Quiet times

To the right is the Moschovakis family (Helene, Nick and baby Theo, with big brother Alex), to the left Alex running—lovely framing, don't you think? I am reading Nick's important introduction to the collection of essays on Macbeth he published a few years ago. He is very supportive of my work in his study.

Dear Friends and Family,

Not too much to report. The main thing is trying this Gabapentin. The Wednesday night dose knocked me out on Thursday. Sonia sparked me, as usual, but the fogginess lasted all day. On Thursday night I took only 100 mg. but this morning, again, I slept late and feel foggy. The feet might be marginally better, so I will continue taking 1 pill at night, none in the a.m. at least for a while. Any thoughts about this med out there?

Yesterday, there was a posting on the Internet of an article on Lori Berenson:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/magazine/06berenson-t.html?hp It will be in the Sunday Times Magazine, I believe.

It's a very good article, as Lori's mother wrote me in an email. Lori, you may recall, is the American journalist and activist who has been recently paroled after serving I think 16 years of a 20-year sentence. What is amazing and thought-provoking is the one image of Lori that determined her downfall. At heart a very private person, at her first hearing after her arrest she shouted (as she had been advised by her captors to do because of 'poor acoustics' in the courtroom) and raised her fist in the air, her face distorted by apparent rage. To a country that had been sickened by the murders by rebels, she became the symbol of those terrible times. If only she had done what women are expected to do—keep head down, weep, look sad not mad, etc. A moment of poor choice led to everything that followed. Even Peruvians who sympathize with those who try to improve the lot of the poor and marginalized native peoples feel nothing but anger towards Laury. She has to keep her head down indeed as she walks with her son, Salvatore, around the neighborhood where she is living. She has to remain in Peru for the whole period of parole, and then must leave the country.

After looking in vain for my missing cell phone, we finally broke down and got me a new one, a free one that comes with a 2-year contract with Verizon. Merwin got a matching one. Unfortunately the sound quality is not good, and we are going back to the store today to see what we can do.

Today is First Friday, the lunch date for women from RSNS. I am looking forward to it as always. Then I am hoping to do some work.

The Shakespeare Quarterly process is so very different from any other journal for which I have written. Actually, I have been published by SQ before (reviews mainly), but that was before Johns Hopkins took over as publisher. For one thing, I never had to sign a contract outlining my rights and obligations. If I read it correctly, I can copy the essay onto hamletworks.org, with credit to Johns Hopkins. Everyone is very nice at the Folger, where the editing is done, and I am looking forward to their suggestions. I am hoping that instead of using my photos, they will use the originals they have in the library—without my being there to pick them out.

We watched Grand Hotel last night on TV. It's quite a good film, much better than most we have seen of that era (1932). It was fun recognizing the actors we know from much later films: gorgeous Joan Crawford, a secretary who has to make a living any way she can, including bedding down with her ugly, nasty boss; Greta Garbo, who said "I want to be alone" three times!; John Barrymore, the dashing and kind but broke con-man; Lionel Barrymore, a hero of sorts; and so on. Though the setting was Berlin, there was no evidence that I could see that Hitler and WWII were coming.

Is it true that in the 30's and 40's all restaurants had dance floors and big bands? It seems so from every dinner-out scene in movies of that time.

Please forgive the meandering; it's the drug.

Love to all,
Bernice