Immigrant Lit
I really enjoyed putting together this feature on my favorite books about the immigrant experience for The Week. Not a bad gift idea, as the holidays approach... Number One on the list? The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, who spent nine years in Merced, Calif., documenting the culture clash between American doctors and Hmong refugees from Laos. At the center of the story is a little girl with severe epilepsy — a condition that her doctors want to treat with anti-convulsants, and that her parents attribute to the wandering of her soul. READ MORE
The Art Teacher
The first thing you notice about art teacher Cynthia Chatman's classroom is the relative quiet. At a school where more than two dozen languages are spoken in the halls, her room is a refuge. The few times that I've sat in on a class with Ms. Cindy, as she is better known, I've been struck by how focused the kids are on whatever project they are working on that day—so focused that they sometimes forget to talk. READ MORE
Regrets
Last weekend, I met with the great editor Francis Flaherty to prepare for the book launch for The New Kids. Frank, as he is better known around the office, had been one of my editors at the City section of The New York Times. Since then, that section has closed, and Frank has gone onto become the deputy editor of the paper's Home Section. He is one of the best editors I've worked with, and as it turns out, he is an excellent moderator. READ MORE
Graduation speech
In June of 2011, I was asked to give the commencement speech at the seniors' graduation at the International High School at Prospect Heights. It was such an honor to be included in the ceremony, and worth every minute of jittery nerves. Here is the commencement speech . . . READ MORE
