way to grace

Letter No. 57: Includes charming crankiness, someone else’s essay reproduced in its entirety, a hummingbird, Beethoven, and phlox. I
7 min read
Oct
20
Hey, is that wonder? No, over there, captive on the face of the obvious...

Hey, is that wonder? No, over there, captive on the face of the obvious...

Letter No. 56: Includes dense but luminous prose, at least one hard-to-pronounce name, and reference to the “oh wow” school
5 min read
Oct
11
Book report for September 2023

Book report for September 2023

Includes mentions of a happy musician, a pissed-off musician, and a character with a pseudonym Elon Musk probably wants to
2 min read
Oct
07
When minds align, great things can happen. Sometimes not.

When minds align, great things can happen. Sometimes not.

Includes repeated mention of Proust, plus a trampoline, lyrics used without credit from Stephen Stills, cave trolls, and Dune. Dr
6 min read