My friend and former colleague Pat Joseph has an article in the latest Virginia Quarterly Review. It’s about the boom (and recent bust) in soy farming in the interior of Brazil. Well written, all round, but one section I especially liked was about the Brazilian sense that the Americans need not tell them how to [...]
Grace Paley died two days ago. She was a sweet and humane poet and short story writer, one of those individuals for whom many will admit a familiarity with the name if not a specific knowledge of the work because some high school English teacher somewhere along the line (but a fan, truly) assigned a [...]
In June, the Chronicle ran a good story about a woman who discovered—and pursued—the person who had stolen her identity. It is engaging to read and a lucky score for the Chronicle, a story like that, one that unfolds cinematically and neatly. There are advantages to being the only show in town, as far as [...]
Who said that even if you aren’t interested in sports, you should still read Ray Ratto’s sports column for the San Francisco Chronicle? Because that person is probably right. Ratto’s columns are articulate, sharply observed, and appropriately sarcastic. Today’s column, for example: “Newsom indulges stadium delusion” stands as evidence that when we talk about sports, [...]
This weekend, I gave a friend Just Enough Liebling, a collection of New Yorker articles by A.J. (Joe) Liebling. In my inscription: From one New Yorker reader to another, a collection of one of its legendary writers. I’ve only read a little bit of Liebling, certainly not enough. For example, there’s the one about how [...]
No problem. Let me know if you have any questions. 
