Book Launch Musings
I thought I would get John Dixwell’s key to Dover Castle framed for the book launch. At the moment, it…
The Business of Becoming
I keep having to become somebody new, no matter how old I get. Publishing my first book at the age…
The Smallest Things
If you walk nearly every day in the Holyoke Range, as I do, you get a chance to notice the…
Pen, Paper and a Single Root
For me, the best kind of writing is done not on a touchscreen or a keyboard but with pen and…
How Did Gracie Help the War Effort?
There are two dachshunds on my mantelpiece. They are more than twins, because they are two images, each carved from…
Why the Woods?
I generally have a better day if I can get into the woods by myself for an hour or so.…
Someone has the Sword!
I was given John Dixwell’s key to Dover Castle. What better metaphor for chasing down and unlocking as many secrets…
What Survives?
The unbearable news from Ukraine, with footage of shattered buildings, wounded children, or people sheltering in subway tunnels or wherever…
Building up, Tearing down
All things fall and are built again And those that build them again are gay. From “Lapis Lazuli,” by William…
Executions in Miniature
Last week, when I opened the kitchen drawer in which I keep my knives, I discovered many minuscule mouse turds,…
Was It Worth It?
There was a lot of buzz on British Twitter feeds over the last few weeks because January 30th was the…
More Thoughts about Feet
My father was terrific when it came to foot care. When I was a child, I loved hanging around him…
And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time?
I was touched, when I was researching my book, to learn that when my great great grandfather Epes Sargent Dixwell…
What About Street Names?
After you die, is it any consolation to have a street named after you? Can the dead can appreciate the…
More Thoughts about Names
I have a little more to say about my various names and how my confusing experience of them led me…
What’s in a Name?
What inspired me to spend decades researching and writing a book about the regicide John Dixwell? The answer is short:…
The Regicide in Books and in Song
“The most interesting thing about King Charles the First is that he was 5 foot 6 inches tall at the…
These Old Bones – John Dixwell’s Grave
In 1849, exactly two centuries after Charles the First was beheaded in London, the bones of one of the men…
Speaking of Bones
Bones were so prominent in my childhood that it’s no wonder I love the story of the Dixwell brothers digging…