A monthly letter from Gotham’s president, Alexander Steele (writing advice and other musings)
At the climax of the animated film Ratatouille, a restaurant critic is served a plate of ratatouille prepared by Remy, a new chef who happens to be a rat. The dish, simple but sublime, transports the critic to a childhood memory of the meal, prompting him to write an ecstatic review. Continue reading “Pursuit of the Past”
Chiaroscuro. It’s a mixture of the Italian words for light and dark, and it’s a term used in painting and photography to describe how light plays against darkness to create dimension.
I thought of this word when I read an essay in Time by children’s book author Matt de la Peña, “Why We Shouldn’t Shield Children From Darkness.” He wrestles with this question: Is the job of the writer for the very young to tell the truth or preserve innocence? Continue reading “Light and Dark”
Lots of great artistic things were happening twenty-five years ago, in 1993.
Frasier was giving us sophisticated comedy each week on TV. Groundhog Day was blowing our minds at the movie theaters. The Bridges of Madison County was sweeping its way up the bestseller list. Angels in America took Broadway with shock-and-awe intensity. Continue reading “Something to Celebrate”