Pieter Claesz, Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill (1628)
Pieter Claesz, Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill (1628)
1,994 words
I was carrying out a literary exercise of quite a different kind: this was the making up of a continuous ‘story’ about myself . . . — George Orwell, “Why I Write”
Litera scripta manet.
(That which is written, remains.)
— John Dewey (more…)
2,746 words
“Hey, Ma! Look at my shoes! Aren’t they great?”
“Oh my God! You look like a gangster.”
— Goodfellas
Gangster movies, like war films and Westerns, are not simply a part of the American cinematic tradition, but a component in the collective psyche of its people. The well-dressed gentleman rogue who sees violence as a necessary part of business, and business as essentially a family or quasi-familial operation, is iconic. Crime, business, and family (or surrogate family) are intertwined. (more…)